May 24th ?? 26th, the Canadian Association of Freediving and Apnea (CAFA) will be hosting their 2nd annual national freediving competition in Vancouver, BC. This year’s competition will see many of Canada’s top freedivers attending to compete against each other in hopes of making this years Team Canada.Freediving is the sport of breath-hold diving or advanced snorkeling for time, depth and distance all on one breath and without the use of underwater breathing apparatus or scuba. Freediving has been around 4500 years as a means of sustenance in many Polynesian and Caribbean cultures, while the sport of freediving emerged in 1949 when Raimondo Bucher of Italy achieved a depth a 30m on a bet. Today competitive freediving enjoys over 35 teams from around the world competing in many different events world wide and in one of the six different disciplines.
Today freedivers explore their physiological potential with some world class athletes being able to hold their breath at the waters surface (static apnea) for over eight minutes, kick a horizontal distance of 181m on one breath of air (dynamic apnea) and kick down to and return back from 86m of depth under their own power (constant ballast). All of this is done with the simplest of equipment including mask, fins, snorkel and a wetsuit.
Last October in Spain, Canada’s women’s team placed first at the AIDA World Championships while our men placed fifth, overall Team Canada placed 2nd. This team was chosen from the Canadian national competition in 2001 the previous May and we look forward to strong Canadian team this October at the Pacific Cup in Kona, Hawaii from this years participants.
Any media or spectators wishing to attend the competition are welcome to do so. A spectator boat is available with plenty of room and the pool sessions are open to all. If you require more information, please contact Kirk Krack at kirk.krack@performancefreediving.com
