Hi All,

To kick off the 2021/2022 dive season, the Southern Freedivers Vic Challenge will commence tomorrow 1st August and will run till 14th June 2022!

There were some really good catches in the past season, including lots of large crayfish, sweep, squid and a few good flatties. Unfortunately no kingies were submitted last season, but 2 of the salmon weighed in was bigger than some of the kingies that were shot!

The Victorian Challenge has been successfully run for many years and continues to run as one of Southern Freedivers premier comps and this will be the 20th season the Vic Challenge has been run.
This comp ONLY targets 10 key Vic species and the eligible fish for this comp are;

Flathead
Sweep
Snapper
Whiting
Snook
Crayfish
Kingfish
Trevally
Squid
Salmon

The heaviest fish of each species gets 10 points, second heaviest 9 points, third heaviest 8 points and so on. Maximum score = 100. For those that are wishing to compete in the VC for the first time, see leaderboards from previous seasons. You'll get the idea.

Keep in mind that even if a bigger fish may have already been submitted, you can still get points depending on the size and if others have submitted fish. For example, if someone else submits a 3kg cray and yours is 2.5kg, you have a chance to get 9 points if no one else submits a cray. Then if someone submits a cray bigger than yours, the score for your cray would only drop to 8 points.

Competitors are able to submit only 2 of each species for the duration of this comp, allowing competitors to upsize any catches once.

Minimum weights are as follows;

340gm - Whiting / Trevally
400gm - Flathead / Sweep / Squid / Australian Salmon / Snook / Snapper
1000gm - Crayfish
3000gm - Kingfish

Fish must be taken in Vic waters. Fish must be submitted within 30 days of capture. Late submissions WILL NOT be accepted. Maximum 2 of each species to be submitted. Fish must be weighed on certified club scales. This season will see a set of certified scales at every SFD club meeting and weigh points as follows.

Southern Freedivers Weigh In Locations

Brett Illingworth 0439_881_958 (Rye)
Bob Manning 0407_506_190 (Cranbourne)
Stoj Pavlovski 0400_703_356 (Carnegie)
Kim Adair 0467_363_800 (Cranbourne)

Geelong Freedivers Weigh In Locations

Nam Luong 0411_775_259 (Maribyrnong)
Julian Kenny 0417_059_202 (Bellarine)
Luke Bellamy 0432_272_509 (Belmont)
Gerard Saunders 0429_869_776 (Grovedale)

Alternatively, you can have the fish weighed on any certified scales (butchers, supermarkets), as long as a picture of the scales certification sticker is submitted with each fish entry.

Preferred method to submit fish is via a PM on the forum to VictorianChallenge.
If you have any further questions regarding this comp, please approach us at a club event/meeting, send us a message on facebook or the forum, or contact Stoj on 0400703356.

Every entrant in the VC also goes into a VC prize draw at SFD presentation night. Regardless of number of fish entered every entrant gets 1 entry in the draw.

I will be posting the updated leaderboard every month, usually in the lead up to the club meeting.

So good luck to everybody that competes this season and look forward to seeing everyone's submissions.

Dive and stay safe!

Hi All,

Due to the restrictions, the Vic Challenge will be on hold till further notice.

Hi All,

As of 6pm tonight (29/10/2021) , the Vic Challenge will resume and continue till the 14th June 2022.
Refer to the earlier post in this thread for all the details.

The updated leaderboard will be posted up towards the end of next month.

Happy Hunting!

Here is the submission form for each fish you want to submit for the Vic Challenge

Hi All,

Over the past month or so, there have been a few submissions for the Vic Challenge.

Spencer kicked off the submissions with a huge 2.24kg squid. Kim submitted 2 fish to take the lead with 1.03kg Trevally and a 2.11kg Snook. Brendon then submitted a thumper flatty that weighed in at 1.43kg. Andrew also submitted a flatty at 1.44kg, beating Brendon's flatty by 10 grams and taking the top spot for that species.

