Safety
A thought I have kept for a year now.
I believe there are some safety flaws in the way we conduct AIDA competitions.
When we half a decay ago introduced the lanyard and the antiballast, competition freediving became immensely more safe.
In fact, today, this is our main safety, apart from the safety freediver.
Our deep safety is only as strong as the lanyard, we could say.
During the last WC I saw something that troubled me. Lanyards where checked some days before, but not before the dive. An athlete could turn up with any lanyard and by themselves attach it. I believe this is very undesirable.
(This may have led to a diver ascending on another line).
-> I suggest we should have as a habit that the safety freediver pull and check and attach the lanyard.
I also believe we are too focused on the shallow water blackout. Since it is the main concern, I believe we are missing another real risk: the lung squeeze.
Lung squeeze is in fact the only thing that leaves damage on an athlete, I believe at least 50% of all athletes have symptoms of this after the dive. Some so severe that they can hardly move out of risk of suffocation. This is where O2 treatment actually does good (not after a BO).
During the last WC I saw an athlete hanging unobserved under the competition raft without strength to swim to the pick-up boat. I have seen it before and personally felt it. Drowning is a risk. I think we all know that we have some athletes that have many reasons to hide a severe lung squeeze.
- > I suggest we should have as mandatory on a WC to check with oximeter (detects lung squeeze) after every dive. It is very simple. The usually inactive doctor can do this. This will also force the doctor to be close to the competition zone.
- > I also suggest we not only have pre dive surveillance (warm-up lines), but also surveillance after the dives.
-> I also believe it would be much more professional to force big competitions such as WC´s to have low platforms (maximum 20 cm above water) so that unconscious divers can be dragged on to these, and be checked by the doctor.
In fact I believe it is much smarter to leave the BTT to a doctor. There is no indications that BTT can "revive" somebody the first 10 seconds. It usually takes some time for the diver to start reacting to external stimuli. On a platform there is no risk of water into the mouth (that can prolong a Freediver-laryngospasm), and a doctor can also check more "vital signs" than a swimming freediver.
I leave these ideas now as a suggestion for the upcoming WC. And maybe also as suggestions for rules/guideline changes. And I have sent it to the people in charge in AIDA.
Safety can always be improved.
Sebastian Naslund
Sweden
A thought I have kept for a year now.
I believe there are some safety flaws in the way we conduct AIDA competitions.
When we half a decay ago introduced the lanyard and the antiballast, competition freediving became immensely more safe.
In fact, today, this is our main safety, apart from the safety freediver.
Our deep safety is only as strong as the lanyard, we could say.
During the last WC I saw something that troubled me. Lanyards where checked some days before, but not before the dive. An athlete could turn up with any lanyard and by themselves attach it. I believe this is very undesirable.
(This may have led to a diver ascending on another line).
-> I suggest we should have as a habit that the safety freediver pull and check and attach the lanyard.
I also believe we are too focused on the shallow water blackout. Since it is the main concern, I believe we are missing another real risk: the lung squeeze.
Lung squeeze is in fact the only thing that leaves damage on an athlete, I believe at least 50% of all athletes have symptoms of this after the dive. Some so severe that they can hardly move out of risk of suffocation. This is where O2 treatment actually does good (not after a BO).
During the last WC I saw an athlete hanging unobserved under the competition raft without strength to swim to the pick-up boat. I have seen it before and personally felt it. Drowning is a risk. I think we all know that we have some athletes that have many reasons to hide a severe lung squeeze.
- > I suggest we should have as mandatory on a WC to check with oximeter (detects lung squeeze) after every dive. It is very simple. The usually inactive doctor can do this. This will also force the doctor to be close to the competition zone.
- > I also suggest we not only have pre dive surveillance (warm-up lines), but also surveillance after the dives.
-> I also believe it would be much more professional to force big competitions such as WC´s to have low platforms (maximum 20 cm above water) so that unconscious divers can be dragged on to these, and be checked by the doctor.
In fact I believe it is much smarter to leave the BTT to a doctor. There is no indications that BTT can "revive" somebody the first 10 seconds. It usually takes some time for the diver to start reacting to external stimuli. On a platform there is no risk of water into the mouth (that can prolong a Freediver-laryngospasm), and a doctor can also check more "vital signs" than a swimming freediver.
I leave these ideas now as a suggestion for the upcoming WC. And maybe also as suggestions for rules/guideline changes. And I have sent it to the people in charge in AIDA.
Safety can always be improved.
Sebastian Naslund
Sweden
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