The British Freediving Championships in Dynamic and Static Apnea 2007

[jayhem]

Hello Freedivers!

The British Freediving Association (BFA) is organizing another great event this year: The UK National Freediving Championships in Dynamic and Static Apnea 2007.

Location: Olympic swimming pool, Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
Address: Ledrington Road, London, SE19 2BB
Date: Saturday the 13th of October 2007, 9AM to 6PM.
Disciplines: STA - DYN/DNF
Type: National with guests
Entry fee: £30 per participant
Requirements: BFA membership and fit-to-dive certificate signed by a physician within the last 12 months.

Preliminary Schedule:
09:00 - 10:00 : Registration and briefing.
10:00 - 12:00 : Static competition
12:00 - 14:00 : Break
14:00 - 17:00 : Dynamic competition


We have a fabulous olympic racing pool available for dynamic: 50m lanes and windows on the sides of the pool to watch the competitors underwater. The static competition takes place in a 0.83m deep teaching pool filled with warm water.

There is a total of 500€ worth of ScubaStore vouchers for the male/female winners and the best newcomer (any freediver with no AIDA ranking). The number of participants is limited to 20 athletes to compete in both dynamic and static, so please make sure you sign up early. Priority will be given in order of receipt of the entry forms.

This competition is sponsored by ScubaStore and GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited)

Please check our website for more information and to download the entry forms.

We also need volunteers to help the event run smoothly. May be you could help? We need:

• Assistant Timers: They make sure the competitors are at the right place at the right time.
• Video camera operators: All competitors need filming during their performance.
• Safety Divers: for the competition and warm-up lanes.

If you're interested in volunteering, please fill the online form at or email comp2007@britishfreediving.org.


Regards,
The Organising Team

 

[apneaboy]

Cheers for organising this competition, i think its important to have it each year and appreciate the efforts people make, i will send my payment in this week.

Who else is going so far??

I hope it will be a record atendance, i'll try and get some newbies to enter and some old hands to help out.

See you all there

Steve

 

[Monkey Matt]

Entries are coming in fast and I think we will be over subscribed so get your cheque book out pronto. The entries will be awarded in the order they are received.
If you can convince your buddies to help with the organisation, that would be great. We are trying to organise some kind of social event on the evening of the comp and the BFA AGM will be held straight after the prize ceremony. The "in" list will be posted here soon http://www.britishfreediving.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=144
Matt

 

[jayhem]

Cheers Steve, it will be great to see you as well as some new freedivers from your club, it's going to be a fun day guaranteed for everyone!

We will send out a more detailed schedule in a few days, but after the event there will be a prize distribution, nomination of the British freedivers of the year (they will also get their trophies) with food and drinks organized for everyone followed by the BFA Annual General Meeting.

We will be finished by 8pm because the sports center is closing at that time, but there are lots of nice pubs and restaurants in the area for those who want to celebrate afterwards!;-)

For specific questions on how to get there or anything else, just ask on this thread on the BFA forum where we will also try to keep you updated with the number of remaining spaces;-)

JM

 

[jayhem]

As you might have heard, Crystal Palace is now closed because of a problem with asbestos. Despite this, we managed (thanks to GLL) to book the only other 50m pool in London for the same date: the Gurnell pool in Ealing.

However, despite early interest, lots of applications received in the first few days and a lot of volunteers ready to travel to London from far away, we haven't received new applications since then and are now 2 days before the deadline with such a small number of competitors that there is a good chance that we will have to cancel the event. This is really sad, and a big blow to UK freediving.

We really can't afford to extend the deadline, but if anyone would still like to enter, it's not too late, please let us know as soon as possible. Of course we will give full refunds in case of cancellation.

Thanks
JM

 

[apneaboy]

Hi JM.

I didn't pay my registration 'cos i was on crutches 3 weeks ago but I am recovered enough to do the pool comp now. I will defo be there if it is on. You can take me on my word or I can pay through the BFA website if you want??

Most of the freedivers i know are at the show :-(

Steve

Good luck, how many are you short??

 

[jayhem]

Thanks Steve, that's great! The registrations go to Matt, but as far as I know there were only 8 entrants a few days ago. A couple people contacted me today and would like to enter, but we need several more.

