Competitor Decline

[laminar]

In Vancouver, competitor decline has been an issue for many years. I would say that competitors have been declining since the 2000-2001 heyday and especially after the 2004 Worlds, when everyone was burnt out from organizing and volunteering at that event. Kind of funny how that works, isn't it?

In my opinion, the main reason why decline happens, is that most people have a competitive introduction to freediving that ends up excluding recreational freediving by default. Perhaps it's not the intention of those
doing the introducing, but I've seen the low retention numbers over the years in Vancouver and across Canada coming out of programs that have competition as their goal.

A big reason for that decline is that competition is hard to consider as fun. Sure, it's great to set a personal best, if you haven't reached your limit, but eventually you do. Mostly, competitions are fun when they are over, when you can talk with others, meet new people and watch the other events. That should be saying something.

Competitions in their current form, at least on this side of the pond, violate so many unspoken rules of promotion that it's almost silly. Training for competitions is even less fun, but it does appeal to certain people all the time or some people for very short brief periods.

1. Newbie vs. Pro: There are no sports that I can think of where newbies are competing in the same arena as pros. In Olympic distance triathlons, the age group athletes are sent in waves long after the pros blast away, letting them focus on their own performance level. And of course, there are sprint triathlons held uniquely for beginners, women-only events, kid events, etc... Masters swimming also successfully keeps things appealing by seeding times and holding races by age group. We don't do that in freediving competitions.

2. Competitions are all about the end result, not about the process. Freediving needs a different outlet (I have been working on an idea, which I'll share in a later post). It would be better if diving in the competitive arena was more than just about the max depth/distance/time. This more than anything explains the burn out and decline, especially for those who don't dive recreationally. Some are confident freedivers from the start and rattle off pbs in the first 1-2 years without too much effort, then things get harder and harder. It takes a special motivation and MONEY to continue. There are those still happy to do competition dives for the challenge of it, but find that organizing deep safety for training is an impossible task. So interest wanes and is diverted elsewhere. The other common case is the newbie who finds it more challenging to progress to so-called "competitive levels" in terms of results. So they find it unmotivating to participate in competitions where the safety freedivers can dive down to the same depth as their target, year after year. You can see how this could get discouraging, especially when there are so many other sports out there that are fun!

When the number or result becomes the focus of the athletic activity, it quickly becomes hollow. PBs get harder and harder to achieve. I would suggest that this kind of competition is most suited to elite athletes anyway who are motivated and have the money to keep up intense training. I think we too often mistake this pursuit as appealing to new freediving trying out the sport. It's not, because they aren't with us anymore.

3. One shot. I think another big flaw in current competition format, especially for local competitions, is that competitors only get one try in each event. I think for indoor competitions, this can easily be changed. All that training, suffering, all for 1-7 minutes of actual time performing the sport? I think it is especially disappointing for the newcomers. Often when I think of going to Europe or Egypt for a competition, I get excited, mostly about seeing old faces and meeting new ones. Then I think about all the training I'd need to do to qualify and how qualifying, in essence hangs on one dive at Nationals, and how once I get there, I get only one dive, one dynamic and one static. Seems like a waste of time, despite the cool people. Why not organize a trip, dive for 10 ten days, and have fun instead?!

The one shot also makes freediving unpleasantly competitive, IMHO. That's because everything counts so much on that one dive/static/dynamic, so there's no room for getting used to the competition format during the competition. No room for making adjustments or really listening to your body, your ear drums, your lungs... I'd love to see freediving adopt round robin or double elimination heats, simpler rules, and make it so that when you go to compete, you feel like you actually competed, got some experience, and some information on how your training is holding up. And that it was fun!

4. Cost. Freediving is an expensive sport to participate in compared to other sports. I was looking into entering a triathlon this fall in Vancouver. The Vancouver Triathlon. It costs $100 CAD to enter. And your entry fee buys you this:

1. Safe, secure professionally managed events
2. Events held in exclusive locations; from the splendor of Stanley Park to
seclusion of private akes in pristine communities
3. Finisher medals for all participants
4. Free pre-race ‘transition training’ seminars
5. Age group award medals (top 3 in each 5yr category)
6. Superb post-race meal included in your entry
7. Chip timing by Results Canada and official results posted within 24hrs
8. Customized race apparel (t-shirt)
9. Discounts on upgrade to technical shirt
10. City Police services at all major intersections
11. Traffic restrictions & road closures
12. Over $3000 in draw prizes per event
13. Incredible support from local sport/charity groups – they receive a portion of proceeds from each event
14. Sanctioning, technical support & insurance through the Alberta Triathlon Association and Triathlon British Columbia
15. Phenomenal post-race snacks
16. Bragging rights & annual stories to tell
17. The list goes on!

All that for $100! So some may argue that we aren't there yet, we don't have the money, blah, blah. Triathlon started out as a fringe sport, practiced by a couple of fitness nuts, and then along the way they found a way to explode the sport into the mainstream. Some people do indeed make a living as professional triathletes and at the same time, thousands are doing it for fun because the competition itself is fun and so is the after party.