All good size fish for their respective species so far. Hopefully this momentum continues.

The water is really warm at the moment, especially inside the bays, but also outside on the ocean side.
Hopefully everyone is getting out for some dives over the summer break.

See below for the current leader board.

Hi Everyone,

Over the holiday period there have been a lot of people focusing on the tuna that are around and there have been only a few submissions for the Vic Challenge in the past month. Chris submitted his first entry with a cracking 3.6kg crayfish. Stoj got out for a few dives and was able to submit 3 fish that moved him to the top of the leaderboard for the moment. His submissions were a 890gm Flathead, a 1.1kg Snook and a 12.2kg Kingfish.

A few people made it over to the Western districts recently and there were some good Vic challenge species taken over those 2 days. Looking forward to seeing the fish that are submitted from that.
The water is also pretty warm in the bay and reasonably warm on the ocean side (for Victorian waters). There are good sized schools of salmon being reported and a good time to chase flatties and whiting. There are some squid still around also with only 1 submitted so far.

Kim Adair now has a set of certified club scales in Cranbourne and is available as a weigh point for any Vic Challenge fish. Please refer to the top of this thread for his contact details.

Also a reminder that each person that enters at least 1 fish in the Vic Challenge goes into a draw for a prize at the end of the dive season.

We look forward to seeing everyone out on the water and submitting some fish for the Vic Challenge.

See below for the updated leaderboard.

VIC CHALLENGE UPDATE

There have been a few submissions over the last month for the Vic Challenge.
Scott Kelly submitted his first 2 fish, with a 1120gm flathead and a 545gm snapper, so he goes straight to 3rd place.
Kim submitted 4 fish to rocket to the top spot. The fish he submitted were a 2.3kg salmon, a 560gm whiting, a 1.57kg squid and a 610gm snapper.

With just over 3 months to go for this comp, now is a great time to get some fish on the board or move up the leaderboard.

See below for the leaderboard.

Vic Challenge Update

Unfortunately there have been no submissions for the Vic Challenge in the past month. With the water still warm there are plenty of opportunities to get onto some of these tasty fish. There are Kingfish being caught by line fishers towards the bottom of the bay and out off Lonsdale. With the local tuna catches declining recently, kingfish are a great alternative for those that are still keen on chasing pelagic fish. There are lots of pinkie snapper being seen by divers and caught by line fishers and although they can be flighty, the numbers of fish around are allowing some divers to target them on spear. Lots of average sized Snook being seen towards the top of the bay with the occasional bigger size fish being seen. There are some good whiting around at this time of year and the numbers will be really good in the lead up to Easter. The calamari that spawned 6 months ago are not huge, but around in decent numbers so there's an opportunity to get some points on the board as there have only been 2 submitted for the Vic Challenge so far. Hopefully everyone makes the most of the warmer water before it starts too cold for comfort. So get out there and target some of these species! Dive safe and remember to always dive with a float and flag.

Vic Challenge Update

Within the last month only Spencer has submitted fish for the Vic Challenge. He submitted a 1.016kg sea sweep and a 914gm snook. This moves him up 2 places to currently be in 2nd place behind Kim. With Stoj and Chris out of action from injuries, there is a good opportunity for others to move up the leaderboard.

There is still about a month and a half to go for the Vic Challenge and there are still some good fish around and its not too late to get involved.
See below for the updated leaderboard.

Hi All,

There is less than 2 weeks to go for the Vic Challenge for this season.

Even though the weather and the water is getting colder, there's still time to get that extra fish that may move you up the leaderboard.

The last day you can submit entries is the 14th June 2022 (the day after the long weekend).

Happy hunting!

Hi All,

Entries for the 2021-2022 Vic Challenge season have now closed.

The winner and prize winner will be announced at the upcoming Southern Freedivers Presentation night.
Thanks to everyone that made a set of scales available to weigh in fish.

Stay tuned for the next seasons Vic challenge! Details will be posted soon.