Depth competition – Page 2 – British Freediving Association

April 1, 2015

Individual AIDA Depth World Championships Limassol 2015 – Team Selection

AIDA 2015 World Depth Championships Cyrpus

UK team Selection

Applications for the UK Team – 2015 AIDA Depth World Championships in Limassol, Cyprus are now open. The competition will take place from 11th-20th September and will include Constant Weight without fins (CNF), Free Immersion (FIM) and Constant Weight with fins (CWT).

We hope to send a full team of 4 men and 4 women per discipline and a Team Captain/Coach (who may or may not be part of the competing team).

Selection will be based on the highest proven performances in the three disciplines. (AIDA world championship team selection will be by AIDA ranked points dated from 18 months prior to 4 months before the competition. In case of candidates wishing to be considered who do not have AIDA ranked points a performance witnessed by an AIDA Judge or AIDA UK Instructor will stand at 80% of the resulting outcome.)

If you are interested in competing for the UK in Cyprus, please let us know by 11th May. Please send an email to competitions@britishfreediving.org listing your highest AIDA ranked performances since November 11th 2013 in Constant Weight without fins (CNF), Free Immersion (FIM) and Constant Weight with fins (CWT) with details of where this ranking was obtained. If you do not have a ranked performance in any or all of these disciplines, please let us know your current best performances in training, and when you anticipate seeing those ratified officially. If you anticipate achieving a higher ranked performance in any of the disciplines in the next few months, please also let us know that in your email. If your geographical location makes it difficult for you to gain a ranked performance, please let us know and we will take this into consideration.

If you are interested in going to Cyprus as Team Captain/Coach, please let us know you are interested by letting us know your experience in this area, and why you think you would be good for the job. Applications for the Team Captain/Coach position will be considered by the team once they have been selected, and appointed within one month of final team selection.

If you make the decision to apply for the 2015 team, you obviously need to be available to be in Cyprus for the dates above. You also need to be sure you can afford your flights and expenses and the entry fee of 160 Euros per discipline and accommodation costs.

In the meantime the BFA will be doing all it can to gather both sponsorship and logistical support for the 2015 team.

All competing athletes must be over 18 years old, UK citizens and members of the BFA at the time of the competition.

December 9, 2014

Michael Board’s 103m Constant Weight National Record

& taking 4th place at World Famous Suunto Vertical Blue Competition

Wednesday 9th December 2014; — On the 2nd December, at the prestigious Suunto Vertical Blue competition, Michael Board pushed his national record in Constant Weight deeper still, from 102m to 103m; at this kind of depth, each meter is like a milestone. Michael lives in Indonesia, on the island of Gili Trawangan, where he teaches freediving courses and training at his, and partner Kate Middleton’s school Freedive Gili (www.freedivegili.com).

This latest national record is number 8 for Board and it seems that even at the top of their game, experienced freedivers face challenges, set backs and even knocks in confidence. A former Royal Marine, it is not surprising that Board did not allow any obstacles to stand in his way for long and was gracious enough to talk with us at BFA, at the end of the competition on Long Island (the location of VB2014) to share his experience, not only of the competition but of his year training and diving at depth:

‘I am very happy I dived to 103m and set a new British record in Constant Weight as it has been a challenging year for me in depth diving in general and also a difficult competition here in the Bahamas as well. I struggled to match my performances from last year in both the AIDA Euro Cup in Kalamata and the 2014 AIDA Team World Championships in Sardinia earlier this year, some of this was due to being unaccustomed to the water conditions but I also discovered that it can just be hard work getting back down to these deep depths again.’

Board had done several 100m dives in training before arriving in the Bahamas, and had pushed this up to 103m in training on Long Island just before the competition started. However he suffered a big setback on his first attempt at 103m in the competition:

‘The weather changed drastically with strong winds and cooler water catching a lot of us unprepared on that day in our thin tropical wetsuits. I was shivering 15 minutes before my dive and could not relax properly, but chose to dive anyway, perhaps the wrong decision in hindsight. I managed to reach the bottom but had a lot of narcosis, was slow on the ascent and then suffered a black out just short of the surface after being assisted up by the safety divers.’

