The New BENEFITS of AIDA thread

[donmoore]

If there is anyone out there that would like to discuss this without the excess baggage the other threads had, please join this thread. Doesn’t matter if you’re for or against a particular person, rule, or what you have posted already. Only requirement is you want to discuss it here without naming names, etc.. If so then lets let those other threads die and be buried into db history!

I will start off; I am a member of the USAA. Does that make me a member of AIDA?
don

 

[Longfins]

Yep!

Since you are a dues paying, card carrying, member of USAA, the AIDA representative in the US (there can be many AIDA organizations within one country, but only one national rep), you're pretty much part of AIDA (welcome to the dark side )

you can influence how things are done at the international level by banging on the Board of Directors' heads, with Grant Graves as president, currently through the FreediveUSA list. He had better listen to you and me and vote on the issues the way the majority of us want him to. Each nation gets one vote, provided their national dues are also paid, etc. Also each AIDA executive gets one vote. Majority of the vote carries the day.

Peter S.

 

[CEngelbrecht]

Yes, you're a member of AIDA. In the model below you are one of the 'Freedivers' paying your membership to your National Association (here USAA) and they have a vote in the AIDA assembly which the AIDA management board answer to. Direct contact to the top of AIDA goes through AIDA's official mailing lists and 'additional web sources' (this meaning mostly Deeperblue).

The idea is that this hierarchy collects as many opinions as possible and hopely summon the correct model for freediving (in time, anyway). I would agree, though (as many others), that the beginning of AIDA's workspan was marked by...shall we call it inexperience? Give AIDA time and take part in the open debate, cause the idea is that everybody is in the game of governing freediving.

Chris Engelbrecht, Copenhagen

 

[flyboy748]

The benefits of AIDA/CAFA here in Canada to me...

-Freedive clinic in my area that I'll be taking in June.

-A regional CAFA competion in June as well.

-A local freedive club (Freedive Toronto) with whom I've learned alot already.

-A forum for finding other Canadian people to dive with in other places, as well as discussing the latest word on freediving.

-Constant effort to expand the sport which in turn creates more buddys for all of us and more public acceptance of the sport.

-Publications written by freedivers, for freedivers.


There are certianly many more, but there's a start!

Aaron

 

[ptrapp]

Perhaps a bit off topic, but where can I find the official AIDA mailinglist please?

 

[CEngelbrecht]

AIDA's mailing lists

There are three main mailing lists that AIDA makes use of:

The 'liste_AIDA', which is mainly used for official information, it's not really used for debate.
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/liste_AIDA/

The 'chat_AIDA' list, this is used for most of the open debate, here the word is free (within ethics, obviously).
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chat_AIDA/

Finally, there's also the 'athletes_AIDA' which is debate between competing freedivers. The discussions here have as much influence on AIDA's decisions as IOC's athletic commision have on IOC's work. This list has become quite important this last year.
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/athletes_aida/
This list is closed, though, but if you have competed in an AIDA competition within the last year you're elligable for it. Send a mail to Sebastien Nagel aida.international@bluewin.ch and ask about the procedure (it's one mail).

Other than that, AIDA have closed lists for the official work of the Assembly and for the Management Board, and I think a few others.

And don't worry, English is main language on all these lists.

Hope this helps,
Chris Engelbrecht, Copenhagen