London Freediving

Apneists UK are delighted to be able to announce that once again we will be holding the BFA UK National Pool Freediving Competition this time we are aiming for International status. We are also holding a separate no-fins competition for those wanting to try this event or for seasoned DNF athletes. It will be held at the Liverpool Aquatics Centre, Wavertree on Saturday 10th March and Sunday 11th March 2012. Here is a picture compilation from last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of5c34H5tzw&context=C3510777ADOEgsToPDskJL46oHQ4mAR30rDg3tR26m

Saturday we will be hosting the Dynamic no fins (DNF) discipline

Sunday we will be hosting the Static (STA) and Dynamic with Fins (DYN) disciplines.

Everybody is welcome! This event attracts all clubs, and all are encouraged to bring their friends.

It is now time to start sending in forms and money, I hope to have next years competition even more polished and a few extra nice surprises

The spaces are for seasoned athletes and also those new to the sport. I will ensure all the information you require if you are a ‘newbie’ is given to you and we will make sure you are welcomed and look after you. Everyone starts somewhere! There are increased spaces and we hope to have well over 100 performances over the two days, last year there was just under 100. This is an AIDA ranked competition so you will receive an AIDA World ranking. In the last two years we have seen many personal bests set and a NR at both competitions partly because of the quality of the venue, the excellent facilities, relaxed atmosphere and ….. I suppose the athletes themselves. The ‘with guests’ tag means that although it is the UK National competition that even if you are not a UK citizen you can compete, and in fact we would encourage it, Liverpool is a major city, and has an airport / trains for easy access. It would be easy to get to from Manchester too. You could be amongst the next generation of successful Freedivers, or maybe you already are! What are you waiting for? I will get some information about hotels etc and socials for those attending. We will have a get together Saturday and Sunday night, please let us know if you will be able to make that.

 We also welcome those wanting to help. Some jobs are essential, the whole competition is set up to support the competing athletes so if you want to help let me know, we need at least a couple of dozen people, up to 40!  We are hoping to have 4 lanes running so even if you don’t want to compete, or just do one day, please come along and help / watch. This is all about the pulling together of the whole Freediving community. Did I ever tell you I really love you all xxx

 Contact Steve Millard: Apneaboy111@hotmail.com to help out

 The Liverpool Aquatics Centre was the perfect venue for the last two years and was a Great competition. At the heart of the state-of-the-art facility is an Olympic sized pool with moveable floor, which is used as a training camp by some of the world’s best swimmers in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Aside from the main pool (which can be divided into two if required) there is also an additional 20 metre training pool with moveable floor.

 
For the Great Northern 2012 event the 20 metre training pool will be used in the morning to host the STA event and the 50m Olympic pool to hold the DYN event. For the DNF event on the Saturday we will have a 25 metre pool (a boom is placed cutting the 50m pool in two)

The Great Northern will provide the ideal opportunity for athletes in the UK and from the continent to gain AIDA ranking to be counted for their National Team selection. It’s also the perfect place to meet other Freedivers and meet some of the personalities in the sport. 

 Convinced? Please go here http://www.freedivers.co.uk/resources/greatnorthern2012.asp for your enrolment form or see attached. The cost is £25 for the Saturday, and £50 for the Sunday whether you are doing one discipline or two (so that is your incentive for doing static ) You can do one day or both. It would be £75 for two days. This includes your AIDA registration fee to have your ranking accepted.

 Still not convinced? Turn up anyway, there is a free viewing gallery and after you have seen what its all about we will probably see you competing at next years event, so many people who didn’t compete did the year afterwards. We need helpers!

 Come on, no excuses with this much notice. Forward this to all of your friends who may want to come and send me their e-mails so I can keep them informed

Attached is the enrolment form and the rules for the competition, please read them, we would like to give white cards. Also attached is the medical form, all athletes MUST be medically fit and MUST have the form (or similar) signed by a Doctor within 12 months of the competition, its in the rules. Join your AIDA National, it is the BFA in the UK

http://www.britishfreediving.org/index.asp?sec=13

Lets get it on!

 Steve Millard

www.freedivers.co.uk

www.freedivers.co.uk/team/stevemillard.asp

The lovely ladies of London Freediving have been busy this October. Looking at their achievements in chronological order:

From zero to hero(ine) in 5 short months, we have the amazing Grace Capel. When she turned up on our watery doorstop announcing that she was aiming to learn freediving….and then go off and do a 100 foot dive in a flooded UK quarry…that spelled out B-I-G C-H-A-L-L-E-N-G-E. However, it didn’t take long for us to all realise there was some mettle there, and she meant it. Oh yes – there was an added incentive too. She was hoping to raise over £1,000 for The Multiple Sclerosis Society.On Sunday 2^nd October, Grace put all her sponsor’s money where her mouth was, breezed down to the plate 100 feet down, and came back victorious. She made the depth, raised all the cash she’d hoped for ( and more ), and made us all at London Freediving feel proud of our new fledgling.

Georgina Miller has been with us for some time now, although it doesn’t seem that long ago I put her through a certain amount of stress at her first competition in Marseilles. That’s a story for another time, but I sometimes wonder if that experience made her resolute to excel in the static apnea discipline. Or is it just that she has a natural ability? Either way, on the 16^th October, at the 2011 AIDA Indoor World Pool Championship in Lignano, Italy, Georgie put in an amazing performance of 6 minutes 11 seconds – and made a new UK record in Static Apnea. Let’s not forget that the Men’s record didn’t get past 6 minutes until 2004, which isn’t so long ago. Georgie has been grateful for the coaching she has received from Brittany Trubridge, Liv Philip, and Daan Verhoeven ( Goergie’s photograph courtesy of Daan ).

Last but by no means least, Liv Philip has also been on the record-setting trail. At the afore-mentioned Pool Championship in Lignano, she set about improving her current dynamic no-fins record of 111 metres. She managed to add an impressive 3 metres on top of this, and with a clean finish. Even though I’m an AIDA judge myself, I sometime despair with the minute rules we have to abide by, and unfortunately Liv fell foul of one of these. So her record stands at 111 metres…but we all know she can do more! But wait, there’s more….just a week or so before the Pool Championships, the AIDA World Cup for 2011 was held in Kalamata, Greece. Liv competed. Liv made 2^nd place overall, by diving 46 metres in constant weight no-fins, 62 metres contant weight, and 63 metres free immersion.  Be suitably impressed – I know I am. ( Stop press – the UK national record for dynamic no-fins has been increased to 116 metres as of yesterday, 5th November. Set at the Fusion Lifestyle pool in Camberwell by none other than Liv Philip. )

So this is London Freediving’s feminine hat-trick for October / November. Us boys have some catching-up to do.

Photograph left to right shows Grace, Liv and Georgie.

Liv Philip - Suspended

Some of our group may remember a photographer taking underwater photographs at Richmond in the springtime of 2011. The artist in question was Emma Critchley. Her work is nothing short of inspirational, and can be viewed here. There isn’t much more I can add, other than encourage you to look  at her work and let the images do the talking.