His confidence bruised but not broken, Board announced the same depth 3 days later, sensibly giving himself a chance to recover and recuperate for a second attempt, for which he was well rewarded:

‘I knew I could do the dive, I just needed to stay warm so I delayed getting in the water this time until the last moment. The dive went well, I reached the bottom plate relaxed and the narcosis did not hit me too strong this time so I managed to think clearly and tell myself to ascend from depth faster, as it happened maybe a little too fast. A good dive to finish the season with, only 1 meter up on last year, but happy to end the year on a high and moving in the right direction.’

Board came an impressive 4th at the end of the competition, with a Free Immersion (FIM) dive to 95m and a Constant No Fins (CNF) dive to 56m. Also at the competition were top British Freedivers with some impressive results: Chris Crawshaw, also of Freedive Gili who placed 8th (75m CWT, 70m FIM, 68m CNF) and John Moorcroft of Apneists UK who placed 10th (71m CWT, 63m CNF).

November 2, 2014

Helena Bourdillon Wins Bronze at Triple Depth

And ranks 2nd for UK in CNF!

Sunday 2 November 2014; — From 14th to 20th October, Freedive Dahab (www.freedivedahab.com) ran it’s 10th annual Triple Depth competition. British Freediver Helena Bourdillon, of Apnea Revolution (www.apnearevolution.com) and Freedive 2000 (www.freediving2000.co.uk) took part in her first ever freediving competition, securing third place on the podium and ranking number 2 in the UK for a tremendous 40m no fins dive! The BFA caught up with Helena to congratulate her on her achievements and ask if she would share her experiences with us of her first competition.

Helena arrived in Dahab at the end of September for the start of a 12-week trip. The idea was to spend three weeks training and then compete. Over the three weeks, training, Helena built up some great friendships and had some, she says, ‘fabulous dive buddies’. Prior to the competition, there were three morning training sessions and then a rest day before the competition. Over the three competition days, Helena would learn some valuable lessons and go through some steep learning curves:

‘All three training days were not particularly good but then it was my first competition so I didn’t really know what to expect. Lack of decent sleep and a diet borne of nervousness probably didn’t help. By the time of the competition, I was a nervous wreck but hiding it reasonably well, I think.

Day 1 was Free Immersion (FIM). Conditions were perfect with blue skies and calm seas. Alas a Red Card as I managed to tangle my lanyard in the noodle I was breathing up on. Didn’t even get to 4m. Lesson learnt – get a coach and ask them to keep checking!

I was very annoyed with myself but then realised that all of the pressure I had piled on myself had gone away so I could think about trying to enjoy myself a little bit and push myself a bit further.

Day 2 was Constant Weight (CWT) and I announced 50m. It was not a good dive. I’ve never had any issues with mouth-fill and I heard / felt the darn thing disappear into my stomach leaving me with pretty much nothing. I went a few more metres and then grabbed the line, took a sneaky peak to the bottom plate and decided I was going to get the tag. Back up to the surface and a White Card for protocol but the grab cost me a Yellow Card and 5 point deduction.

Day 3, Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) and I had announced 40m, which was 2m further than my PB. The swell was rather larger that day and it took a lot of focus to remain calm before the dive started. Once the countdown had started it was familiar and easier. I was super happy with the dive. It was relaxed and strong and I felt like I wanted to go again when I got back to the surface!

I went to the Triple Depth wanting to get 3 white cards. I came away with a full colour selection and a number of experiences and lessons that I’m glad I had during my first competition and not further down the line (hopefully!).’

November 1, 2014

Dave Kent Continues to Push Greater Depths

Dave Kent 73m National Record in CNF

Earning himself a New 73m National Record in CNF – Read the story in Dave’s own words Saturday 11 October 2014 – On 6th October 2014, Dave Kent beat his previous Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) national record, by diving to 73m at the Little Blue Hole competition in Dahab. In fact he had already broken his own national record a week earlier by 1m. Dave’s previous national record, from 27 July last year, stood at 70m (again at a Little Blue Hole competition). Dave was kind enough to give us here at the British Freediving Association (BFA), a report on his recent national records:

I came out to Dahab on the 20th August with not the greatest preparation, as 1 week earlier I cracked my head open which required 3 stitches. I had these removed the day before my flight.

I planned on 10 training days, spread over two and a half weeks, ending with my record comp on the 6th; however there was a competition happening at the end of my first week which I used as a warm up. In hindsight, I wish I had announced much deeper for this dive. The competition date was 30th August. I announced 71m, as I just wanted to get a white card. The dive though was by far the easiest competition dive off my life. Completed in 2 minutes and 28 seconds, very comfortably. Unfortunately in the time between this dive and my next competition on the 6th September, I caught a touch of the ‘Dahab Bug’ which clearly affected my final announced performance (AP), this being 73m. The dive was still quick, 02:35, though I had clearly lost a bit of strength that week, and it showed during the dive.

