
Scott Rice on the Z Manu World Champs, bringing people together, and the art of dive bombs
From Swim Chats by Shona Riddell
December 17, 2025 · 27 min · Season 1 · Episode 32
About this episode
Scott Rice discusses the Z Manu World Champs, its community impact, and the art of dive bombs.
The Z Manu World Champs is now in its third year and is making a splash as a fun water sports event that brings people together. A 'manu' is a v-shaped dive bomb. It has Māori / Pasifika origins and can be performed off a bridge, wharf, diving board, jetty – even off a horse – into any body of deep water, as long as it's done safely. There are qualifying events being held around Aotearoa NZ (and on the Gold Coast) over the summer and the Grand Finals will be held in Auckland in March. Manu World Champs founder Scott Rice came on the podcast to discuss what inspired him to create this event, how they judge the best manu (splash height is important but there's an art to a good manu), and how it celebrates people, communities, and the water. Scott is a former competitive swimmer who also founded the NZ Ocean Swim Series and now runs Ocean Swim Fiji, a 'swimcation' offering three swims across five days (and zero worries). Visit the Z Manu World Champs website Follow the Manu World Champs on Instagram Check out Ocean Swim Fiji * Support the podcast via Patreon.com/SwimChats Follow Swim Chats on Instagram Hit 'Follow' so you don't miss an…
People in this episode
Host: Shona Riddell
Guest: Scott Rice
Topics covered
- Z Manu World Champs
- water sports
- community events
- dive bombs
- swimming
Keywords
- Z Manu World Champs
- dive bomb
- Scott Rice
- water sports
- Aotearoa NZ
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Z Manu World Champs, NZ Ocean Swim Series, Ocean Swim Fiji
Places: Aotearoa NZ, Gold Coast, Auckland
More episodes of Swim Chats
- Swimming and sea poems with special guest Sinéad Kehoe · May 26, 2026 · 44 min
- Mountains to Sea Wellington’s Zoe Studd on the joys, challenges and possibilities of connecting people with the water · May 21, 2026 · 48 min
- ‘Jump In’ author Nicola McCloy on NZ’s best swimming spots – and how she found them · May 8, 2026 · 60 min
- RE-RELEASE – Sir Bernard Freyberg's heroic wartime swim and our ANZAC tribute (with special guest John Hancock) · April 22, 2026 · 43 min
- Triple Crown swimmer Wen Erh Hsu on the importance of enjoying every stroke · April 13, 2026 · 40 min
- Seti Afoa on running Samoa Events, learning to swim, and overcoming our fear of the deep · April 6, 2026 · 58 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Swim Chats podcast page.