Courtesy: No Limits Tour Cliff Diving
[Texas, U.S. – October 7, 2025] The No Limits Tour (‘NLT’) Cliff Diving Championship, a brand new, athlete-owned professional cliff diving series, launched its inaugural season this Saturday at Hell’s Gate in Texas with more than 5,000 spectators in attendance.
Fans flocked to Possum Kingdom Lake to witness the historic first event for the NLT Cliff Diving Championship as elite athletes performed complex pikes, twists, somersaults, and more, from heights of up to 90f (27 metres) and travelling at speeds up to 55 miles per hour (85 km per hour).
With a raft of the world’s best technical and freestyle cliff divers participating across three high-octane rounds of diving – judged by an expert panel according to the difficulty, artistry and technique – the competition was fierce.
In the Women’s event, Australia’s Xantheia Pennisi executed brilliantly, wowing the judges and finishing more than 20 points clear of second-placed Ginni van Katwijk and home favourite Kaylea Arnett, to capture the first-ever NLT Cliff Diving crown and her first win at a cliff diving event.
In the Men’s technical event, Romanian Catalin Preda edged out the US pair of James Lichtenstein and Scott Lazeroff who were separated by a mere two points.
In a break from traditional cliff diving competitions, the NLT event also featured a Men’s Freestyle category, with local diver, Reagan Popoff, from Plano, Texas, taking top honours, followed by Connecticut’s Jonah Genser and Jody England from Truckee, California.
Commenting on the event, Popoff said, “It was the best event of my entire life. Having the home town crowd out there, hundreds of boats, people rooting for us, watching us do our thing, being able to showcase freestyle, it became one of the best moments of my life. I got to win in front of my family, and I’m extremely grateful for the NLT and the people out there at Possum Kingdom Lake for supporting us.”
Winner of the Women’s Technical dive category, Xantheia Pennisi, said of the event: “This was an incredible event! It was my first time in Texas, my first-ever No Limits Tour event, and my first cliff diving win. Possum Kingdom Lake was absolutely beautiful. I’m already looking forward to the NLT coming back to Texas next year and can’t wait for more comps with NLT in the future.”
“What the NLT team, sponsors, and everyone involved pulled off was truly inspirational, and I’m excited for the future of the NLT. The fans at Possum Kingdom Lake were outstanding, and I can’t wait to see even more of them next year,” said Men’s Technical competition champion, Catalin Preda.
Co-founded by two-time US national diving champion David Colturi and former professional junior alpine skier and entrepreneur Raphael Eder, the NLT Cliff Diving Championship is seeking to elevate extreme sports with an athlete-owned, content-first approach.
The Hell’s Gate debut was supported by a range of commercial partners that include the Lush Resort on Possum Kingdom Lake, Action Watersports, Athletic Brewing Company, New Motion Beverages, Embolden Beer Company, and premium Hawaiian volcanic water brand, Waiakea.
Built on a vision to elevate cliff diving to new heights, with long-term goals to bring the sport to the Olympic Games and redefine cliff diving for the next generation of athletes and fans, the Hell’s Gate event precedes a full global schedule in 2026 that will feature breathtaking dives set against iconic natural and city backdrops.
Future tour locations have been identified in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with plans for an eight-event global calendar by 2028 with projected revenues of US$50 million by 2035. The championship is also targeting more than eight billion social media views by 2030.
“This historic first event is everything we planned for and dreamed of,” said co-founder, David Colturi. “World class divers. An amazing venue. Incredible conditions. This was the perfect start and congratulations to Xantheia, Catalin, and Reagan, for their incredible performances. We are indebted to all the athletes who believed in our vision and joined us this weekend. Our goal is to create a competition that is truly by athletes, for athletes, and that captivates a new generation of sports fans. We are hugely excited about what is to come in 2026.”
NLT Cliff Diving Championship co-founders Raphael Eder (left) and David Colturi (right). (Image credit: NLT Cliff Diving Championships, Christian Pondella)
The NLT Cliff Diving Championship will adopt an athlete ownership model that will see a portion of the net profits controlled by an elected Athlete Board ensuring athletes have a voice in the sport’s direction and allocation of finances.
The championship will also establish a clear career path from junior to professional cliff diver through sanctioned tours like the NLT Cliff Diving Championship Tour (2025), Challenger Tour (2028), Qualifier (2030), and Junior (2031).
The founders and athlete-owners of the NLT Cliff Diving Championship Tour have stated a desire for cliff diving to become recognised as an Olympic sport. Diving was first introduced at the Summer Olympic Games at the 1904 Games of St. Louis from heights of three and 10 metres and has been an Olympic sport ever since.
For more information on the NLT Cliff Diving Championship, please visit nolimitstour.com.
The 27 meter dive seems frightening. I get chills jumping off the 3 meter.