What I am most pleased about now though is how quickly I can get to these depths coming from the UK. Within 4 days of arriving I was comfortably back in 70m territory. I attribute this to three things: My dry strength and conditioning training programme; the weekly use I have of a 4m dive pit with my local scuba club Sovereign Aquatrek (www.sovereignaquatrek.co.uk); and the equalisation dry training programme that I have developed having worked over the last 12 months with the likes of Jonny Sunnex; Andrea Zuccari and Aharon Solomon. What used to be the weakest part of my dive is now my strongest. For both dives I set my alarm at 21m to charge the mouth-fill, and this took me comfortably to the plate each time.

I feel very confident about a competition doing an 80m plus CNF dive in 2015.

I also need to thank my good friend and coach when I am in Dahab, Brian Crossland, for amending the finer points in my technique, and the calmness he brings every time I hook on the line.

Finally a huge congrats to British Freediving. Seriously, there have been some amazing achievements over the last 12 months, pool and depth. I don’t see many of you very often, and some I haven’t met at all, but to all concerned a huge well done.

The BFA would like to congratulate Dave on his continued success and dedication to the sport of freediving and to British freediving, your support is very much appreciated and valued.

October 12, 2014

Team GB at 9th AIDA Team World Championships

Sponsored by Elios Sub, Prawno Apparel, Beet-it and Bounce Foods

Sunday 12 October 2014; — From the 16th to 27th September, the ninth AIDA Team World Championships took place in the Gulf of Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia, organised by Blue World Apnea School (www.blueworldchamp.it).

This year the UK was represented by a team of 3 men and 3 women: Georgina Miller, Liv Philip, Beci Ryan, Mike Board, Tim Money and Adam Drzazga. Jay Cluskey acted as a fantastically organized and supportive coach to all the athletes; attending the daily Event Committee meetings, keeping everyone up to date with competition news and ensuring people had what they needed throughout.

The team had fantastic sponsors in the form of Elios Sub (www.eliossub.com), Prawno Apparel (www.prawnoapparel.co.uk), Beet-it (www.beet-it.com), and Bounce Energy Balls (www.bouncefoods.com).

Team events takes place every other year (alternating with the individual events), and as one of the UK team put it this year, the team event is a very different kind of beast! Being a member of the team requires thought and work both before and during the event – tactics and intentions need to be discussed openly and honestly, for example are individuals aiming for personal bests (therefore increasing the risks of a yellow or red card), or are they open about working together, setting aside their own goals and potentially pulling back their performances in the hope of gaining a place on the podium?

Because of rough weather at sea, the competition started with Static (STA). Ordinarily Constant Weight (CWT) is the first event, followed by STA and ending with Dynamic (DYN). The change in order put everyone on their toes, the athletes because they thought they had plenty of time to practice STA in between the other disciplines and the Organiser because it was uncertain when the CWT would fit in, if at all.

On the evening before the announcements for STA, the team sat down together. Each person was given a chance to talk about their expectations and aspirations of the event; by the end it was agreed that athletes be given the freedom to go out and do own best performance under their own judgment. The idea was to then reconvene after the first performance day had finished and re-evaluate the situation accordingly.

It was a real mixed day for both UK teams as everyone did valiant performances, with some huge holds. Michael Board held his breath for 07:01, Tim Money for 05:55 and Liv Philip and Beci Ryan did competition personal bests (PB) of 06:05 and 04:58 respectively. Georgina Miller did a massive hold of 06:30, however the surface protocol (SP) stood in her way for a very minor error. Adam Drzazga did a brave hold of 07:15 but he too lost out to the SP. I think it’s important to say that both athletes had the full support of their teams for their fantastic efforts.

There is a silver lining in receiving a red card for the teams, in that it allows athletes the option of going all out for personal glory for the rest of the competition. The Brits were not the only team to receive red cards, five other countries also got them – the Italian team got two, both in women’s team for the touch rule (it is forbidden for an athlete to be touched by anyone upon surfacing), which is especially bitter as both athletes did clean performances and nothing wrong, it’s rather like the home goal rule in football.

