Tag: kalamata

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British freedive team perform at the World Championships in Kalamata, Greece

Carl Atkinson - Static at the 2016 AIDA World Championships, KalamataAdam Drzazga - Constant Weight at the 2016 AIDA World Championships, Kalamata
Georgina Miller - Dynamic at the 2016 AIDA World Championships, KalamataTim Money - Static at the 2016 AIDA World Championships, Kalamata

British divers Adam Drzazga, Tim Money and Carl Atkinson, with Adam Mustoe in reserve, formed the men’s team, finishing in 8th place behind winners Czech Republic, second place France and third place Russia.

Georgina Miller and Beci Ryan formed the women’s team, however Beci was unfortunately injured in training and didn’t compete, however she became a valuable team coach and assisted the organisers. Well experienced at top-level competition, Georgina gave three impressive performances including a new personal record in dynamic on the final day.

These World Championships are a team event, and everyone needs to work together to get a good result. The men’s team discussed a strategy and aimed at good, but not reckless, announcements in their depth dives (known as constant weight). Carl Atkinson, at his first World Championships, dived to 80m and Tim Money to 63m. Adam Drzazga reached 55m but unfortunately got a red card due to a technicality. Georgina Miller reached 51m.

This added some pressure on the men to “go big” in the next event, static apnea, which was Adam’s strongest and the team decided to be more aggressive with his performance to try and claw back some points. Carl achieved 4:57, Tim 5:47 and Georgina 6:31 which put her in 4th place for static amongst the ladies. Unfortunately, the men’s team strategy didn’t work, and resulted in a disqualification for Adam, so the team regrouped and ended in the final event dynamics with strong performances and white cards across both teams – 167m for Tim, 141m for Georgina, 130m for Carl and 123m for Adam.

Despite some setbacks, the British team enjoyed the calm, relaxed and inspirational atmosphere at the event. The race for gold in both sexes gave a nail-biting finish. The Japanese women’s team all pushed themselves to personal records to win gold, followed by the Czech Republic in second and Russia in third. Martin Valenta (CZE) swam 250m dynamic to ensure his men’s team won.

The British freediving team was kindly sponsored by Elios, DiveSangha, Saltfree divers and Orbiloc dive lights.

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The BFA are delighted to introduce the UK Team for the 2016 AIDA Team World Championships!

elios Divesangha Salt Free Orbiloc

The 2016 AIDA Team World Championship in Kalamata (www.aidaworldchampionships.com), which will run from 17th to 25th September, in Kalamata, Greece.

The team comprises of 6 athletes: Georgina Miller, Beci Ryan, Carl Atkinson, Adam Drzazga, Tim Money and Adam Mustoe.

Athletes will compete in 3 disciplines, Static, Dynamic (both pool) and Constant Weight (depth) to achieve best possible combined point score. BFA is confident the team will perform to the best of their abilities and we wish them well.

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), established in 1977, prides itself on its continuous innovation, evolution, improvement and refinement of comfort in its suits. Elios are a loyal sponsor of the British Team and many British Freedivers wear their suits across the UK because of the quality and feel of materials used. Team GB wear their suits with pride and are grateful for Elios’ continued support.

Divesangha (www.divesangha.com), manufacture ethically and locally, trade fairly, design wisely and consume responsibly. Their latest collection is made using ECONYL (a yarn that comes from 100% regenerated nylon from fish nets and other waste material). Motivated by passion, uniqueness, innovation and a love for the sea. This is the second year Divesangha have sponsored the Freediving Team and this year they invited the team to have a say in the design!

Saltfree (www.saltfree.biz), based at the NDAC, Chepstow, is a freedive school and training facility with the largest purpose-built freedive platform in the world, offering four training lines over 80mof water. Founded in 2003, SaltFree offer courses from beginner to instructor level and run regular training meets for qualified freedivers. Visit www.saltfreedivers.com to find out more! Saltfree have generously supported our Freediving Team GB over the years with their fantastic set-up and facilities.

Orbiloc Dual Safety Light (www.orbiloc.com), is a Danish-made high quality lightweight LED safety light that helps to maintain visibility in low light conditions, particularly when freedivng away from the line. They are low profile, easy to wear and very powerful underwater. Waterproof to 100 meters (IPX8 certificate), extremely resistant to impact (can withstand a pressure of 100 kg), with a 3-year warranty. The light comes in 5 different colours (red, white, blue, green and yellow), in 3 models and with 2 operating modes (steady-on and flashing). The base of the light is the same, but the attachment differs between the models with either an arm strap or a clip that fits a weight belt.

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UK Team Selection for the 2016 AIDA Team World Championships!

Applications for the UK Team for 2016 AIDA Team World Championships in Kalamata are now open!

AIDA Team World Championships, Kalamata, Greece, 16th September – 25th September 2016

Applications for the UK Team for 2016 AIDA Team World Championships in Kalamata are now open!

UK Team Selection
The competition will take place from 16th to 25th September 2016 and will include Dynamic with fins (DYN), Constant Weight (CWT) and Static apnea (STA).

We hope to send a team of 3 men and 3 women, plus up to 2 additional athletes of each gender as substitutes 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 9th May 2016. 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.)

Application
If you are interested in competing for the UK in Greece, please let us know by 9th May. Please send an email to competitions@britishfreediving.org listing your highest AIDA ranked performances since November 9th 2014 in Dynamic with fins (DYN), Constant Weight (CWT) and Static apnea (STA) 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 Greece 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.

Availability and costs
If you make the decision to apply for the 2016 Team, you need to be available in Greece for the dates above.

The BFA will be doing all it can to gather sponsorship and logistical support for the 2016 team. However, you also need to be sure you can afford your flights and expenses and the entry fee of 240 Euros and accommodation costs.

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