Posted on

Freediving Safety Talk

Please join us on June 13th, 6:30 pm at Aquarius Scuba for a night of Freediving Safety.

We want to have a night where we get together as a community and talk openly and honestly about staying safe while freediving.

There is no cost to this night because we want as many as possible to come out to talk safety, network and perhaps find one or several freediving buddy’s to dive with.

We will have a 30-45 minute presentation about what to remember while freediving to stay safe and will then open the room to questions and discussions.

Everyone is welcome, but it will make most sense if you have tried freediving before.

Please let us know if you are coming by email: [email protected]

Hope to see you there

Posted on

Freediving in Canada vs Tropics

 

With freediving gaining popularity recently there is also a dangerous trend that must not be ignored.

Thera are much more freediving instructors available nowadays and more people are jumping on a “Look, I am a freediver now” bandwagon. Who would resist looking cool posing amongst corals and big marine mammals on Instagram or FB with no scuba tanks?

Resorts and diving centres offer freediving courses all over Caribbean and Tropics all over the World. Dive centres accept certified freedivers for dive trips alongside scuba folks if you flash your freediving C-card. All seems to be going in the right direction. But…

Same certified freedivers come back home to Canada and now venture in very-very different environment.

Fresh water, cold water, less visibility to name a few.

All of a sudden 7 mm wetsuit is needed (and not always freediving suit, but clumsy rental scuba wetsuit).

Fins that were flexible and easy to swim in +30 degree water become stiff like a plywood.

Excessive extra weights are often put without checking safe buoyance and nylon weight belts are used instead of rubber.

Cold water troughs off equalization, cold contractions increase risk of lung squeeze, bulky suit and rigid fins increase workload dramatically and all of a sudden certified freediver can not “duck dive” any more, can not descent below 10-15 feet or does it with tremendous effort, stressing out and risking blackout.

Adding to the problem is often less than adequate educational process. It is not uncommon to hear that freediving certification was done on a weekend, sometimes with just one day in open water (warm tropical water that was!) “Freedivers” lack basic skills like “duck dive”, line orientation, buddy communication, properly weighing themselves, safety technique etc.

If you got certified “down South”, please spend another day (at least) with Freediving Instructor in Canadian open waters

Posted on

Halloween Dive – 2017

Halloween Dive – Saturday October 14th

Location: https://www.enjoyfreediving.com/dolime-quarry

Time: 11am

The summer season is coming to an end and we want to see all of you and celebrate the great season we have had.

We will be diving and carving pumpkins under water. Our SCUBA friends will join us as well and we will make a day of it.

After the carving dive, we will have a Bonfire and a BBQ. There will be prices for the best pumpkin and the best costume etc.

Please bring your own drinks and what you want to cook on the BBQ.

Family and friends are welcome to come out. We will provide pumpkins under water as well as on land for the little family members.

We require a 2 star or equivalent certification to dive. If you have started the depth portion of the 2 Star you are of course also welcome.

We hope to see you all in the Quarry and please bring your best dry or wet costumes. Please let us know by email if you are coming.

We are also diving this Tuesday and will continue every Tuesday as long as people want to come out.

Posted on

Why am I cutting up my daughters old Tu Tu skirt to Freedive?

Canadian freedivers know exactly why I am doing this, don’t worry, my daughter has outgrown the skirt.

We dove just North of Parry Sound a few weeks ago, which is in the beginning of black fly season. Because black flies are attracted by CO2, they simply loved to hang out on the top of our snorkels.

We are diving again this weekend which will be in the middle of black fly season, which means that I need to be prepared.

Even though I am not a vegetarian, there is a limit to the amount of black flies I can eat.

I have put together this tutorial showing my high tech solution.

The materials

Snorkel, tape and Tu Tu

The end result

You can request detailed design and structural drawings.

Posted on

Freediving Competition – How do I prepare

Freediving Competition - Yaroslava Timoskenko at one of her first competitions

Freediving Competition, what is it all about…

While freediving is an exercise in relaxation, it’s easy to psyche yourself out on the competition front. There’s rules you have to consider; you might have a case of the jitters that day; you could stumble upon some other inexplicable personal wall. What’s crucial is that you stay relaxed in spite of those things!

It’s important to remember that you are freediving for yourself and yourself only and competition is a great place to test yourself and your limits, surrounded by an encouraging and supportive community. When you put your airways below the surface and start your dive, you set out to do your best to come up clean in the end. There have been times when I’ve gone way beyond what I had done in training and come up triumphant and there have been times when I played it safe.

There have been times when I didn’t listen to myself and pushed too hard.

You do your best and, whatever happens, you should use that as a learning experience. You might surprise yourself in the best way possible.

