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The Andaman Freediving Challenge 2009
Story & Photos : Blue Planet Divers – Koh Lanta
“The scuba diver dives to look around, the Freediver dives to look inside” - Umberto Pelizzari.
 Freediving is simple. A Freediver relies on a single breath of air to explore the undersea world. Moving gracefully without wasting energy, a Freediver can spend minutes underwater and experience the ocean as any other marine mammal does. Free from cumbersome equipment, a Freediver can sneak up on a turtle, or glide to the bottom for a meeting with a manta ray.
Along with the exploration of the underwater world comes the inner exploration of sensations and personal limits. Many people enjoy Freediving for the feeling of sinking into the depths and floating back to the surface. Others enjoy the sensation of their heart slowing down as the diving reflex takes hold, or enjoy performance based Freediving as a challenge, competing in various disciplines.
For the second time, Blue Planet Divers in Koh Lanta has organized the Andaman Freediving Challenge (AFC) last February, which was a great success. A thanks goes to the support of the 2 judges, Francois Gauthier and Patrick Bouillon, and also to our guest of honor, Guillaume Nery, world record holder in constant weight (-113 meters). But most of all, thanks to all the athletes that have joined this challenge.
Prior to the opening ceremony plan, the Athletes had the possibility to train one day at Koh Haa near the official site and one day at the official pool. Everybody had a coach along with safety divers around them. Some of the athletes were new to the sport but Guillaume Nery along with the 2 AIDA judges made them feel at ease and gave everyone great tips on how to improve their performances with safety. Laurent Pinci (the AFC organizer) stated: “it’s a challenge open to everybody and everyone is welcome to participate (following the AIDA regulation and safety, of course). The goal behind it was to give the opportunity to Freedivers around Asia to challenge themselves, meet with the community and let anyone discover this amazing sport. Still today, many people think of Freediving as an unapproachable sport. More and more Freediving schools around the world offer today the possibility to take Freediving courses from beginner level to Instructor”.
AIDA (Association Internationale pour le Developpement de l'Apnée) is the main Freediving organization like PADI for Scuba Diving. It is also the worldwide rule and record-keeping body for competitive breath holding events. Freediving aims to set standards for safety and comparability of Official World Record attempts. AIDA International is the parent organization for national clubs of the same name.
Day 1 – Deep sea competition at Koh Haa site
8 am, all the athletes and crew came onboard M/V Choksomboon 9, Blue Planet Divers’ boat, with a smile on their faces. It took 2 hours to get to the official site. Koh Haa is a group of 5 small islands with an amazing marine life. The visibility is around 25m year round and waters average 29 degree Celsius. The maximum depth for the day was set at 55mt, a great challenge for most of the competitors.
Once the official zone was established and the warm up lines positioned, the judges and the organizer called on to the Athletes to prepare themselves. Thai media were present to cover the event; TV crew and reporter watched curiously for the first time in Asia a Freediving competition. The atmosphere on the boat was amazing, athletes were in relaxation mode, smiling judges gave their last advice on the competition protocols, the organizer checked everything to make sure that nothing would go in the way of the Athletes. The safety divers were in position.13 athletes from different nationalities attended the competition: French, English, South African, Swedish, Finnish, Australian, Swiss and American.
After hours of competition in various sea disciplines such as Constant weight with fins, Constant weight without fins and free immersion, each competitor came back with their white tag, meaning that they reached the depth announced without failing to the surface protocol: remove the mask, signal ok, saying “I’m Ok“ and keep airways out of the water until the judge is considering the dive to be valid or not.
On the way back, everyone told their own dive experience and sensations at depth. Quoting Umberto Pelizzari, I freedive to feel new sensations and emotions that I would otherwise never feel. I do not know what pushes me down there and I do not care to know what it is: it is so beautiful that I will always dive, for as long as my body allows. The first breath taken after emerging from the deep of the sea is like the newborn’s first breath upon leaving the womb. When you freedive, you must not set yourself against the sea. It shouldn’t be you, your body, your skin and the sea; instead every single part of your being must merge with the water.
Day 2 – Pool competition at Rawi Warin Resort & Spa
On the last day of the second annual AFC 2009, many visitors came to watch the Athletes performing. Guillaume Nery demonstrated his gracious way to swim in monofin; Sebastian Naslung explained new relaxation techniques. Laurent Pinci re-explained the AIDA rules and the judges prepared the official zone. The pool measures 41 meters.
The disciplines offered were Dynamic with fins, Dynamic without fins and static. The world record in DYN is 250 meter, hold by Alexei Molchanov; 213 meters in DNF, hold by Tom Sietas and Dave Mullins; and 10’12’’ in static by Tom Sietas.
The pool was full of people, all curious of the outcome of this competition. Athletes were ready to give their personal best. Louise Dixon and Ingela Karlsson were preparing to beat their national record (Australia and Finland).
The official camera followed each athlete’s performance along with the safety divers. One judge was in the water, the other followed the swimmer on the pool side. Once a diver had finished his dive, they must follow the surface protocol to get validation. For the static, they are allowed to be coached with strict conditions. The best time was 5’36’’ hold by Chris Friend from South Africa.
Everyone waited for the final results in deep sea, pool, woman combined discipline and man combined discipline. The representative of Mares (Diving Equipment manufacturer), Matthias Dorcsh offered the prizes to the winners. Also, the 5 star Rawi Warin Resort & Spa offered 4 nights accommodation for 2 persons in a deluxe room. Eventually, the organizer Laurent Pinci announced the winners.
Results of all the disciplines of each athlete - In order on combined disciplines
Combined disciplines (Deep sea and pool) winners:
1. Emmanuel Turlin (France) - Prize: 4 nights at Rawi Warin
2. Michael Board (U.K) - Prize: Razor pro Mares Freediving fins
3. Chris Friend (South Africa) - Prize: Mares Freediving bag
Woman categories:
1. Louise Dixon (Australia) - Prize: Black Nemo Mares computer
2. Ingela Karlsson (Finland)
Deep sea disciplines winners:
1. Lionel Lavabre (France) - Prize: Black Passion Mares computer
2. Chris Friend (South Africa) - Prize: Razor pro Mares Freediving fins
3. Emmanuel Turlin (France)
Pool disciplines winners:
1. Julian Van Heerden (South Africa) - Prize: Black Nemo Mares computer
2. Emmanuel Turlin (France) - Prize: Razor pro Mares Freediving fins
3. Michael Board (U.K) - Prize: Mares Freediving bag
An old Eskimo proverb says: “When a man leaves for a foreign country and abandons his land, he takes his wife and his heart with him, but leaves behind the weapons and laws of his people, in order to accept those of the country where he is going.” So it should be in our approach to the sea. The sea is neither a land to conquer, nor a border to overcome. The sea is a friendly element.
A special thanks to the sponsors that made this event possible: TAT Krabi (Tourism Authority of Thailand), Mares and Rawi Warin Resort and Spa. For more information about the next Andaman Freediving Challenge 2010, please contact Blue planet Divers :
www.blueplanetdivers.net
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