Next up was CWT and the competition day saw near perfect conditions in the beautiful blue waters of Sardinia. The harbour, a short walk from the hotel, had a host of speedboats scheduled to ferry the athletes to and from the dive site where two competition lines were setup to ensure a slick and speedy day of diving. The competition started with the deepest divers and ended with the shallowest and second up to dive that morning was Michael Board who went down to 95m; Tim Money did a solid swim to 61m and Adam went to 55m and came back with a PB. Liv swam an impressive 70m, another PB for her in the competition, Georgina swam with ease to 50m and Beci to 40m. Everyone received white cards and there were smiles all round.

The third and final competition day was reserved for DYN. This is always an exciting discipline to end on and is often when the goal posts for podium places change, this World Championships was no different. Usually if a team receives a red card at any point in the competition they forfeit the chance of a medal, yet the Russian Men’s team proved an exception to the rule by taking home gold! The UK men’s team put in fantastic efforts with Michael pulling out a big 201m swim, Tim Money a PB of 176m and Adam Drzazga 175m, which is a long way to swim and a lot of turns in a 25m pool! Georgina Miller swam a comfortable and easy 126m, but both Liv and Beci were not so lucky and got red cards. Beci Ryan received her first red card in competition, she swam 168m, which is a big distance, but failed with her recovery breathing upon surfacing.

Overall everyone walked away deservedly pleased with their performances. New boundaries were discovered, lessons learned and training and freediving relationships cemented.

Competition season is not over yet for this year, in fact we are pleased to announce that there are two pool competitions happening in the UK next month: the Apnea Revolution Cup BFA Pool competition (www.apnearevolution.com), in London on Saturday 1st November and the 3rd BFA Madchester Classic (www.freedivingcompetition.com), in Stockport on Saturday 29th. Both competitions have benefited from the BFA’s newly introduced Pool Grant aimed at promoting freediving in the UK.

September 10, 2014

Liv Philip Wins 2014 Euro Cup

Michael Board and Georgina Miller take 2nd Places

Liv Philips wins AIDA Freediving World Cup Curcuit 2014 Georgina Miller 2nd place AIDA Freediving World Cup Curcuit 2014 Mike Board 2nd place AIDA Freediving World Cup Curcuit 2014
Picture Credit: Daan Verhoeven (www.daanverhoeven.com)

10 Sept 2014; — Liv Philip wins the 2014 Freediving Cup Circuit and AIDA Euro Cup!

Liv Philip has done it again and taken first place at the AIDA Euro Cup in Kalamata, with strong, confident dives across all the competition depth disciplines and even managing to pop in a personal best at the end with a big Constant Weight (CWT) swim of 67m, showing that Liv has not yet reached her limit.

For those who are not familiar with the freediving depth disciplines, CWT is when a freediver swims down a rope, to a pre-agreed depth with the use of a monofin, without pulling on the rope and without changing weight.

British athletes Georgina Miller and Michael Board took second place on the podium for the women and men. George competed in all of the depth disciplines, even putting in a competition personal best to 51m in CWT. Mike Board is on form with dives in the 90’s in CWT, one to an impressive 95m. With the World Championships in Sardinia a mere week away, and Liv, Mike and Georgina making up half of the team, these are exciting times for the British athletes!

August 27, 2014

Liv Philip Wins 7th Mediterranean Freediving World Cup!

Liv Philip Wins 7th Mediterranean Freediving World Cup
Picture Credit: Nicholas Kouvaras

Liv Philip (www.livphilip.com), swooped into Crete to win the 7th Mediterranean World Cup (www.freediving-club.gr), hosted by Stavros Kastrinakis!

Due to a tight work schedule, Liv only came out for one week and did just a couple of training dives before the competition proper. Despite these disadvantages and it being so early in the season, Liv, who only had one opportunity to perform each of the three disciplines, did three solid dives with the necessary white cards to win: CWT 55m, FIM 50m, CNF 40m.

Liv gave thanks to the organiser, judges, doctor and safety divers, and said it was very special to have sometime in the sea, because of financial limitations and commitments at home, I have had very little time in the water this year, especially compared to many of the other athletes, so I really felt very happy and humbled by being in the ocean again’. Liv is in her element in any type of water, but she has a particular affinity with the sea and with the depth season just beginning these are exciting times for the British Champion, boding well for the coming months.

