What can I say, this was a fantastic weekend! Before I arrived from England, I was quite daunted by the fact that it was my first competition and I was the only non-German, however from the moment my wife and I arrived we were touched by the generosity and friendliness of everybody. A couple of the guys volunteered their time to help translate the lectures for me, and in the comp itself the times were announced in both German and English, so I had no problems there. It was also a massive buzz to meet Tom Sietas and to chat to him about various aspects of freediving.
This kind of format was brilliant, where you have lectures first then the comp. Any nerves I had were compensated by the laid back atmosphere and the overall feeling of fun that everyone had. For quite a few people this was their first competition and a few of the guys did PB's. Both my static and dynamic were best i've done in a few months, I think this was indicative of the relaxed atmosphere. And on the Sunday, the team events were great fun - music cranking, people laughing and some really fun events. Though after doing 2 dynamic baton races (6 laps each race) back to back, I slept well on Sunday night!
I have to make mention of a couple of people in particular that went out of their way to help us - Holger, Hartmut, Thomas, Stefan & Sharanne - thank you so much guys for making Pen and I feel so welcome, we can't wait to see you all again some time.
I certainly hope the comp will be on next year, I will definitely go again! Where else am I going to get Einbecker beer?:friday
Cheers,
Ben
