You might say they got cold feet.
Underwater thrill seekers have cancelled an annual scuba diving trip in a frozen mountain lake after 27 years because of liability fears.
But WorkSafe says it is not to blame.
Steve Bell, of the Cromwell Underwater Club, has taken divers on group trips to Lake Alta, 1800m up in the Remarkables.
In the past, the event was always done ''under the radar'' - nonetheless safely - but this year Mr Bell wanted to make it more official.
Dive Otago, which had supplied volunteer safety divers for almost 15 years, no longer wanted to be involved because of the risk of being liable if anything went wrong.
''At the end of the day they are still saying if anything did happen they [WorkSafe New Zealand] would have a go at us and we would be liable,'' Mr Bell said.
The group tried unsuccessfully to enlist the help of other safety divers, but then decided to cancel the trip. The diving weekend, which also took in Lake Dunstan's sunken bridges, was popular with groups of about 30 adventurers from all over New Zealand and as far as Australia.
''I get phone calls starting about probably January and February ... it's been going for years,'' he saidDive Otago director Dave Watson said he had supplied divers as a ''gesture of goodwill'' in the past, but the risks were now too great.
An audit by WorkSafe last year had made him more aware of the consequences of ''something going wrong'', despite being covered under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, he said.
''There's still a risk that something will change their [WorkSafe's] minds,'' he said. Companies such as Dive Otago are required by law to be audited and registered if they provide adventure activities to sports or recreational clubs. Recreational and sports clubs, club associations and schools are exempt.
WorkSafe strategic communications manager Mark Scott said the organiser was not subject to the Act, and ''therefore cannot blame his decision to cancel the event on health and safety laws''.
''No workplace is involved and the organiser is arranging this on behalf of a group of like minded individuals and is not getting a gain or reward from the payment.
''So WorkSafe has no jurisdiction over the event.''
Mr Bell said he had good rapport with the Remarkables skifield and the Department of Conservation and had ''never had an issue''.
