"It's a challenge": 100 dive below White Bear Lake in world record attempt

WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. -- White Bear Lake was the center of the ice scuba diving world Saturday, as hundreds from around the world set their sights on making history. 

During the 2023 North American Ice Scuba Festival, divers from Midwest School of Diving joined others from throughout the United States, Canada and around the globe. 

"This is a unique event," said Dave Rivera, who traveled from Florida. "It has an element of risk, and element of surprise. The surprise is when you're entering the water. The risk is the cold."

Rivera and others attempted to set a set a world record, with 100 divers dipping below the ice. 

"It's a challenge," he said. "It's a simple challenge. I did it. I can check it off the list. People like to push the envelope sometimes so to speak. This is one of those envelopes they get to check off the bucket list."

"Well, everybody's got a frequency, right? Ours happens to go with underwater," said Ramses Byron of Midwest School of Diving. "I think it's the sense of community, everybody gets to try new things. People who have never even done any cold-water diving are coming up, getting the cold water certification and trying something completely new for their life experiences."

Both divers say there is an emphasis on keeping the environment clean while protecting natural dive habitats.

Profits from the event are being donated to Veteran Scuba, a non-profit working to help disabled veterans become scuba certified.