The AIDA World Championships are taking place in Kalamata, Greece from September 19-25, 2011. There will be 144 athletes from 30 countries participating in the event, with Japan boasting the highest number of contestants (20 divers).
The disciplines featured in this event will be CWT (Constant Weight), CNF (Constant Weight Without Fins) and FIM (Free Immersion). In CWT the diver descends and ascends using fins or a monofin for propulsion. In CNF, fins are forbidden and the diver must use his or her own muscle strength throughout the dive. FIM divers are also not allowed to use propulsion equipment but can use a rope to pull themselves down and up. All dives are verified by a Suunto D-Series diving watch which records depth data.
The official competition days are as follows: September 19 (CNF), September 22 (CWT) and September 24 (FIM).
Contestants taking part include New Zealand’s William Trubridge, the current holder of the world records in FIM and the CNF disciplines. Trubridge was the first person ever to break the 100m barrier unassisted. On 18 January 2011, Trubridge won the World's Absolute Freediver Award (WAFA) naming him best all around freediver, with the highest combined score in six freediving disciplines.
Canadian Will Winram is another contestant that holds a number of records in the FIM and CNF disciplines. His FIM depth of 97m in the third Mediterranean World Cup earned him a National and Continental record.
Ryuzo Shinomiya from Japan was the first Asian man to have reached a depth of 100m. Shinomiya also holds National and Continental records in FIM (104m) and CWT (115m).
Natalia Molchanova will also be competing in the Suunto AIDA World Championships. Molchanova is the world's most successful female freediver ever, with a total of 30 world records. She has, so far, 12 individual gold medals and two team gold medals from Freediving World Championships. Her son, Alexey will also be competing in the competition.
In all depth disciplines dive depth has to be announced beforehand. If the diver fails to make their target depth, points will be deducted. Judges have use of three different cards to score the dive:
- white card = ok (no deductions)
- yellow card = ok with some penalty points
- red card = disqualified
In all disciplines there is a safety protocol after the dive containing three simple things:
- removal of the face equipment (mask or goggles and nose clip)
- ok hand sign
- and a verbal “I am ok”
And this all has to be done within 15 seconds of surfacing in this specific order.
The dives of the top three contestants will be recorded on AIDA Movescount page for analysis: www.movescount.com/groups/group1554-AIDA_International
Images by Fred Buyle