Easy 3-Part Guide to Watching a Freediving Depth Competition – Part 1: Need-to-Know Terms

With the rising recognition of Diveye, a truly constructed-in underwater drone machine, more freediving competitions are turning into accessible to the overall public from the comfort of their properties. No longer very best are of us throughout the enviornment in a location to stare competitions are living, they furthermore have a bonus that even divers searching on the competitors within the water ruin no longer have: they are able to stare entire video footage of the dive from beginning to forestall, and even quiz an athlete’s performance at depth. Right here is a sexy technological feat, and with it, competitions like Vertical Blue that accelerate are living have more viewers than ever earlier than, in conjunction with of us which would be no longer conversant in freediving competitions (or unfamiliar with freediving typically)!

In case you should per chance presumably very effectively be planning to stare a freediving depth competitors for the first time, or have had the artificial to stare one and desire more working out of what is going on, this three-part data is for you! The foremost part of the info affords you necessary phrases and their definitions historical at competitions in relation to freediving characterize governing associations, depth disciplines, instruments, tactics, accidents, and competitors-particular phrases. The 2d part will duvet competitors group, how athletes are judged, and the penalties they could face. The third part affords you a background on the safety personnel within the motivate of each and every competitors and how they be certain the safety of the athletes.

Let’s take a stare at smartly-liked phrases you hear throughout a freediving competitors.

Freediving depth disciplines and characterize governing associations

While there are freediving disciplines which would be particular to pool and definite depth disciplines which would be particular very best to definite freediving organizations, the disciplines listed beneath are the most fresh depth disciplines regulated by the 2 most effectively-identified freediving characterize governing associations, CMAS and AIDA. These organizations are separate and ruin no longer acknowledge each and every diverse’s world records and have their very possess build of living of competitors guidelines.

Freediving characterize governing associations

• CMAS – Immediate for Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (English: World Underwater Federation), CMAS turned into founded in 1959 by subaquatic explorer and documentary filmmaker Jaques-Yves Cousteau. The group ratified rather plenty of the early achievements made by freedivers, even though they stopped conserving competitions and ratifying records within the late 1970s attributable to some serious accidents. CMAS resumed ratifying records in 1995.
• AIDA – Immediate for Affiliation Internationale pour le Développement de l’Apnée (English: World Affiliation for the Development of Apnea), AIDA turned into created in 1992 to formulate a genuine and genuine build of living of guidelines and pointers for competitions and characterize makes an try. AIDA is now an worldwide federation and is the single greatest organizer of worldwide freediving competitions, guidelines, and guidelines.

Freediving depth disciplines

• Free Immersion (FIM) – A freediving depth self-discipline where the freediver pulls down the dive line after which motivate up the use of the identical amount of weight (on the neck or hips) throughout all of the dive. The freediver doesn’t place on fins.
• Fixed Weight (CWT) – A freediving depth self-discipline where the freediver makes use of bifins or a monofin to propel themselves down the dive line after which motivate up the use of the identical amount of weight (on the neck or hips) throughout all of the dive.
• Fixed Weight Bifins (CWTB) – A freediving depth self-discipline where the freediver can very best use bifins to flutter kick down the dive line after which motivate up the use of the identical amount of weight (on the neck or hips) throughout all of the dive.
• Fixed Weight No-Fins (CNF) – A freediving depth self-discipline where the freediver makes use of arm strokes and leg kicks to propel themselves down the dive line after which motivate up the use of the identical amount of weight (on the neck or hips) throughout all of the dive. The freediver doesn’t place on fins.

Tools

While competitors instruments is dependent on the competitors itself and the self-discipline an athlete is competing in, beneath are the most popular styles of instruments seen in freediving depth competitions, both deepest instruments that competitors place on and the instruments historical in competitors.