I'll try to set up online payment if I have time. I'll post the link here.

cheers,
JM

 

[alix.leclerc]

Any way of grabbing another 12 freedivers? I would hate for this comp to be cancelled...

 

[Cornholio]

It looks like I'm a bit too late to be asking, but what level of ability would be required?

I'm not a competitive diver (if I entered I'd be pretty much guaranteed to win the wooden spoon), but it would be fun to come along and have a go.

Still, last day for entries has passed; hope you got the required 20.

 

[jayhem]

Sorry but unfortunately we had to cancel the competition due to a lack of competitors.

Please see the related thread on the BFA forum for more information:
http://www.britishfreediving.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=144

 

[alix.leclerc]

:waterwork So sad

 

[BennyB]

It's absolutely pathetic... the amount of whinging I hear over in the UK from people wanting comps in their backyard but won't put in the slightest effort or show any interest in it when a comp is actually on is really pathetic. Hard working people invest lots of time in trying to please British Freedivers and they get kicked in the guts as a thank you.

I came from Australia to England determined to start competing somewhere on the other side of the world, as freediving comps in Australia were simply too hard to organise. I came here and trained my arse off and spent thousands of pounds going to competitions around Europe so that I could gain experience and learn from those around me, a concept most newbie freedivers seem to not understand. It seems that most new freedivers won't bother competing if they can't win it.

Unforunately with this current attitude amongst the newer freedivers I doubt there'll be much growth coming from the UK in competition for a long time.

There - i've had my angry rant. If any English competition freedivers think i'm being harsh then fine, let's hear from you.

Ben

ps. Please note that these comments are not aimed at recreational freedivers or any freedivers that do not wish to compete. That is their choice and I respect it 100%. Nor are they aimed at freedivers that had legitimate reasons for not attending the competition.

 

[Walrus]

Wow, bad hair day Ben ?
Sad news, hopefully you UK guys get some more pool comps running next year. Organising and running comps is tough, I think most people don't know what's involved and how much effort it takes. It's funny how a lot of people have such a narrow view of what comps are like and think it's just for people with big ego's and who want to win sorta thing. The New Zealand comps I've been to have such a positive vibe, people are egging each other on and want to see others do well. They normally run at least 4 comps a year and it gives people some motivation and something to train for. The last comp apart from Dave's huge 244m dynamic, you had 2 other guys over 200m, and a 4th doing 189m, the level over there is getting really high and I know that having regular comps are a big part of the reason.

Have a pizza while you are in Itally mate !

Cheers,
Wal

 

[alix.leclerc]

It is true that if you've never been to a compeition before and you're new to freediving then the idea of competiting is a bit daunting, so I can see why some 'newbie' freedivers would pass up such a great oppotunity.
I wasn't planning to go to SaltFree back in August, and I didn't enter because I thought I wouldn't be good enough (and because I didn't have the money at the time ) but I regreted it. Getting the oppotunity to go there, seeing everyone being so friendly and having such a lot of fun made me really look forward to this October comp, which is unfortunatly cancelled.
If anyone reads this who's never been to a comp before: go to one when you get the chance! They are brilliant, talking to so many dedicated freedivers is really motivating (and it gives you a chance to get tips). I know it's a competiton but that doesn't mean it's competitive. People are really encouraging and a lot enter just to test themselves.
Yeah, i'll be at the next UK competeion for sure.

 

[naiad]

Freedivers of the world, don't expect to see any new faces coming out of Britain for a while.... they're all whinging about the price of medical certificates, how hard it is to get the tube and why they should compete if they're not going to win their first comp.

There - i've had my angry rant. If any English competition freedivers think i'm being harsh then fine, let's hear from you.

Hi Ben, I'm sorry I didn't enter the competition, but I think you are being too harsh.

Last year I did enter the Crystal Palace Pool comp, and I enjoyed it and wanted to compete again.

It was extremely difficult to get to by public transport. I tried to go by train, but the train did not go to Crystal Palace station, and left me several stations away. I had to get a cab. This was not the main reason that I did not enter this year, but it is a valid point.

The main reason I did not enter was that at this time of year, I am ill with colds and flu a lot of the time. Right now I am recovering from flu and a chest infection. It would be impossible to do a decent performance and dangerous to compete in this state. Last year's comp was in the summer, when I could be pretty certain of feeling well on the day.

