USA divers will plunge into frigid Duluth Harbor in competition during tall ships fest

DULUTH – Divers will launch themselves from a 65-foot platform and into the chilly depths of the Duluth Harbor during USA Diving’s inaugural Superior High Dive Challenge as part of the Festival of Sail.

The mid-July challenge will feature 10 elite international athletes, including two from Minnesota. Nate Jimerson is a three-time NCAA diving champion and eight-time All American who competed for St. Cloud State University. Maya Kelly of Minneapolis finished in sixth place at the High Diving World Cup. She also competes in cliff diving.

This is the first time the organization has held a professional high-diving event outdoors in Minnesota.

“A big part of high diving is spectacular locations,” said Owen Weymouth, event coordinator for USA Diving. “Minnesota is just blessed to have Lake Superior. If it’s going to be anywhere, it would be the lake.”

An added bonus: The Aerial Lift Bridge makes a good background for the photos, he said.

Duluth Harbor, located behind the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, has just reopened its newly constructed seawall — where a temporary diving tower will be built by Dana Kunze’s Water Show Productions. (Kunze, who grew up diving off bridges into the Mississippi River, has repeatedly set high-dive records.)

The tower will be taller than the DECC, said Jeff Stark, head of local events management company Winterfell. The competition required sign-off from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Duluth Fire Department.

The water is up to 27 feet deep at this point in the harbor and is expected to be near 60 degrees by July, Weymouth said. It’s an extreme temperature the competitors can handle, he said. They’ve competed in waters in Norway and Ireland.

A cliff-diving champion will serve as judge, and there will be a splash zone VIP area for fans who want to get close to the action.

The Festival of Sail returns to Duluth July 10-13 and features nearly a dozen historic or replica ships to see, learn about and sometimes tour. This year’s lineup includes Gen. George Patton’s schooner When and If, Pride of Baltimore II, Inland Seas, Ernestina-Morrisey, St. Lawrence II and more.

The last tall ships festival in this region was held in Two Harbors in 2022.