With 5 competition days on offer (and the possibility of 2 weeks prior training), athletes could compete in the 3 depth disciplines (constant weight, constant weight no fins, free immersion). To win the competition trophy, athletes had to attempt at least one dive in each of the 3 disciplines, and the winners of the Med Cup are the freedivers – man and woman with the highest total score in the three depths disciplines.

A total of 25 freedivers from 13 Nations attended the event for shorter of longer stays and aiming to train, and compete for the title of the 7th Mediterranean World Cup. Other British athletes included Tim Money who came fourth out of the men for the depth competition, missing out on third place by a single point, also there were David Tranfield, Chris Crawshaw and Beci Ryan.

The Med Cup is now in it’s 7th year and going strong. Stavros Kastrinakis has created a wonderful environment for the athletes, with some great accommodation catering for individuals, couples, groups and even freediving families (www.kastromyrtos.gr), just a stones throw from the harbour where the boat departs each morning and a short walk from the tiny village with its delicious bakery, local shops and restaurants.

August 24, 2014

Introducing the 2014 UK Team, Proud to be sponsored by Elios Sub, Beet-it & Bounce Energy Balls

24.08.14; — The BFA are delighted to introduce the UK Team for the 2014 AIDA Team World Championship in Sardinia (www.blueworldchamp.it, which will run from 16th to 27th September, in the Gulf of Cagliari. The team comprises of 7 athletes: Liv Philip, Georgina Miller, Beci Ryan, Mike Board (Captain), Tim Money, Adam Drzazga and Jay Cluskey (reserve). All of our athletes are self-funded, and we are pleased to announce some fantastic sponsors for this year’s World Championships, helping them to perform to their full potential:
Elios Sub (www.eliossub.com) was established in 1977 and prides itself on its continuous innovation, evolution, improvement and refinement of comfort in its suits. Elios have sponsored the British Team for a number of years and many British Freedivers wear their suits across the UK because of the quality and feel of materials used. We are extremely proud that Elios have offered sponsorship to our UK Team for this year’s World Championships.
Prawno Apparel(www.prawnoapparel.co.uk) makes thoughtfully designed clothing for divers, freedivers and water sports enthusiasts. Underwater photographer Lia Barrett creates each design by pulling imagery directly from her underwater shots. Discreetly placed within each design are the location and depth at which the subject was photographed. The Freediver design used for the new BFA Team clothing features Caribbean reef sharks and Elisabeth Mattes, Austrian national freediver, both photographed off Roatan, Honduras, printed onto t-shirts and hoodies made from partially recycled fabrics.
Beet-it (www.beet-it.com) uses 100% natural ingredients and the Beet-it Sport shot juice drink delivers a dose of 0.4g dietary nitrates per shot. The beetroot juice shots are now the preferred delivery method used by research teams to boost nitric oxide (NO) levels in the blood. Nutrition is extremely important to freedivers and we are excited to see how the Beet-it Sports range of drinks and bars, boost and prepare our bodies before an apnea session.
Bounce Energy Balls (www.bouncefoods.com) are an amazingly convenient and are a tasty way to nourish your body, satisfy your hunger and sustain your energy. Bounce Energy Balls are a special combination of high quality proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and essential fats. After a freediving session, recovery is of great importance and the Bounce Energy Balls have all the necessary ingredients to help our athletes do so.