Interior most freediving instruments

• Conceal – A freediving cowl is a diving cowl that covers the nostril with a low inner quantity and a relaxed skirt, permitting freedivers to pinch their nostril and equalize their ears and the air spaces within the cowl.
• Nostril clip – Freedivers use nostril clips to abet water from coming into their nostrils while furthermore permitting them to equalize palms-free. They would possibly be able to’t be vulnerable with a cowl; as a substitute, they are vulnerable with fluid goggles, self-equalizing goggles, or with a bare face. Athletes in competitions on the total place on a nostril clip in desire to a cowl, as equalization and staying streamlined is valuable less complicated with a nostril clip.
• Fluid goggles – Fluid goggles are goggles which would be designed to be stuffed with water so as that air spaces round the face are eliminated. They have a undeniable glass that enables freedivers to have some vision underwater so as that they are able to abet their orientation round the dive line.
• Self-equalizing goggles – The same to fluid goggles, with the exception of that the skirt on self-equalizing goggles is extremely flexible, which permits compression beneath stress and eliminates the need for water inside of. They give the wearer crystal-obvious vision underwater. The categorical self-equalizing goggles accessible on the market on the time of this writing are the Hektometer freediving goggles.
• Neck weight/weight belt – Weights are historical in freediving to compensate for sure buoyancy and to again help the descent of a freediver after 10m (33ft or deeper). They could even be vulnerable on a belt round the waist or are made as a weighting machine vulnerable round the neck.
• Dive pc – Dive pc programs are historical by freedivers to observe stats equivalent to their fresh depth, most depth, dive time, surface interval time, and permits them to construct of living alarms for their dives at definite depths.
• Lanyard – A freediving lanyard is an critical part of safety instruments that retains a freediver tethered to the dive line and prevents them from getting lost within the start water. They could even be hooked up on the wrist or ankle, and a few freedivers grab to place on lanyards with belts for no-fins performances. A contest-accepted lanyard would possibly want to be historical throughout the competitors.
• Wetsuit – Freedivers use wetsuits to guard themselves from the sun, offer thermal protection, and protects from stinging creatures within the water. There are rather plenty of diverse styles of wetsuits that freedivers need to grab from.
• Bifins – Fins which would be designed particularly for freediving, with longer blades and relaxed foot pockets.
• Monofin – A single fin that attaches to both feet, requiring a undeniable intention to characteristic that affords freedivers more recede and energy to dive longer distances.
• Flashlight – All over the competitors, deep freedivers could place on a flashlight hooked up to the head of their hood. They ruin this so as that they are able to quiz the dive line and abet their orientation, even when it turns into very dusky at depth.

Freediving competitors instruments

• Dive line – The line that an athlete dives on. It’s far hooked up to a buoy, diving platform, or boat on the skin at one stop, and has a heavy backside-weight hooked up to the lots of stop, conserving it taut. Positioned above the backside weight are a backside plate, the candy cane zone, and a stopper. Additionally, there could be a lustrous light placed on the backside so as that the divers can quiz the backside plate and tags.
• Backside plate – A plate conserving diverse tags hooked up with velcro that’s located on the stop of the dive line above the backside weight.
• Label – Tags are hooked up to a backside plate near the stop of the line, and the athlete grabs one at depth to state it motivate to the skin and order the judges. Athletes abet the impress in their palms, tuck it into their hoods, and even place a patch of velcro on their wetsuits so they are able to stick the impress on without danger.
• Candy cane zone – A 2m (7ft) zone located on the dive line beneath the rope stopper and above the backside plate. It’s far marked with stripes, giving it the looks of a candy cane, and indicators athletes that they’re impending the stop of the line. They’re allowed to grab the line wherever on this zone to grab the impress, turn, and fabricate their first pull on the ascent (in CWT, CWTB, and CNF, it is miles the particular field an athlete can grab and pull the line without getting penalized).
• Stopper – A round or cone-fashioned attachment on the stop of the dive line and above the candy cane. It’s far there to abet the freediver’s lanyard from reaching the very stop of the line and entangling with the backside weight.
• Counter ballast machine– A safety machine consisting of pulleys and a really heavy weight that deep freedivers use to retrieve a freediver at depth in case of emergency. When a freediver is at depth and wearing a lanyard, the heavy weight hooked up to the opposite stop of the line is launched, permitting the freediver to be pulled motivate up to the skin fleet to start rescue procedures.

Suggestions

This data is supposed to give a overall overview of tactics which would be on the total discussed throughout freediving competitions. For more in-depth data on freediving tactics and to learn ethical strategy your self, it is instructed to take a licensed freediving course from an experienced teacher.

• Bifin strategy/flutter kick – A freediving strategy with bifins where the freediver performs alternating fleet up-and-down movements to propel themselves forward. Athletes who’re competing in CWTB could very best use a flutter kick to propel themselves; within the event that they use a dolphin kick, they are going to be disqualified.
• Monofin strategy/dolphin kick – A freediving strategy the use of a monofin where the core, hips, and legs switch up and down in an undulating circulate to propel a freediver forward. The circulate looks equivalent to the intention that dolphins use their tails to swim underwater.
• Freefall/Sink part – The point in a dive when, after reaching detrimental buoyancy, the freediver stops circulate and glides the leisure of the gap to the backside in a streamlined field while staying parallel to the dive line. Right here is where they focal point on relaxation and decrease their oxygen consumption by reducing circulate.
• Frenzel equalization/strategy – An equalization system that makes use of the tongue to power air into the mouth and against a pinched nostril, which creates air stress and equalizes the heart ear.
• Mouthfill equalization/strategy – An evolved equalization system freedivers use to equalize to depths deeper than 40m (131ft). It makes use of a particular strategy that requires drawing air into the mouth from the lungs and the use of oral muscles to equalize.
• Recovery respiratory – A restoration strategy where fleet, packed with life inhalations are adopted by passive exhalations. They’re performed without extend after a breath-have interaction is performed in order to fleet restore oxygen ranges and decrease carbon dioxide ranges.
• Hyperventilation – Manipulating respiratory to permit more air inside of and out than the body wants. This style is no longer instructed or historical by leisure freedivers and is just not commonly historical by competitive freedivers as it is going to manual to a loss of consciousness (blackout).
• Lung packing – Additionally identified simply as “packing,” it is an evolved strategy that’s no longer instructed except you should per chance presumably very effectively be an evolved freediver that’s being given guidance and mustn’t be historical by leisure freedivers. It makes use of the muscles of the mouth and throat to take extra air into the lungs after the last breath.

