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What is competitive freediving? It's a sport where people use a monofin to propel themselves down and back up the water. Unlike other sports, freediving doesn't involve a boat and requires the athletes to use their arms and legs to propel themselves. They can swim down using a breaststroke, pull a weighted line, or float. Whatever their technique, freediving is highly addictive and can lead to serious competition.
Sled freedives are a type of competitive freediving. A sled is a device that freedivers use to descend and ascend to the deepest depths. Sleds are a weighted cylinder attached to vertical ropes. The sled allows a diver to descend faster than he can ascend. A sled is more difficult to control and less efficient in terms of equalization, so it is only used in advanced training or for fun. Unlike other types of competitive freediving, sled freedives can be dangerous and are only done by experienced competitors.
Several people have drowned while performing a sled freedive. In 2007, Dimitris Vassilakis died during a spearfishing attempt outside Nice. In June of that year, French freediver Loic Leferme also died in a sled accident. He was training in the same area as Audrey Mestre, but his sled malfunctioned and he could not reach the surface in time. The tragic event led to intense criticism of the security measures used by the International Association of Freedivers. After the accident, Francisco "Pipin" Rodriguez opted to leave the freediving scene.
Constant weight freediving is a competitive sport in which the diver does not vary the weight during the dive. A monofin is used to propel the diver through the water, which is crucial for pushing the body through negative buoyancy. This type of diving requires deep water, and backyard pools are not an appropriate place to try this sport. Here are some tips to master this discipline. One of the first things to do is to get the right equipment.
Constant weight freediving is the most common type of freediving. The purpose of this type of free diving is to reach maximum depths in one breath, pushing their bodies to the limit. Competitors use fins to propel themselves down and must touch a vertical reference rope at the bottom to stop. Constant weight freediving is the deepest discipline allowed in competitions. Unlike other disciplines, this discipline emphasizes performance over safety. The rules are more rigid in constant weight freediving, while in recreational freediving, the diver can use whatever equipment he or she chooses.
Having learned the basics of freediving with fins, Gladstone's Patrick Falls has become the 33rd-ranked diver in the world in Dynamic freediving with fins. The sport involves a series of underwater challenges that test a diver's ability to swim a long distance on one breath while using fins for propulsion. This year, Falls is competing in the World Championships for this sport, and he has already completed the static event, which involves holding your breath for as long as possible while face down in water.
In addition to swimming with fins, Nordblad is also a designer and ice diver. She first started freediving in 1999 after years of scuba diving. Her passion for the sport led her to participate in world championship competitions, where she set the women's world record for the longest distance without using breathing apparatus. In addition to freediving with fins, Nordblad also uses underwater photography to share her experience.
The Vertical Blue is the world's premier competitive freediving event and has held world-record status since 2008. The competition is organized by William Trubridge, a 18-time World Record Holder. The competition's schedule is structured so that athletes can dive only on six competition days, but that they can choose which discipline they want to compete in each day. Since 2008, Vertical Blue events have produced a large list of world records, including three by women, 10 by men, and seven by male athletes.
In the first day of competition, USA freediver Enchante Gallardo swam to a depth of 87m (285 feet) to set a new CMAS World Record for FIM. This improved her previous personal best by a further 3m. Her dive also set an AIDA National Record for the women's CWTB. Other competitors have been ranked highly, and several women have qualified for the next event.