And now to meet the Team GB! Keep up to date with the team on our Facebook page by joining as a member:
	Tim Money Tim thinks freediving makes the world go round, however his non-freediver friends refer to it as “hold your breath club”! He has been diving for a few years now and first represented the UK in 2006. Since then he has dived all over the place, and one of his favorites has to be Honaunau Bay, Hawaii. Imagine heading out for a dive, walking over the black lava rock beach, getting into the water with a turtle swimming in the coral reef, and then heading out to the deep past a few spinner dolphins to the dive line! He loves any events in freediving, and really enjoys the competitions as you spend a day, weekend or week in the pool, lake, sea or other country with loads of other people who are excited about the same stuff you are! Tim is very grateful to his employer, Saba Software (www.saba.com), for sponsoring him and enabling him to have the time to represent the UK in Sardinia.
	Mike Board (Team Captain) Mike is a 7 times National Record holder for team Great Britain, an SSI Freediving Instructor Trainer, and a former Royal Marine Commando. Mike has a strong background in teaching, as a freediver he is an SSI Instructor Trainer and an Apnea Total Master Instructor, but he is also a TDI Technical Diving Instructor and a PADI OW scuba instructor. He has a strong physical approach to his own training, however through Freediving he has discovered that equally important is the balance achieved through activities such as yoga and gaining greater self-awareness and mental focus. Both approaches feature strongly in his teaching style. Mike has dived to 102m in the Constant Weight with Fins (CWF) discipline, has set seven British National records, and is the current British record holder for CWT at 102m and for Free Immersion (FIM) at 96m. He was also a member of the British Freediving Team for the 2011 World Freediving Depth Championships. Mike lives in Indonesia, on the island of Gili Trawangan, where he teaches freediving courses and training (www.freedivegili.com).
	Adam Drzazga Adam is an Aida Instructor, Judge and Chairman of the British Freediving Association. He has represented the UK at the World Championships in Belgrade last year and has participated at other international freediving events. He greatly enjoys the recreational side of freediving, diving on shallow reefs and the simple pleasure of being in the water. Adam started freediving as a spearo in the Caribbean Island of Jamaica, where he discovered the beauty of the underwater world. After running a spearfishing school for a few years in the UK, he then decided to enter into and concentrate on the pure discipline of Freediving. Freediving changed his life, giving him the right input to discover and enjoy life in a whole new way, through the many amazing techniques and experiences. Adam runs a club called Blue Water Freediving (www.bluewater-freediving.co.uk).
	Jay Cluskey (Reserve) Jay has been freediving for many years and is currently training to be an instructor. He runs a club session in the City of Liverpool for Apneists UK (www.freedivingcompetition.com). Jay has always been drawn to the sea and freediving has simply allowed him to grasp what he loves about it. He enjoys the competitive side of Freediving and likes to see people come out of their ‘freediving shells’ and pull out big performances. He also relishes the camaraderie and support of his teammates and fellow competitors alike, there is in his opinion, no sport like it. This will be the second time Jay has represented the UK. He is a ‘pool rat’, ‘depth junkie’ and ‘spearo’ all in one. Jay works on the British Freediving Association committee, dedicating his time to supporting and promoting freediving in the UK.
	Georgina Miller George has always been interested in the underwater world. She learned to scuba dive in 1998, and is a PADI MSDT instructor since 2005. She has been freediving since 2007 and is an SSI freediving instructor. George is a 5 times British National record holder, currently holding the women’s record of 06:27 in static apnea and competes for the UK; she has been part of the UK team since 2007. She has trained all over the world, including the famous Deans blue hole. George has a strong background in yoga and swimming and believes that mental focus and self-awareness is a crucial part of freediving, but most importantly it has to be fun. Above all freediving is a passion for her and a fantastic community to be a part of. She has recently set up a club called Aquacity Freediving (www.aquacityfreediving.com) along with her partner, photographer Daan Verhoeven. George has also been a committee member of the British Freediving Association as Clubs Officer since 2011, to help to share her love of the sport.
	Liv Philip Liv has represented Great Britain at 7 World Championships. In 2013 she won a bronze medal at the AIDA Individual depth World Championships in her favourite discipline Constant No Fins (CNF). In 2010 she was the World Absolute Freediving Champion with the highest combined international ranking and has been the UK Champion 7 times. This year she was awarded for outstanding contributions to British Freediving. Liv runs the UK’s longest running freediving club London Freediving (www.londonfreediving.org), as well as her own businesses in landscaping and in Freediving Teaching and Coaching (www.livphilip.com). She has body doubled for Halle Berry and taught numerous stars including TV personalities Ant & Dec. As Training and Safety Officer for the British Freediving Association, Liv helps to promote safer freediving in the UK. Based in London, she has collaborated on many arts projects and has recently completed her first soon to be released short film ‘A Place Below’. Liv says ‘over the years freediving has given me a great deal of pleasure and allowed me to meet some wonderful people. I look forward to this 2014 Great Britain Women’s Team pulling together to produce some really solid competitive performances at the Team World Championship in Sardinia in September’.
	Beci Ryan Beci got into freediving after scuba diving in Thailand in 2012 and was blown away. She came back to the UK wanting to continue her underwater adventures but without all the heavy equipment and found a club in Richmond called London Freediving (www.londonfreediving.org) where she was introduced to an exciting yet tranquil, silent, underwater world, falling in love instantly. That same year she joined the UK Team to compete at the World Championships in Nice, France, her very first competition. Because of the support and encouragement of her fellow teammates and club, she has continued competing and playing under the water. This year Beci came third in the women at the pool National Championships, more commonly and affectionately referred to as the Great Northern (www.freedivingcompetition.com).
Would you like to sponsor the UK Team? If so please visit our website for more information, or contact our Sponsorship Officer Jay Cluskey: sponsorship@britishfreediving.org

