1st Kadayawan Sama/Badjao Freediving Contest 2013

[wdaf]

Watch the video of the 260 feet freedive of a Badjao/Sama Freediver.

Large version of Picture

YouTube VIDEO
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HWEZUHIMGc]1st Place - Davao Sama and Bajao Freediving Contest, 2013 Davao - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Apneaddict]

Talk about old school!

That's no-limits diving.

And a rope around the diver's body and no fins - I sure hope the knot (which I assume is re-tied for each competitor) holds!!!

Not the safest method of diving and not something that I'd try.

What organization is "governing / judging" it? Is it something formal, or just casually getting started?

 

[Apneaddict]

Some good / heavy contractions on the way up, but he seems to be enjoying them!

 

[wdaf]

This is the method used by them for centuries and way before any freedivers did no limit.
From 19 contestants there were 0 BO, 0 LMC and not even any blue lips.

 

[Apneaddict]

I think centuries qualifies as old school!

If you don't swim down or up... It's no limits.

What type of equalization did that one guy use? Mouthfill or other? Any with damaged eardrums / loss of hearing?

 

[Kars]

80m with that mask? wow!

Aside from the two ropes, one to hold on with the weight, one on the waist for pulling up, I advice wearing fins, and a FRV to increase safety.

Great initiative! I'm looking forward to more footage, hopefully including some interviews, perhaps with some dive graphs.

 

[wdaf]

Other videos come soon.
We are not sure about their way of equalizing but their ears are intact.
When we interviewed one diver he said that nobody teaches them how to equalize so we think they use different and self learned techniques.

So far we only know for sure:
- Nearly all did medium to strong hyperventilation
- Some wear masks, some wooden goggles
- They dive partially exhaled
- Some had 3 minutes dive time (stayed at the bottom for long time, but some also had quick divetimes, especially on the way up
- This way of diving is their livelihood. So they are very professional and dive a lot, some daily. But as far as we know none of them trained to go that deep before the event. They usually only go down to 100 or maximum 150 ft for their fishing.

 

[Kars]

Do they sometimes suffer from dcs symptoms?
Are they interested in learning different techniques?
Why do they participate?
How do they deal with BO's - did they suffer those?
Do they smoke?
What's their diet?
Can they do static?
Do they suffer from squeezes?

 

[wdaf]

Do they sometimes suffer from dcs symptoms?
We have no data or infos on dcs yet. Only one story where a diver did decompression stops in around 3m before surfacing.

Are they interested in learning different techniques?
Yes, we had some talks and they were interested in the diaphragmic stretching, ... But so far WE are mainly interested to learn from THEM first.

Why do they participate?
Money and fame (i guess)

How do they deal with BO's - did they suffer those?
We did not have any BO in this contest. Nor did we hear so far from divers suffering BO, but we are only starting to learn.

Do they smoke?
smoking most likely not. Some chew a kind of beetle nut. Some drink coconut wine.

What's their diet?
Nothing special of what we know so far. Fish, Chicken and rice.

Can they do static?
Yes, waiting for fish at the bottom.

Do they suffer from squeezes?
Yes, sometimes. But interestingly some of the contestants went way deeper than their dives in the last months and there was only one minor squeeze in the contest we saw. In training there was one case of a stronger squeeze. Maybe having no contractions (hyperventilation) helps them to avoid squeeze.

 

[Sinama]

Do they sometimes suffer from dcs symptoms?
It definitely exists in their communities but usually from compressor accidents and a few cases from scuba gear.

Why do they participate?
Money & Fame (probably), but lets not forget fun.

How do they deal with BO's - did they suffer those?
All BO's I've heard of have been compressor related.

Do they smoke?
The people group in general smoke like chimneys. The majority of the top divers were probably not smokers. The champion may be.

What's their diet?
Not so much chicken. Lot's of fish, including pufferfish & shark. Other endangered species sometimes and lets not forget the most important part of their diet, cassava.

Can they do static?
It seems that it is a pretty regular static competition that they have at their yearly festivals. Everyone goes down at the same time and the last to come out wins. I've only heard of it though. Never saw it.

 

[cdavis]

They dive partial exhale. How much is "partial", 3/4 full?, 1/2?, 1/4?

Connor