Yes, it is expensive to stage a constant weight competition. But there are alternatives more interesting than JumpBlue!
All this to say that changes are needed. There are some good suggestions already in this thread. I'll add some later.

Pete

PS. Oh yeah. After Swimming Canada did so poorly at the last Olympics they realized that they had focused too much on competitive coaching in the developmental system. They found that inter-club fun competitions were the best way to foster a positive stimulus for developing kids and teenager athletes. Big surprise! Trying to motivate people to compete based on world record times and gold medals isn't effective. It's the love of a sport than makes people excel. There's more to this story, but freediving can learn from this, too.

[Jee]

Benny, I saw your DNf, it was really nice.
Serge, heard that, and I agree with it, we will talk about that tomorrow morning at the pool.

I totally agree wit hthe idea of taking part of a competition can be fun, and inspirating, and a good time, and a tough thing at one - it mostly depends on you.
Connecting the competition with some other programs as well - this is a very good idea. In Maribor the closing party was a super example for that.

In Hungary we organized 3 competition until now. With number of competitors they were about the same. Some competitors left, some are new, some are friends coming back each year. Now in Maribor I was asked several times, when we will do the 4th comp, and I'm very happy because of that . And yes, we will organize it. I hope, it will be a nice experience for the competitors.

I always encourage every newbie to participate on comeptition, regardless of their perfomance, just to make them possible to experience the atmosphere, the mood of it - they always liked it.

[Jon]

What about comparing the freediving comps to spearfishing competitions? These seem to still be going strong- although not quite a s strong as they might have been 30 years ago? I wonder if that's because you don't need to be able to dive to 70 meters and hold your breath for 7 minutes- just be, slightly, smarter than a fish?

Before people start throwing all kinds of bad karma my way, I must clarify that I am not picking on spearos, but that it seems like a much more approachable sport to compete in for the average Joe- or Jane.

From an interest standpoint I can always seem to rustle up someone to go spearfishing with in this area, but to try and find someone to actually train to hit some depth with is a near impossibility.

It would be really nice to have a core group of about 6 divers to train with on a bi-weekly basis to get deeper, but we have to drive to find enough depth, since we've bottomed out all the local lakes, and getting enough people who are interested to have the same time off just doesn't seem to happen.

Spearing, on the other hand, can happen on any given weekend and there's never a reason, around here, to ever dive deeper than about 30' to get a fish- deeper is often less productive than shallow so newbies can feel some success from the very first day.

Jon

[naiad]

Originally Posted by Jon

From an interest standpoint I can always seem to rustle up someone to go spearfishing with in this area, but to try and find someone to actually train to hit some depth with is a near impossibility.

I have found the same problem. I have been trying to find a dive buddy for a long time, but everyone lives too far away for me to travel, and formal training does not appeal to me. Also it would have to be somewhere with a rope, and it is impossible to find somewhere like that which is not full of other freedivers. (I don't mind other freedivers, just can't manage long surface intervals waiting my turn!)

The only time I managed to do this was in the SETT.

[Nikkey]

Hmm..thanks Pete I did not know if it had been a steady decline or not, I've only seen last years comps and this years. And I am interested in hearing your idea!

My introduction to freediving was recreational before competitions. I started out just playing in the ocean and clueless that there was an organization or competitions here. I basiclly just wanted to meet other people who enjoyed freediving.
I do think that too much focus on competition when people are just learning could turn them off if thats not the aspect they are interested in.
I also think that the rules are very overwhelming for a first time competitor. I have seen people give clean, great performance but then forget to do one of the steps and get disqualifed, a little discouraging I think.

That would be neat if competitions had a round robin/simpler rules element. Maybe people would be more interested in a mock competition or meet like that instead of Regionals or Nationals. It might add more fun and take some pressure off.
It would be great if competitions were cheaper but I am not sure how this could be done? I don't know if sponsors would find it very profitable when there arn't a lot of competitors and barely any spectators.

[Spaniard]

Like any other sport, freediving will attract 'competitive' athletes and those who just enjoy doing their own thing. I love hearing about new records being broken accross all disciplines but never feel the urge to compete. Perhaps freediving appeals more to the silent majority than to the few who can truly excel at a competitive level? I love spearfishing, nearly 30 years now, hated spearfishing competitions, go figure.....

[laminar]

Had a quick look at Tom Lightfoot's great CAFA database of competitions.

When looking at athletes with a national ranking, meaning they competed at Nationals, the pattern is almost as I had guessed:

13 athletes in 2000-01
12 in 2001-02
8 in 2002-03
13 in 2003-04 (Year of AIDA worlds in Vancouver)
9 in 2004-05
15 in 2005-06 (season of AIDA worlds in Egypt)

In 2006-07, there are 4 Canadians registered for nationals, one American so far. There are 7 Canadians regionally ranked athletes, + 4 from the USA.