November 22, 2013

Michael Board’s journey to 100 meters under the Sea. First Briton to 100m in the discipline of Constant Weight

Earlier this month Michael Board competed at the annual Vertical Blue (VB) competition held at Dean’s Blue hole in the Bahamas, where he became the first Briton to dive, in competition, to over a 100 meters in the discipline of constant weight (CWT).

Picture Credit: Daan Verhoeven

The VB is extremely popular worldwide with freediving athletes and always attracts those at the very top of their game. The attraction of this competition is not just down to its stunning setting, but also because of the meticulous organisation, brilliant safety divers and experienced AIDA judges.

From the start there was a huge amount of pressure on Mike’s shoulders from both himself and other people. All eyes were on him to see if he could make it down to that golden 100 meter mark. All he had to do was swim down vertically, the length of the marked rope, with the aid of his monofin, pick up a tag attached to the bottom plate, and swim back, complete his surface protocol and hey presto, National Record. But of course it is not that simple and a CWT dive to 100 meters is no mean feat. For a start, the dive is done on one breath, lasting approximately 3 minutes; add to that the huge exertion of pressure on the body which builds at depth and the water temperature which gets colder through the thermo cline and then the fading light into darkness. Experience is vital and key.

In Mike’s words “it was a good competition in the end even though I had a shaky start. After my initial attempt at 100 meters CWT on Day 1, where I blacked out on the surface for a few seconds at the end of my dive, all of my other dives were solid with clean surface protocols and no signs of hypoxia, so it really does look like the pressure of the first dive of the competition and the weight of my own and lot of other peoples expectations just got to me. I actually tested my heart rate on the beach before my dive and it was 10-15 beats higher than my normal resting rate, so definitely some pre-dive jitters!”

Being an experienced diver, Mike planned his dives over the next few days with thought and care. His second dive in Free Immersion (FIM) was to a deliberately low (for him), 91 meters. This ensured a relatively easy dive where he felt relaxed and strong, giving him confidence going in to the next 100 meter attempt. There was the added bonus of setting a new National Record in the discipline, adding 8 meters onto his previous record of 83 meters back in 2011.

During the course of the competition, Board deliberately swapped between FIM and CWT to give maximum rest time for his legs between big dives. Going into the 100 meter record attempt on the 13th November, his second go at it this competition, he felt that strength and confidence as hoped. Board says “I pulled off a really nice dive that only took 2 minutes and 54 seconds. I had finally cracked some equalization issues which had plagued me since my first attempt at the 100 meters the year before and which caused me to rupture my ear drum in Greece just 9 weeks ago at the World Championships.” Mike was now on strong form and with equalization to spare at the bottom plate and clean surface protocols he says “I was excited to see how far I could push it. Still I rested my legs for the next dive and chose to do a FIM on the 15th November with a dive to 96 meters in 3 minutes 32 seconds, another National Record.”

Picture Credit: Daan Verhoeven

With the pressure now gone on the remaining two dives, Board decided to do them just for fun. On the 17th November he decided to announce only a 2 meter increase for his next dive and go for 102 meters CWT, “as I was keen to continue coming up clean on the surface rather than just making it. I completed the dive in 3 minutes 1 second and it felt strong, and I again felt I had more in me, which is a good way to feel after a dive!”

However, Mike’s joy at having achieved the dive was short lived. He told me “I stayed in the water to watch Nick Mevoli’s dive and cheer him on and by now everyone knows what unfolded. So it has been a real journey this year with some significant setbacks and injuries, some real lows as well as the recent highs, but I could not have hoped for a better end to my season in terms of personal achievements, but of course it has been tragic end of the season for freediving in general.”

Nick Mevoli lost his life at the end of a competition dive on the 17th November at the Vertical Blue. Nick, an America freediver, was a silver medallist at the 2013 World Championships and Constant Weight National Record holder; he was well known and loved by many of his fellow athletes. The cause of his death is under investigation.

September 30, 2013

British Team Fly the Flag at the Freediving Depth World Championships in Greece & Liv Philip brings home a Medal!

