The Madchester Challenge Competition 2013, Hosted by Apneists UK. – by Rebecca Ryan

Saturday 11th May was the Madchester Challenge Competition, hosted by Apneists UK. Compared to the annual Great Northern International Pool Championship, also run by Steve Millard of Apneists UK, it was a small competition, but what it lacked in size it made up for in atmosphere and personality and attracted athletes from all over the UK. The whole day had a very relaxed and almost informal feel to it.

The idea of the competition was that the athlete choose one discipline to compete in and the highest point score won, simple (there was an opportunity for people to choose a second discipline if they wished to do so as well). No prizes were up for grabs just Northern love – this was a competition done for the chance to compete and for the sheer fun of it.

The winner of the day was John Moorcroft, an Instructor for Apneists UK ( www.freedivers.co.uk ) and UK Team member, who did a very comfortable and impressive 154 meter DNF swim. John used to hold the DNF record and by his own admission had not done a huge amount of training, making the swim that much more impressive! Coming first out of the Women was Georgina Miller of London Freediving, another UK Team member and National Record Holder who completed a huge static of 6 minutes 15 seconds. George then went on to do a big 104 meter DNF swim, finishing off her day in style. It was great to see George do so well, especially after a freak accident with her toe, which prevented her from competing just moments before her starting time at the Great Northern International earlier in the year.

There were many other notable performances, some from seasoned athletes and some from brand new divers. Please see here for details of performances: Madchester Challenge (the link is here )

The pool was provided by Wright Robinson College and as you would expect with Apneists UK, there was a strong team on hand ensuring the smooth running of the day. We had a fantastic crew of safety divers swimming around looking after the athletes, wonderful judges Mandy Buckley and Gary Lowe watching the Official Tops, as well as photographers and other volunteers. Well done to Steve Millard and Apneists UK for pulling another competition out of the bag and providing athletes across the country to gather, compete, and generally have a lot of fun!

Go Freediving Summer Party – 7th July 2013

Go Freediving are delighted to announce the date of their summer party to be held on Sunday 7th July 2013.

The morning will be spent at the pool with a static and dynamic session and the chance to try the amazing carbon fins from Fins4U. In the afternoon you’ll be at Vobster to try the whole range of incredible DPVs from www.suex-store.co.uk and to take part in our underwater treasure hunt to win top prizes! There’s also a BBQ at the end of the day and more fun stuff to be announced soon!

To find out more please visit www.gofreediving.co.uk/GoFreediving/Club.html or contact Emma Farrell at

The London Freediving scene is growing in momentum.

London Freedivers in general have been left a bit high and dry recently with all of the refurbishments of the pools in the area preparing for the 2012 Olympics. The good news though is that things are already turning around and even more good news is on the horizon. A few pool sessions are being opened up so that the Freedivers who have lost their pools can camp out for a bit in their neighbours pools.

Crystal freedivers are open again! This club was the flagship of UK pool training and is opening its doors in the newly refurbished Crystal Palace National Sports centre. There are details on the clubs page on how to contact them for further details. This represents not only a boost for our athletes preparing for the 2010 World championships as they are all invited to train there but also demonstrates the acceptance of UK Freediving as a sport in the UK with our athletes training alongside the potential Olympians in the National Sports Centre. Thank you for their kind support!!

London Freedivers (the group formerly known as Richmond Freedivers) due to successful membership this year have extended their pool session to include more lanes for training. They are after boosting their membership to fill the extra space so please get in touch. These facilities are open to New Freedivers right the way up to UK squad members, training is given.

Kentish town will be re-opening their doors sometime in February, please keep an eye on the clubs page for more news.

Details of the clubs can be found here and if you have any questions regarding the clubs page please contact our clubs officer by clicking here.