But what is even more striking is the story of regional competitions in Vancouver:

Before 2004, most regional comps in May and Sept-Oct were fairly well attended, with usually more than 10 people competing. Sometimes it was in the mid-teens.

After 2004, the May comps declined and the Fall comps lost at least 50% in numbers. Regional comps in the west ranged between 3-5 competitors, including several from out of town. Not only that, after 2005, there were no more comps in the East, due to a lack of interest and volunteers and some difficulties with the location for constant weight.

Have a look at the competitors and it's the same usual die-hards.

This drop in numbers is despite the SFU program running since 2001(?) and over 100(?) divers who have been through it, PFI workshops in the West and East coast.

CAFA and its many volunteers over the years have put in many hours towards promoting the sport. But I would say that in terms of having vibrant and well-attended competitions, things haven't worked out the way many of us had hoped. I sat on the board for 2003 and experienced first hand the many problems that CAFA faced.

What is telling to me about the numbers, is that in the beginning there was hope that freediving in Canada would be recognized as a Sport Canada funded sport. Some freedivers were obviously hoping to do it for a living. Some of them figured it out anyway. But you need numbers and consistent participation for that to happen, among other things.

I guess my point is that despite all the effort, I think there are problems with the way the sport is conducted itself that makes it a hard sell, even for the most well meaning people. The points we've been talking about in this thread.

[laminar]

Jon,

Good point about the spearo comps. They probably are more fun in many ways.

This is not to say that sport freediving comps aren't fun. Not at all, but I think sometimes they are fun despite what the athletes do when they compete.

Pete

[amihov]

I have practice both and i can say that they are both fun . The problem whit free diving completions are they are too short and to much results oriented. There was a thing before back in Bulgaria witch was called under water orientation i can hardly remember because it was during the communism and i was a child but that was the first time when i saw people swimming under water whit monofins. That was around 20 years ago .My point is that if in this sport people add something other than time and distance it may become more attractive and then competition will be full of people.

[Sergiu]

Pete is totally right, the "one-shot" rule in today's competitions brings major stress to most of the competitors especially if you travelled around the globe and just got red booked because you own mistake or even a judging error.

A two-round per discipline system in which the better performance is taken into account would likely change strategies on how to compete but would also, i suspect, increase performances if you know you have another shot.

Serge

[Nikkey]

I didn't know it was possible to look back on the other comps on CAFA's website, pretty interesting.
Are there any spearfishing comps in Canada?
Personally I don't see myself spearfishing anytime soon, the last time I killed a fish I was 7 and cried for two days lol..But I definately see why spearfishing competitions would feel more even and rewarding.

[naiad]

I agree about the 'one-shot' rule. That is one factor that makes me less likely to compete - I am not going to go abroad or put a lot of time, money or effort into a competition, when a simple mistake, not necessarily my own, could spoil my performance.

[Jon]

There was plenty of talk about this at last weekend's Freedive-A-Palooza.

We had over 30 freedivers, and their families, show up to camp and dive all weekend long. Everyone seemed to have a great time and many are planning on coming back next year- even if it means flying.

Contrast that to what some people said about the last few comps they attended in California, Vancouver, and Hawaii where they were lucky to get even 5-6 athletes to show up and I'm now convinced that these "diving jamborees" are the way to go when it comes to growing the sport.

Having a group of 50+ people show up every year, and it's still growing, compared to a group of maybe 6 showing up to compete should speak volumes about the state of the sport.

Any ideas on how many people show to the average spearo comp? It seems like the spearing trip to Telegraph cove last year drew in more divers than the last Canadian comp- if I have my facts straight?

Jon

[cdavis]

I think Jon is on to something. I'd like to compete, but not enough to travel a long way and spend money to enter an event where every move seems a bit micro-managed(sorry, but I am terminally unable to take orders from anybody). Freedive-a-palooza, on the other hand, was fabulous. Pretty much, nobody gave any orders, best chance to do some depth with good safety that I've had since the PFI clinic, all the diving you could do, almost any piece of gear under the sun available to try, lots of good divers to learn from, available for long periods and willing to answer a zillion questions, great comradery, campfire stories, etc, etc, etc. Its over a thousand miles from home and the water temp is mind-boggling for a Florida boy, but I'll be back next year.

Jon, you are definitely going to need a longer rope.

Connor

[laminar]

Yep, you're right Jon. Fun events draw more than competitions, unless the competition is in an awesome location and attractive for other reasons...like side trips.

I have been working on an idea for a competition that doesn't feel like a competition. Something to sink your fins into if you have a competitive streak or something to complete for the fun of it. Scalable for any number of competitors. It's half done, and what I think I'll do is post a draft on my website soon, link it to this thread and a new one, and then if it captures any interest, make a wiki for easy contributions and stuff. Hell, I'd even organize one for next summer in your neck of the woods if it is appealing.

I hope to find some time to finish it in the next few days.