Come and join us for some freediving fun!
September 2011
1 Star Course - 6th Septebmer 2011
1 Star Course – 7th September 2011
2 Star Course – 8th – 10th September 2011
3 Star Course – 12th – 14th September 2011
1 Star Course – 19th Septebmer 2011
2 Star Course – 20th – 22nd September 2011
2 Star Course – 24th – 26th September 2011
If these dates don’t match with your requirements then mail me to tailor sometime to suit you!
I was lucky enough to be judging at this fantastic competition, the organiser Steve Millard wrote the following article:
This was the second year of the Great Northern pool competition in the UK. It was extended to two days this year to accommodate a DNF (no-fins) competition this year. It increased considerably in size due to the popularity of last years event. Only a handful of the UK’s top divers were unable to attend in some capacity, all the big hitters and some tremendous new talent were there.
On Saturday the 12th March I was proud to see John Moorcroft top the bill with a tremendous 130m DNF swim. He has a UK record in him for sure still after over a decade on the circuit. He did it for charity too so please follow this link http://www.justgiving.com/John-Moorcroft/. There were also good white card performances for second and third places from Dave King (last years overall winner) and Chris Laycock (last years best newbie.)
The ladies were led by a new UK National DNF record for Liv Philip using all her experience to pull out a white card, she has only had white cards in my competitions so i am thrilled for her achievement. Kattie Lussier and Meike Holzmann were DNF twins both finishing at the same point, well done.
On Sunday the 13th March which was UK Nationals day, the day almost all belonged to the mighty Dave King with a massive 226m Dynamic swim. Top dive mate, my respect! I didn’t quite get to get over and see him surface as his top was at the same time as the mermaid of the pool Mandy Buckley. She has fought back this year from a very serious illness and she got in and equalled her personal best from last year and I needed to be there to see it and give her support. Apneists UK’s Mandy Buckley was fortunate enough to collect a new Orca Breath wetsuit from Orca, our generous sponsor. She is going to do a swim for charity in June and you can read more about her and sponsor a good charity here , a truly amazing story!
In the main event Apneists UK’s Chris Crawshaw decided to go for solid white cards and did a great and very easy 150m swim and a 5’30 static for a very respectable 2nd place in the UK Nationals in his first competition, followed behind closely by Tim Money in third place. Liv Philip won the title for the second year in a row, George Miller again cemented her place as one of the all time best female UK divers with a respectable 2nd place. Kattie Lussier skidded into third place overall with two exciting dives and Apneists UK’s very own Nikki Bream took the 3rd place in the UK Nationals. Her shocked look when she heard at the prize giving, and her joy when she realised she was on the podium was one of my favourite moments.
The event ran smoothly, because of the hard work of many. I need to say a massive thanks to all the helpers. I counted over 40 individuals helping over the two days, and they were all essential. Even one of the jobs not being done would have made it extremely difficult if not impossible to run safely and without hiccups. I want to point out at this time they were all volunteers, using their different skills and expertise to help the athletes and I appreciate their help! I have had three days to reflect and it makes me prouder every day to see how our group has come together for this. People were travelling from as far as London, Scotland, Yorkshire, Bristol and Wales. Oh, and the RED SEA!! Thank you!
George Miller, current UK static record holder said "This year went really well! The event was at the Liverpool aquatics centre, a state of the art facility. I must say my jaw hit the ground when a staff member of the centre asked one of the organisers how deep he wanted the pool for the static competition! I didn’t know that pools could do that! In all seriousness, I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt privileged to be able to compete at such a top class facility.
The seamless organisation and brilliant atmosphere saw many freedivers, both seasoned and beginner, from several different clubs across the country come together to make a really brilliant day. I think it was reflected in the results. We saw a fantastic national record from Liv Philip with dynamic no fins of 111m and a massive dynamic from Dave King of 226m. The most inspiring swim of the day was Mandy Buckley, who managed a formidable 150m swim.
I would like to thank the organisers, Steve Millard and his crew from www.freedivers.co.uk , the Liverpool aquatics centre for having us and all those who took part. I’m hoping that next years event will see some international faces."
Here is a selection of short videos including the two National records:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSNSIGxtQwA
http://www.youtube.com/user/seanpetersfoto#p/a/u/1/zS9rmfVYXOs
http://www.youtube.com/user/seanpetersfoto#p/a/u/2/Ue7jbbJ3snw
Thank you to the world class pool, the relaxed & super helpful staff and our generous sponsors:
Lifestyles Leisure
Sean Peters www.sppv.co.uk
George Stoyle www.earthinfocus.com
www.orca.com
Urban Gastropubs
Electrical lighting superstore
No-Tanx
Salt Free divers
www.freedivers.co.uk/team/stevemillard.asp
At the beginning of this year I had the chance to join a unique safari on the luxury live aboard boat Infinity, run by Bella Safari’s. Bella Safari’s run live aboard trips all over the Red Sea area.
This however was not the usual scuba diving safari! This was the first Breatheology safari which combined a mixture of breathing techniques, meditation and freediving with personal life planning and goal setting. This Unique experience was enjoyed by a select group of business owners.
