Amid fin waving and silent cheers from underwater spectators, 28 participants in scuba-diving gear took part in Green Island’s (綠島) charity jigsaw puzzle competition on Wednesday last week.
The event was coordinated by local souvenir shop owner Chen Ying-ming (陳盈明), who plans to donate the money raised to the island’s three elementary schools.
Chen said he decided to hold the event underwater for the first time this year in the hope of drawing attention to the importance of conserving the marine ecosystem.
Photo: Chang Tsun-wei, Taipei Times
While many of the participants were capable swimmers and scuba-divers, getting the hang of breathing slowly and trying to counteract buoyancy as they pieced together the magnetic puzzle pieces took more effort than some had expected, providing quite a spectacle for the spectators.
One of the participants was a local snorkeling instructor, Chen said, adding that the person, who flailed about ineffectually for about 20 minutes, said he forgot to bring his reading glasses.
The competition was held near the Shihlang diving area at a depth of 10m, Chen said.
The winner of the puzzle competition on land was Wu Chia-hua (吳佳樺), who was also the winner of the competition last year.
Wu came in second place in the underwater puzzle competition, with junior-high school student Wu Liang-ting (吳亮霆) taking first place by completing six different puzzles in 4 minutes and 32 seconds.
Chen said that while the event only raised NT$140,000 in its first year in 2013, this year the event raised NT$353,000.
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