Another valid point is 'Why should I compete if I am not going to win anything?'. I enjoy competing for its own sake, and entered last year's competition knowing that I was unlikely to win anything. I was happy with my performance because I knew it was at least at a reasonable level. Now I think there are many freedivers in the UK who are much better than me, and who train much harder than me. This has put me off competitive freediving, because I feel that unless everyone else decides to give up early, or a miracle happens and my performance suddenly improves for no reason, I will be nowhere near the other competitors. I have trained a lot, but now I am unable to do anything more than once a week pool training, and dry training. This is not because I am lazy, I have to stay out of the pool because the chlorine damaged my lungs.

I did not want to pay for the medical certificate and entry fee when there is a high risk of having to cancel on the day, due to illness or being unable to find a cab to take me there.

Many 'non-competitive' freedivers decide to try one competition for fun, and often enjoy it, as I did. It is a lot harder to keep going to many competitions when there is no chance of winning anything.

Maybe there is a misunderstanding about the thing of 'not winning anything'. What I mean is not that if I don't walk off with first prize, I will be disappointed and never compete again. It is more the feeling of not standing a chance. If I entered the Olympics as a runner, I would know that unless all the other competitors gave up halfway, I would definitely be last. I don't know how this problem can be solved in freediving. I explained that in this post.
I think these reasons are the same for many people who did not enter.

This thread has many interesting points about why people decide not to compete.
http://forums.deeperblue.net/freediving-competitions/72303-competitor-decline.html

I am very sorry that the comp did not go ahead.

Lucia

 

[BennyB]

I realise some of my post was inflammatory and I apologise.

But Lucia i'm sorry but those reasons don't wash very well, have a read of your own post and see if i'm being too harsh.

It was extremely difficult to get to by public transport. I tried to go by train, but the train did not go to Crystal Palace station, and left me several stations away. I had to get a cab. This was not the main reason that I did not enter this year, but it is a valid point.

Crystal Palace is 20 minutes from Clapham Junction station which is fairly easy for everyone to get to. The sports centre is roughly 200m from the station and it is a 4 minute walk from the station to the pool.

The main reason I did not enter was that at this time of year, I am ill with colds and flu a lot of the time. Right now I am recovering from flu and a chest infection. It would be impossible to do a decent performance and dangerous to compete in this state.

Lucia if you have been sick then why are you still training most weeks at Richmond and training through winter?

Last year's comp was in the summer, when I could be pretty certain of feeling well on the day.

Last year's comp was on November 12, which is far from Summer.

I enjoy competing for its own sake, and entered last year's competition knowing that I was unlikely to win anything.

Now I think there are many freedivers in the UK who are much better than me, and who train much harder than me. This has put me off competitive freediving, because I feel that unless everyone else decides to give up early, or a miracle happens and my performance suddenly improves for no reason, I will be nowhere near the other competitors.

I'm sorry I don't understand, you seem to be contradicting yourself.

I understand the concept of competing to win, but I can say 100% that I am a FAR better freediver because I attend competitions not to win, but to learn and gain experience by hanging around my peers. People that have trained around the world, picked up different training tips & techniques and those that have dived thousands of times more than me, deeper than me, further than me and much longer than me. It's only recently i've had a couple of podium finishes and even then, it's mainly because there hasn't been that many people competing. I still (mostly) compete against myself, because I believe that self improvement is more inportant than anything else. And besides, you don't know 100% why another freediver is better than you. In other sports like weightlifting and boxing you have different classes to match up competitors in similar abilities, you don't get that in freediving.

And on the subject of winning anything - this year the organisers had managed to get 500 euro worth of prizes, of which a proportion was going to the best newbie.

I did not want to pay for the medical certificate and entry fee when there is a high risk of having to cancel on the day, due to illness or being unable to find a cab to take me there.

You can get a medical certificate for as little as 70 pounds and it is valid for a year. Do you require one with your PADI course? And as far as maybe cancelling on the day.... well we have to take a risk sometimes don't we? Not a very big risk in my mind.

I am very sorry that the comp did not go ahead.

I'm know you're sorry, but i'm afraid it's those sorts of attitudes that end up shutting down competitions.

Please understand Lucia i'm not having a dig at you specifically, I just think that there is some misguided attitudes amongst new freedivers thinking of competing. Whether it's our fault for not selling the sport well or their fault for being apathetic I do not know. I do know that JM and Matt K put in a huge amount of work into this, they did research how many people they expected to compete by asking around and getting ideas off people about their intentions to compete, but in the end less than half actually committed.