This trip was a culmination of lots of planning from the group organizer Stig Avall Severinsen – the founder of Breatheology and Danish Team coach for the Freediving World Championship winners in Japan 2010. Stigs’ book ‘Breathology – the art of conscious breathing’ has now been translated into English and is available from Amazon together with a selection of T-shirts and sweatshirts.
The safari departed from the port of Marsa Ghalib which is only a 15 minute drive from Marsa Alam airport making it ideally located for southern safaris.
Our first stop was at a sandy bay to introduce the group to static breathold diving. Holding the breath while lying face down in the water.
A meditation course was also being undertaken during this week run by Danish author Henning Daverne providing useful techniques which can be used in the business environment, everyday life and for freediving relaxation.
After an active first day of discovery we enjoyed a restful night at sea watching the sunset and a multitude of stars.
Morning yoga activated the body and mind for the day ahead to discover snorkeling and experience some beautiful marine life and start to explore the feeling of diving underwater. For the majority of the guests this was their first time to see the wonders of the Red Sea and the first time to wear a mask and fins. The journey of freediving discovery had begun!
The week continued to provide new personal insights and interactions with marine life. We were very lucky to be able to interact with a large pod of dolphins and relive the experience in the evening after dinner as the dolphins enjoyed playing with the freedivers and swimming along with us under water. We also saw a large white tip reef shark that came along to see what was happening when the guests were discovering their depths and swimming down a line. This is called constant weight diving when you swim vertically down a line while wearing a fixed amount of weight, a mask and fins.
The lounge area was ideal for group work as well as relaxation where the group enjoyed watching the movies ‘The Big Blue’ and ‘The history of freediving’.
This was a unique safari tailored to meet the needs of this specific group. I was very happy to be able to provide freedive safety and support for a great group of people and to witness the development of people with no previous freedive experience achieve breath holds of up to 5 minutes and depths of up to 30 meters.
A big thank you to Stig for all of his organization and to Bella Safari’s for enabling me to join this experience in the Red Sea.
Apneists UK are delighted to be able to announce that once again we will be holding the BFA UK National Pool Freediving Competition with International status. It will be held at the Liverpool Aquatics Centre, Wavertree on Sunday 13th March 2011. The event will once again be called ‘The Great Northern’ because we can’t be bothered thinking of anything better and we liked that name anyway. We will be hosting the Static (STA) and Dynamic with Fins (DYN) disciplines.
Everybody is welcome!
The spaces are for seasoned athletes and also those new to the sport. I will ensure all the information you require if you are a ‘newbie’ is given to you and we will make sure you are welcomed and look after you. Everyone starts somewhere! There are around 27 spaces (this can be increased) to compete and you will receive an AIDA World ranking. Last year we saw many personal bests set and a NR at the venue because of the excellent facilities, relaxed atmosphere and ….. I suppose the athletes themselves J The ‘with guests’ tag means that although it is the UK National competition that even if you are not a UK citizen you can compete, and in fact we would encourage it, Liverpool is next to a major city, and itself has an airport / trains for easy access. You could be amongst the next generation of successful Freedivers, or maybe you already are! What are you waiting for?
We are also welcome those wanting to help. Some jobs are essential, the whole competition is set up to support the competing athletes so if you want to help let me know, we need at least 15-20 people to make it run smoothly.
Contact Steve Millard: Apneaboy111@hotmail.com
The Liverpool Aquatics Centre was the perfect venue last year for a Great competition. At the heart of the state-of-the-art facility is an Olympic sized pool with moveable floor, which is used as a training camp by some of the world’s best swimmers in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Aside from the main pool (which can be divided into two if required) there is also an additional 20 metre training pool.
For the Great Northern 2011 event the 20 metre training pool will be used in the morning to host the STA event and the 50m Olympic pool to hold the DYN event.
The Great Northern will provide the ideal opportunity for athletes in the UK and from the continent to gain AIDA ranking to be counted for their National Team selection. Focusing on STA and DYN. It’s also the perfect place to meet other Freedivers and meet some of the personalities in the sport. Please go tohttp://www.freedivers.co.uk/resources/greatnorthern.asp for pictures, testimonials and any other information from last years competition. I will update this soon.
Convinced? Please go here http://www.freedivers.co.uk/resources/greatnorthern2011.asp for your enrolment form.
Still not convinced? Turn up anyway, there is a free viewing gallery and after you have seen what its all about we will probably see you competing at next years event J
Steve Millard
Elios sponsored the UK freedive team by providing Yamamoto 3mm freediving suits to each team member. The suits fitted so well it was like wearing nothing, we had to keep stroking ourselves to make sure we really had the suit on! Fantastic suits and fantastic dives. Thank you so much Elios!
Denise has enjoyed snorkelling all over the world but had never had any instruction on how to freedive and couldn’t understand the pain in her ears when she tried to dive under the water.
You can see more picture by following this link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123753&id=126647496996&l=13fb9a473d
Courses are taught in assocaition with Aquarius Diving Club, Marriot Hotel, Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt
Email: freedive@freediveegypt.com
Tel: 0020 122 819 150
