5 replies to this topic

[TraceMalin]

I don't participate in competitions.

There was a surfing movie years ago starring Matt Adler and Gregory Harrison called, "North Shore," in which a young kid from Arizona, named Rick, finds himself learning to surf the big waves on the North Shore of Oahu after being befriended by an experienced surfer and surfboard shaper named Chandler. Towards the end, the kid enters a surfing competition against the beliefs of Chandler who thinks that competitions bring out the worst in the human animal. During the competition, a pro surfer played by real-life surfing legend, Laird Hamilton, cheats by pulling the kid's leash to wipe him out and catch the final wave of their heat. Chandler is upset and wants to file a protest, but the kid proves that competition can bring out the best in people because he tells Chandler that competitions don't matter, "...not to us soul surfers."

Maybe it's my age and the lack of the competitive drive coursing through my veins, but like the character of Chandler, I don't like what competitions have done to freediving. Like surfing, freediving is an art. While surfing's art is an expression of one's innermost self in an aqueous medium, freediving is the quiet interaction between human and the life within that medium. The art is the discovery of how to be part of the natural order of things and to be as much of a diving mammal as a dolphin or whale and just as at home behaving and living responsibly in a diverse world.

I freedive in open water seeking that Zen-like stillness with every movement and seeking to be one with the environment. Freediving has become all about numbers and the human element, I prefer to focus on what occurs within the dynamic equilibrium of H2O.

[pir8]

You mean we shouldn't have scouba competetions for deepest, longest and such?
Heh Heh Heh

[Scubatooth]

yeah well just look at all of the scuba depth record holders over the years, within a year or two after breaking the record they have died on a less challenging dive (ie Jon Bennett).

personally its all about relaxing for me not pushing the limits for the sake of a record. I would love to do some formal Free dive training but i need to get rid of the spare floation right now and get my lungs back in shape as there a wreck right now from being sick.

Tooth

[ScubaDrew]

I don't participate in competitions.

There was a surfing movie years ago starring Matt Adler and Gregory Harrison called, "North Shore," in which a young kid from Arizona, named Rick, finds himself learning to surf the big waves on the North Shore of Oahu after being befriended by an experienced surfer and surfboard shaper named Chandler. ...

One of my favorite movies growing up. Gotta say it was hokie, and Rick never should have went to art school in NYC, but man, I loved that movie...

[drbill]

Although I used to love the relative "silence" of free diving when I was younger, I don't do it any more. Why? Because of that silence... I want the great white sharks to know I'm in the water bubbling away because it scares them off.

Gregory Harrison, eh? A good Catalina boy... born and raised here in Avalon. I knew his mother pretty well. His father was port captain for the old glassbottom boat fleet here. I think he also free dove for marine life to show the passengers when he was younger.

[freedivers]

I don't participate in competitions.

...I don't like what competitions have done to freediving. Like surfing, freediving is an art. While surfing's art is an expression of one's innermost self in an aqueous medium, freediving is the quiet interaction between human and the life within that medium. The art is the discovery of how to be part of the natural order of things and to be as much of a diving mammal as a dolphin or whale and just as at home behaving and living responsibly in a diverse world.

I freedive in open water seeking that Zen-like stillness with every movement and seeking to be one with the environment. Freediving has become all about numbers and the human element, I prefer to focus on what occurs within the dynamic equilibrium of H2O.

Preaching to the choir from my POV...