News

Check here for the latest updates to this website.

February 21, 2005

Streaming video clips are back online! Kirk Krack and Performance Freediving have once agin offered to host Goh Iromoto’s daily video clips for a few more months. If you haven’t purchased the competition DVD yet then have another look at the daily clips to see just a sample of what you’ve been missing.

November 8

The reports from the “B” sample analysis for Tom Sietas and Sam Still are now in. Both tests were negative. The results and rankings will therefore remain unchanged. Congratulations again to Tom and Sam!

September 17

AIDA International has recently reported two anti-doping tests that may affect the results of this competition:

  • Tom Sietas (Germany) during his World Record attempt made on June 11th, 2004:
    • Positive results for METOPROLOL (beta-blocker)
    • Redress procedure requested by the athlete, asking for sample “B” analysis
  • Sam Still (Great Britain) during the “AIDA World Team Championsip” in Canada:
    • Positive for PREDNISONE (corticosteroid)

Just how these tests affect the results of the World Championships will be determined by the AIDA Disciplinary Committee once all drug tests have been confirmed.

For more information, see the AIDA International website.

August 26

We have a few hundred more photos on the site for you to see. You can also order prints of any of these photos right on our website. If you were at the competition in any capacity then there is a very good chance that we have a picture of you in our galleries.

Still to come: Volunteer recognition pages!

August 18

There were several national records set in this competition and they are now marked in the results. You can also find a summary of national records set.

Did we miss your national record? Then let us know!

August 17

It is now possible to order and purchase the competition DVD as well as custom DVDs of athlete performances.

There is also a new photo gallery with photos by Bruce Entus and Darryl Leniuk. Stay tuned to this page because several more photos are coming.

August 14

There are two more video clips posted on the site. These are from the Static and Dynamic competition days.

August 13

There are three more daily videos on the site from from August 9 and 10. Check out the shots of Dave King and Annabel Briseno with the beluga whales at the Vancouver Aquarium! More videos from the Static and Dynamic events are on the way.

August 12 – Dynamic Apnea

Today is the last day of the competition and time for the Dynamic Apnea event. This discipline is optional and does not count towards the the team standings. You can see the competition schedule here. Results will be posted live here.

August 11 – Static Apnea

The Static Apnea event is being held today at the UBC outdoor pool. The competition schedule shows who is competing when. The first warmup starts at 9:00 am and the last competitor is done by 1:00 pm. The results will be updated as athletes complete their performances.

There were a number of national and world record attempts today after the Static Apnea competition. The results are posted. The highlight was an astounding world best time of 9:24 by Tom Sietas of Germany. Unfortunately it will not count as a world record because he was disqualified when he touched his coach shortly after surfacing.

August 10

Two More Video Clips!

Goh has posted two video clips, from Saturday and Sunday’s Constant Ballast competition. The underwater footage is spectacular!

Static Competition Schedule

Today is the last day of training before the Static Apnea competition. Team captains should have their team’s announced performance forms in to the judges’ suite before the captain’s meeting at 6:00pm today. The competition schedule will be available right after the meeting at 7:30pm.

August 9

A new video clip from Constant Ballast training day 2 is now posted, along with a revised version from day 1 with better sound quality. You can view them here.

We have a late arrival. Natalia Fernandez of Colombia arrived just as the Constant Ballast event was ending. She will be competing as the Colombian women’s team for the rest of the competition.

August 8 – Constant Ballast Day 2

Final Results

Final results for the Constant Ballast event are now posted.

There were four protests today involving two athletes:

  • Ananda Escudero was touched by her coach after the official top time but not before her airway entered the water.
    No disqualification
  • Ananda’s depth tag stopped 10m before reaching the bottom plate. On her dive she retrieved her tag but did not descend to the bottom plate. As the depth is measured by the bottom plate and not the tag, the points were calculated as if she had turned early but had retrieved her tag.
    32 points, no re-try awarded
  • Michael Antinori slightly touched one of the judges inadvertently on surfacing.
    No disqualification
  • On video review, Michael Antinori was judged to have had no Loss of Motor Control.
    No disqualification

Competitor Schedule

A printable version of today’s competing athletes can be found here. Athletes numbered 1 to 15 are to board the bus at 10:15am. Athletes numbered 16 to 29 board the bus at 11:15am.

As with yesterday, preliminary results will be posted live to the website.

August 7 – Constant Ballast Day 1

Results!

Final results for today are now posted. Things went very smoothly for both the organizers and the athletes. Almost all athletes retrieved their tags from the bottom and there were no disqualifications, only a few penalties due to line violations and turning early.

Three new national records were broken today:

  • Sam Still UK Men’s Constant Ballast: 68m
  • Haico Aaldering Netherlands Men’s Constant Ballast: 53m
  • Suzy Kensington New Zealand Women’s Constant Ballast: 50m

Video Clips!

Goh Iromoto has posted his first daily video clip. Today’s clip is from the first day of official training for Constant Ballast. click here to see it!

August 6

Today is the second and last day of training for Constant Ballast.

Bus Information!

As with yesterday, two buses will take teams from Gage Towers to Lions Bay for Constant Ballast practice.