Sunday 29th September 2013; — Between the 15th and 22nd September the AIDA Individual Depth World Championship took place in the deep waters of the bay of Kalamata, Greece. Around 150 athletes from more than 30 nations took part to challenge themselves and compete for the deepest dive in Constant No Fins (CNF), Constant Weight (CWT), and Free Immersion (FIM). Each discipline stood alone and encouraged specialists in each area to excel.

Great Britain was represented by a team of 10 divers, many of whom have sprung from the busy freediving clubs around the UK. The first competition day was CNF, and athletes awoke early to find a cloudy, chilly day in contrast to the sunshine of previous days. Competition was scheduled to run from deep to shallow for safety reasons allowing the deeper dives to commence early, when conditions are generally better. After a fast transfer boat five minutes from shore, athletes arrived at their allotted time to prepare for their dive in a fantastic set-up provided by Stavros Kastrinakis the Organiser. An incredible crew of safety divers watched over the divers on the warm-up lines, towed them to floating dry areas to relax, and onto one of three competition lines which were manned by teams of AIDA International judges.

The surface water temperature had dropped by two degrees from previous days and was dark and shadowy because the sun was hidden by thick cloud. This did not deter the Brits however as although many of the team had spent some months training in Dahab, a large number had travelled direct from the UK having had limited training in the cold quarries back home. Two such athletes represented Team GB in the challenging CNF event. John Moorcroft completing a valiant 61m dive to be disappointed by a DQ for an unfortunate pull on the line which the rules do not allow in this event. Liv Philip, a London based athlete decided to go for a tactical depth with a dive to 50m: ‘I knew this would be a challenging but safe dive and I had to factor in such things as conditions, and the water had been getting colder by the day’ Liv explained. This paid off as Liv surfaced from a strong dive to get a white card from Californian judge Grant Graves. She beat competitors from Russia and Japan to bring home her first bronze medal from a World Championship. Liv said ‘I’m really happy, getting the medal gives a nod of recognition for all the hard work and dedication of all the UK self funded freedivers, plus I really like bling!’. Natalia Molchanova did it again setting a new World record and winning gold with a dive of 69m, and Morgan Bourchis of France did a beautiful 87m dive to take gold in the men’s competition.

After two days allowing athletes to rest and train, the tension of CWT day built as the announced performances were published. Two men, Dave Mullins (NZ) and Alexey Molchanov (RUS) announced World records of 128m adding to the excitement. The sun came out and the conditions started off calm, but slowly conditions got bumpy, testing the athletes who could best deal with the nature of this ocean competition. There were good dives from London freedivers Gary McGrath 67m, Liv Philip 62m, and Georgina Miller 47m and from John Moorcroft who put a fin on to dive 67m for the northern contingent. The Biritsh divers held their own in rough seas and showed great strength of character. The British athletes were keen to point out that their much liked team mate Mike Board, who looked on-form to be the first British man to 100m in CWT ‘is really strong and we know he will be back to do it next time” after he suffered an ear injury during the pre-comp. The CWT was won by Alexey who set a new World record, and his mum the Russian grandmother, proved unbeatable yet again in the women’s category!

By the final day, many of the athletes nerves had subsided, and the ocean rewarded them by giving them perfect conditions to take part in the final discipline of Free Immersion. Gary McGrath had a beautiful dive to 70m bringing him a white card, an excellent 10th place and a wonderful days diving to remember. John Moorcroft dived to 61m showing what a strong all round athlete he is by completing all three disciplines. Newcomers Richard Bevan and Louisa Collyns both dived to 56m and Chris Laycock to 36m with excellent results in their first World Championship. Liv Philip completed her run of white cards with a PB of 66m bringing her into 7th place in this discipline. The gold medals were taken by William Trubridge and Natalia Molchanova.

All that was left to do was to thank the organisers, judges and safety team, collect the medals and PARTY down on the beach until the small hours under the shadow of the Kalamata mountains and next to the big blue sea that had kept all the divers safe throughout their dives!

The BFA would like to congratulate all the Freedivers who took part and entering into the spirit of this fantastic bi-annual event. We hope they all enjoyed the experience and have a greater understanding of the sea as a result. We would also like to thank Elios wetsuits on behalf of the British Freediving Team for their support (http://www.eliossub.com/index.php/en/).

Full results can be found on the British Freediving Association Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfreediving/).