Every week we trudge to the pool for what we call training. What exactly are we training for?

Ben

 

[alix.leclerc]

I got my fit to dive medial formed signed and apporved by my doctor for only £10...

 

[jayhem]

Thanks Ben for your useful comments, and thanks Lucia for your feedback and link to the "competitor decline" thread.

Why not see a comp like this one just as a super-training-session where you can meet new people, see how they do their breathup etc.... a day where you can focus totally on doing a pb, and in the end, whatever your result you will even get an official AIDA Ranking! (unless you BO of course)

We also promised a prize to the best newcomer, no need to do a 200m dynamic for that ! ;-)

I don't understand this problem about medicals, many people manage to get one for FREE from their GP if they just ask him to sign their medical certificate. However, if there is the slightest doubt about your fitness to dive, paying 70 quid seems a good investment for someone who trains regularly.

Crystal Palace is so easy to get to! There are trains getting there from everywhere and about 25 different busses as well... my bus from Clapham used to take me there in 30 minutes. Last year we had up to 3 training sessions every week in that pool with lots of people turning up. Of course there can be delays and cancellations, it's a risk to take. People still fly to their holiday destinations even if some time they might have been delayed or lost their luggage...

cheers,
JM

 

[alix.leclerc]

Yes CP is really easy to get to. I'd never been in that area before and managed to find it without too much mishap.
I did apreciate even the IDEA of this competition, it's been getting me into the gym and the pool reguarily. Hopefully I can keep that up even without the comp, but training for that one great personal best was a real motivation.

 

[naiad]

Crystal Palace is 20 minutes from Clapham Junction station which is fairly easy for everyone to get to. The sports centre is roughly 200m from the station and it is a 4 minute walk from the station to the pool.

I didn't know that. Crystal Palace is the station which is closed at weekends, I didn't know it was possible to go from Clapham Junction.

Lucia if you have been sick then why are you still training most weeks at Richmond and training through winter?

I did not train last week because I had flu. Also, when I do train, I hardly ever do a decent performance now. Apart from one or two sessions when I did a 50-60m dynamic, when have I done anything near a respectable performance in the last few months?

Last year's comp was on November 12, which is far from Summer.

I thought it was in Summer. If it was in November, I would already have had the flu vaccine, which reduces the risk. This year it is still not available.

I understand the concept of competing to win, but I can say 100% that I am a FAR better freediver because I attend competitions not to win, but to learn and gain experience by hanging around my peers. People that have trained around the world, picked up different training tips & techniques and those that have dived thousands of times more than me, deeper than me, further than me and much longer than me. It's only recently i've had a couple of podium finishes and even then, it's mainly because there hasn't been that many people competing. I still (mostly) compete against myself, because I believe that self improvement is more inportant than anything else.

And on the subject of winning anything - this year the organisers had managed to get 500 euro worth of prizes, of which a proportion was going to the best newbie.

I also didn't know that. I thought the prizes were going to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd men and the 1st woman only, as happened last year.

You can get a medical certificate for as little as 70 pounds and it is valid for a year. Do you require one with your PADI course? And as far as maybe cancelling on the day.... well we have to take a risk sometimes don't we? Not a very big risk in my mind.

70 pounds is a lot for me, and I did not need one for my PADI course.

Please understand Lucia i'm not having a dig at you specifically, I just think that there is some misguided attitudes amongst new freedivers thinking of competing. Whether it's our fault for not selling the sport well or their fault for being apathetic I do not know. I do know that JM and Matt K put in a huge amount of work into this, they did research how many people they expected to compete by asking around and getting ideas off people about their intentions to compete, but in the end less than half actually committed.

I thought it was directed at me because of my post on the BFA forum. I tried to help by explaining why I did not enter. I am very sorry to all those who put a lot of work into it. I don't think it is fair to blame me at all for my decision not to compete.

Every week we trudge to the pool for what we call training. What exactly are we training for?

I don't take training seriously at the moment. The last few weeks I have just been doing single-length dynamics, 3:30-4:00 statics and recreational stuff. I will probably do some serious training again at some point, but right now I am having a break. I did put some really hard work in, but it did not pay off.