That you just’ll be in a location to mediate accidents in competitors

Retain in mind that this isn’t very any longer a comprehensive checklist of your entire accidents that will seemingly be in a location to happen throughout a contest, accurate the ones which would be more commonly talked about throughout a freediving competitors. Competitions are usually the most gain field for freediving athletes as there could be a trained safety personnel, helpful clinical personnel, and an emergency evacuation idea and/or autos in field. Freediving athletes furthermore prepare extensively and are very a qualified, so the menace of stress-linked accidents could be thought to be as more minimal since they strategy deeper depths with data and a definite stage of preparedness.

• Contractions – Contractions are no longer an damage and are a really pure part of freediving. They’re an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm that pushes against your lungs to manufacture you breathe, and is a consequence of carbon dioxide building up for your body. As freedivers strategy the stop of their breath-have interaction, contractions salvage stronger and more frequent, and they’re historical as a signaling machine for freedivers to grab where they are in their breath-have interaction.
• Loss of motor abet watch over (LMC) – A late warning impress of very low oxygen ranges that very best occurs on the skin. A freediver’s muscles spasm and jerk, however unravel when they breathe and restore a ample stage of oxygen. If a freediver doesn’t breathe on their very possess and oxygen ranges proceed to diminish, a full loss of consciousness (blackout) occurs.
• Blackout – A loss of consciousness attributable to insufficient ranges of oxygen within the body. Blackouts in freediving are at chance of happen on the ascent between 10m (33ft) and the skin attributable to the enormous fall within the partial stress of oxygen.
• Lung barotrauma/squeeze – Injury or damage to the lungs attributable to stress, which can occur if the freediver isn’t very any longer utterly relaxed or if diaphragm flexibility is a danger. In freediving, this damage is often known as a “lung squeeze.”
• Perforated/ruptured ear drum – A stress-linked damage where a hole or race within the thin tissue that separates the outer ear from the heart ear occurs. This can happen if a freediver can not equalize however continues their descent. Additionally known as ear barotrauma or a “heart ear squeeze” in freediving.
• Lung overexpansion – An damage that will per chance occur when freedivers pack extra air into their lungs and ruin no longer exhale among the air near the skin on the ascent. This can furthermore occur if a particular person dives down on a breath-have interaction, takes a breath from a scuba diver’s regulator, and ascends without exhaling the air; licensed freedivers are taught never to entire this, however it regrettably occurs to of us and not using a background freediving data or education.

Competitors-particular phrases

• High time/Official High – An athlete’s legitimate time of performance in a contest.
• Ground protocol (SP) – A build of living of actions an athlete need to carry out to order the judges that they capably performed the dive within their deepest limits. Within 15 seconds of surfacing, athletes need to stare throughout the judges, bag their facial instruments, order the “OK” impress with their hand, and order “I’m OK” in English while last appropriate and warding off letting their airways dip beneath the water for 30 seconds. Varied organizations have diverse orders of actions or particular closing dates, however the actions that can need to be performed stay the identical.
• White card – Neat performance and not using a penalty factors. Utterly white card performances can change into national or world records.
• Yellow card – Neat performance however with some penalty factors.
• Crimson card – Efficiency is disqualified.
• Nationwide characterize (NR) – The deepest performance made by an particular particular person for their country that turned into made based utterly totally on a firm’s guidelines and presided over by the group’s judges.
• Official world characterize (WR) – The deepest performance made by an particular particular person worldwide that turned into made based utterly totally on a firm’s guidelines and presided over by the group’s grab/s which would be licensed to oversee world characterize makes an try. The athlete has handed the anti-doping drug test given by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency).
• Pending world characterize – The deepest performance made by an particular particular person worldwide that turned into made based utterly totally on a firm’s guidelines and presided over by the group’s grab/s which would be licensed to oversee world characterize makes an try. The athlete has no longer yet got the effects of the anti-doping drug test given by WADA.
• Unofficial world characterize – The deepest performance made by an particular particular person worldwide, however befell outdoors a WR build of living competitors.
• WR build of living competitors – A contest with world characterize build of living implies that a minimum of 1 managing grab of the competitors is at a stage that enables them to certify world characterize performances.

Dwell tuned for the 2d part of the info, which can duvet competitors group, how athletes are judged, and the penalties they could face.

Characteristic photo by Daan Verhoeven