And so, for those of you that are participating in a freediving competition for the first time, here are a few pointers for The Day from someone that’s been ‘round the competition block a few times…

RELAX – first and foremost! Take a deep breath (from your belly up) and let it out, slowly. Do it now, even.

Hours before the competition

Don’t eat anything for at least 2 hours before your dive time, but remember to stay hydrated.

I wouldn’t advise doing cardio of High Intensity Interval Training a few days before the comp, but yoga is highly recommended! Be careful not to strain yourself, though.

Figure out your warm-up and equipment set-up routines even before you get to the pool. In freediving competition, you must be in sight of the judges an hour before your dive, so use that time to lay out your equipment and warm up on deck. An excellent way to do this, is to write everything down in the order that you’re to do them – write it down to the minute, but PLEASE REMEMBER to give yourself extra time for anything incidental.

Make a plan

Making a list/timesheet is a great way to make sure you don’t forget anything you intended to do – or any equipment you might need.

You’ll thank yourself later, trust me!

For your wetsuit, I would recommend NOT putting it on too early, as you’ll likely overheat, but it’s important to give yourself enough time to tug it on with plenty of time given to relaxing afterwards. Putting on a wetsuit is a workout in and of itself and you need time to ‘cool down’.

Everybody’s warm up routine is different, so I won’t preach what’s best, but here’s an example based on what I do: I’ll start with light stretches to loosen up, and follow up with low-to-medium-intensity yoga. Then I will quite literally lie down on my yoga mat, shut my eyes and will my body to relax from the toes up. Talk yourself through each body-part – it helps.

Stay relaxed and loose for at least 20 minutes before your dive.

If music is something that helps you de-stress, plug those ears (but pay attention to your time). I would recommend the soothing sound of waves 

I make sure I am ready to be in the water – suit, facial equipment, fins (if you’re doing that) – about 5 minutes before my dive. That gives me enough time to remember anything I might have forgotten.

In the end, competition is a great way to learn something about yourself and find room for improvement. They’re also a lot of fun.

Remember to breathe – at least up until your dive time!

 

Written By Yaroslava Timoshenko

Posted on

Freediving Competition – April 5th 2017

Freediving Competition

On April 5th EnjoyFreediving will be hosting a freediving competition here in Toronto.

Location

Humber Collegiate Institute
(Spectators are welcome. The first divers hit the water at 8pm)

What happens at a Freediving Competition

There are three competitive AIDA freediving pool disciplines. They are: Static, Dynamic and Dynamic No Fins.

For static, the diver will be lying in the surface holding their breath for as long as possible without moving. For dynamic, the diver will be swimming horizontally under the water for distance. The diver can choose to do this with our without fins. Most of all, freediving competitions allow divers to get together and test their limits in a safe environment. We are much more concerned with you being safe and having fun, than how far you go.

Schedule for the night

At this competition you will be able to choose to do one of the three events: Static, Dynamic or Dynamic No Fins.

We start the freediving competition night at 6:30pm with information for everyone about rules and the schedule. If you have never tried a competition before, we will guide you through the process, so you don’t feel lost.

We will follow the AIDA rules during the freediving competition, but will not be able to give points or AIDA ranking for this competition. We are planning on having another competition before summer, which will give AIDA points and ranking.

Because this is not an AIDA snctioned event we can help you with coaching if you don’t have your on coach.

Prerequisites

You will need to have and AIDA 2 star pool certificate or equivalent from another freediving organization.

The competition entry is free.

Everyone need to sign up here: April 5th Competition

 

Organizers

The EnjoyFreediving competition will have an experienced safety and judging team. We have organized several competitions before and been safety divers at world records and world championships.

If you have never seen or participated in a freediving competition, we would like that you come our as a spectator or competitor. We are very willing to answer any questions about what is happening during competition or what the best way would be to compare for a competition.

Freediving Competitions are usually lots of fun and we will all be going to the local pub afterwards to watch videos so come and hang out.

We will be watching video and celebrating performances at The Swan and Firkin after the competition

Google: https://goo.gl/maps/BZFbgeq94s92
Website: http://firkinpubs.com/theswanandfirkin/

See you all in the water

Posted on

Freeze Dive 2017 – Ice diving in Canada

Freedivers gathering at Morrison Quarry for the 9th annual Freeze Dive.

Ice diving is a bit cold, but a great experience. It is an interesting feeling being under the ice. The light coming through the holes and through the ice itself combined with the bubbles under the ice play with your senses.

Crawling along under the ice and having a ceiling above you while diving is a great way to test how calm you are while diving. You know it is only 5-10 seconds to the nearest hole, but will your rational mind be in charge.

Take a course with us and come out and try ice diving next year.

Thanks to our friends at CASM for organizing this great day.