Bus Loading at Gage Towers Teams
1 6:45 am United Kingdom, New Zealand, USA, Netherlands, Japan
2 8:30 am Canada, Mexico, Independent

August 5

Today is the first official training day for Constant Ballast!

Bus Information!

Two buses will take teams from Gage Towers to Lions Bay for Constant Ballast practice. Don’t miss your bus!

Bus Loading at Gage Towers Teams
1 5:30 am Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Mexico, Independent
2 7:15 am Germany, Greece, Japan, USA, Netherlands

August 4

Today is the first day for athletes to check in and register in person.

Spectator Tickets for all events open to spectators can now be purchased online via PayPal. This is especially important for the Constant Ballast event where spectator space is limited.

Doc Scott, founder of Doc’s Proplugs, our title title sponsor, tells us that he will be coming in to town tomorrow. He will have his equipment with him to give athletes fiberoptic ear canal exams with ‘souvenir photos’.

August 3

Today we loaded and anchored the barge and stretched and measured the line for the Constant Ballast event.

One day until athletes register in person, we have heard from Venezuela that they will not be able to come. Administrative problems prevented them from obtaining Canadain visas in time. 🙁

Due to numerous other problems, Egypt will also not be sending a team. However, Yehia and Jennifer will be coming by themselves to lend their support.

August 1

A schedule for the volunteers has been posted, along with a revised itinerary.

Many of the athletes are in town now to get adjusted to the time zone and conditions. More teams are arriving each day.

July 27

We have some fantastic news! Doc’s Proplugs has just signed up as the title sponsor for the 4th AIDA World Freediving Championships by Team. Doc Scott has been a tireless supporter of competitive freediving and we’re very glad to have him with us.

The final version of the AIDA rules for team competitions came out just yesterday. We know this is very short notice but they take immediate effect and will be the rules used in this competition.

July 23

There have been several more updates to the itinerary today.

There is also a new page with information for spectators.

July 22

We’ve made a few updates to our itinerary. Sebastien Nagel will be teaching a Judge in Learning course before the competition on August 2 and 3. We will also be having some talks on freediving physiology by doctors Andrew Blaber and John Fritz-Wright during the competition.

July 15

All of the participating teams are finalized and are listed on our Teams page. We’ve got 84 athletes, alternates and coaches in total from 20 teams from 11 countries. This includes three current world record holders in Constant Ballast and Static Apnea.

Only three weeks to go!

July 12

The Medical Form and Liability Release Form mentioned in the Registration Process are now on the site. If you are a competitor or alternate then please print these forms and fill them out. You’ll need your doctor’s signature for the medical form.

July 6

The teams from Canada, Japan and Germany are now listed on the site.

Want to see what it looks like to dive and compete in Canada? Check out the CAFA Promotional Video produced by Goh Iromoto.

July 2

Just to whet your appetite, we now have a Quicktime video clip to show you what this competition is all about.

The deadline for registration and payment of fees has now passed and the list of teams is now finalized. Greece and Egypt have now selected their teams. Expect Canada’s tomorrow.

June 6

We are now ready to accept full and final payments from country representatives or team members. Final deadline for all payments is June 30th.

We are also opening up the competition to any independent competitors who could not get a team together. Independent competitors will have all of the same priveleges as competitors on any team. They will be listed in the individual standings for each event but will not be listed in the team standings. You can register here.

Austria, France and South Africa have had to back out.

June 1

The Netherlands, Mexico and New Zealand have now selected their teams.

Colombia has informed us that they intend to send a Men’s and a Women’s team.

May 26

Greece and the United Kingdom have now registered teams. In fact, after last weekend’s UK Championships, the first team is now selected. Have a look at the UK team members.

May 13

A new media section has been added to this site. You can now see a list of the attending media organizations.

Volunteer information and a signup form have been added to the Organizers section of this site.

May 12

Austria is now IN! Unfortunately on this same day, Belgium has had to back out.

May 4

We have a new logo! Special thanks go to Rodin O’Hagen of the UK for providing the original concept and Luc Gosselin for providing the finising touches.

The team selection stage of registration is now available. Once a registered country has completed its team selection process, the country representative can register the team members. Team members will be immediately listed on the site.

Sad news: Switzerland and Norway have told us that they will not be sending teams.

March 16

Online team registration and payment of deposits is now available! The deadline for team deposits is April 1. If we don’t have enough deposits in by that date then we may have to release some of the rooms that we have booked.

Online team member registration is now in development and will be available in a couple of weeks.

March 10

South Africa is IN with both a men’s and a women’s team. New Zealand has also informed us that they intend to send a Women’s team as well. That makes 20 men’s teams and 13 women’s teams that are planning to come.

March 5

Morocco and Greece are both IN! The teams page now shows which countries are sending men’s and women’s teams or just men’s teams.

February 23

This website is now available en français!

Spain and Egypt are now IN!

January 31

Check out the new Sponsorship Proposal document.

The Netherlands, Mexico and Sweden are also IN. That makes 15 countries sending teams!

January 21

This site has only been open a few days and we already have four more countries sending teams to this competition. Belgium, Switzerland, Venezuela and Germany are now IN.

January 16

We’re live! Today is the official launch date for www.aidaworlds2004.com! Things may be a little rough around the edges here but we’ll be giving the site a new paint job in the next few weeks and adding new information continuously over the next few months.