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.