It has been said that Freediving is an advanced form of snorkelling. The difference being to get deeper - for longer. I started freediving in 2000 while living in Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden. An experienced Swedish freediver, Sebastian Näslund, heard that I was a swimmer and scuba diver, so he dragged me out in a small boat and told me to “swim down”. From that very first dive, I was hooked!
Freediving is about getting to know your body, your limitations, but more interestingly, your ability! The Luc Besson film, “The Big Blue” kind of put freediving on the map, but the practise of freediving has actually been around for much longer. The Japanese Ama divers have for many generations dived on one breath for pearls and shellfish, while freedivers have been used in military operations as far back as the Roman times.
These days however, freediving is about a passion for the sea. I have freedived with dolphins and whales, and they all treated me as if I was this interesting cousin or something, very different from meeting sea mammals on scuba, they don’t like bubbles! See, it’s just not natural to breathe under water!
As Freediving has grown immensely over the past twenty odd years, the depths have become greater and breath holds longer. Freediving competitions are an interesting spectacle, with girls and guys from all over the world meeting to discuss dive reflexes, frenzel equalisation, monofins and other strange matters. We are a nerdy bunch. Healthy, single-minded, big-lunged people!
Freediving is practiced both in pool and the sea. There are several disciplines within freediving, the three most common being:
Constant Weight: swimming as deep as you can with only fins to help you;
dynamic: swimming as far as you can under the water in a pool;
static apnea: where you lie face down holding your breath - this surely being one of the most mentally challenging exercises in the world, and NOT to be tried alone!
Freediving is an amazing way to get to know your body. It teaches you to listen to your body and not least, mental focus. And also, freediving training can give you that little extra confidence to surf a wave a little bigger than quite big!
In December last year, myself and two other girls represented South Africa at the Freediving World Championships in the Red Sea in Egypt. We had a great time and our Mandela mascot got a lot of attention, we weren’t quite ready to place… yet!! But with training having started for this year’s competition season, anything’s possible!
In the beginning of May, Cape Town will host the AIDA South Africa Freediving Open, so be sure to watch out for it!
By Hanli Prinsloo
shweet article! all u surfers reading this, u should definately give it a try! im a spearfisherman and alternate between surfing and diving on my weekends. if theres no swell the diving is usually great so im always able to get into the water...
anyway keep safe guys
greg
Are there any freediving courses in the jhb area.
Thanks
Lex