Welcome to the British Freediving Association Website

F reediving is the sport of breath hold diving in which the freediver descends under water on a single breath of air. Freediving includes leisure activities such as spearfishing and snorkelling as well as competitive disciplines: Constant Weight, Free Immersion, Variable Weight, No Limits, Dynamic and Static Apnea. Freediving has many benefits and can be compared to a martial art. It promotes increased lung capacity, deeper levels of awareness and perception and control over your body.

The British Freediving Association (BFA) is the UK governing body of the international freediving organization AIDA. We promote recreational and competitive freediving, ratify freediving records, and sponsor events for our members. The BFA also supports a growing network of affiliated freediving clubs throughout the UK.

If you are interested in learning to freedive safely, the BFA recommends that you take an AIDA freediving course. A list of AIDA instructors can be found in the education section of our website. Remember that you should never freedive without an experienced buddy with you at all times.

When you join the BFA you gain many benefits: a freediving log book, dive insurance, and the use of the BFA freediving platform at Vobster Quay in Somerset. To join, visit our membership section.

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Latest British Freediving News

20/05/2013: The Madchester Challenge Competition 2013, Hosted by Apneists UK. - by Rebecca Ryan

Saturday 11th May was the Madchester Challenge Competition, hosted by Apneists UK. Compared to the annual Great Northern International Pool Championship, also run by Steve Millard of Apneists UK, it was a small competition, but what it lacked in size it made up for in atmosphere and personality and attracted athletes from all over the UK. The whole day had a very relaxed and almost informal feel to it.

The idea of the competition was that the athlete choose one discipline to compete in and the highest point score won, simple (there was an opportunity for people to choose a second discipline if they wished to do so as well). No prizes were up for grabs just Northern love - this was a competition done for the chance to compete and for the sheer fun of it.

The winner of the day was John Moorcroft, an Instructor for Apneists UK ( www.freedivers.co.uk ) and UK Team member, who did a very comfortable and impressive 154 meter DNF swim. John used to hold the DNF record and by his own admission had not done a huge amount of training, making the swim that much more impressive! Coming first out of the Women was Georgina Miller of London Freediving, another UK Team member and National Record Holder who completed a huge static of 6 minutes 15 seconds. George then went on to do a big 104 meter DNF swim, finishing off her day in style. It was great to see George do so well, especially after a freak accident with her toe, which prevented her from competing just moments before her starting time at the Great Northern International earlier in the year.

There were many other notable performances, some from seasoned athletes and some from brand new divers. Please see here for details of performances: Madchester Challenge (the link is here )

The pool was provided by Wright Robinson College and as you would expect with Apneists UK, there was a strong team on hand ensuring the smooth running of the day. We had a fantastic crew of safety divers swimming around looking after the athletes, wonderful judges Mandy Buckley and Gary Lowe watching the Official Tops, as well as photographers and other volunteers. Well done to Steve Millard and Apneists UK for pulling another competition out of the bag and providing athletes across the country to gather, compete, and generally have a lot of fun!

03/04/2013: Great Northern International Pool Championships 2013 - a review by Rebecca Ryan

On the weekend of the 9th and 10th March, freedivers from clubs across the country and indeed across the waters flocked to the beautiful Liverpool Aquatic Centre for the Great Northern International Pool Championships. www.freedivingcompetition.com It was like a gathering of the freediving clans and a great opportunity for both new and old faces to meet. Eleven countries in total were represented which was absolutely fantastic: Great Britain, Ireland, France, Denmark, Poland, Canada, Hungary, Holland, Germany, Greece and Latvia.

The Great Northern, now in it's fourth year, was superbly organised by Steve Millard of Apneists UK (www.freedivers.co.uk). Each year 'the event' (as it is also known), has gone from strength to strength, growing year on year. This was my first time competing 'up north' and having heard so many good things, I was not left disappointed. The atmosphere created by Steve, the judges David Tranfield and Pim Vermeulen, Mandy and Kate, the safety team, volunteers and all the staff at the Aquatic Centre was phenomenal and ensured that the athletes were instantly put at ease and free to concentrate on what they needed to do.

The weekend was split into two separate competitions. Day one, Saturday, was kick started by the Dynamic No Fin (DNF) competitors. DNF is becoming more and more popular with athletes and this was reflected in the numbers taking part, totalling 35 (25 men and 10 women). And what an exciting day it was! The 50 meter pool was reduced in size to 25 meters to accommodate the no fins divers and with its glass ceiling, looked very blue and inviting indeed. There were some big dives as you would expect from some of the more experienced athletes and some equally big personal achievements from some of the newer initiates into the sport - all were acknowledged which was both generous and brilliant to see. Mateusz Malina from Poland completed an incredible 180 meter dive, making it look blissfully easy and securing first place for the men and Yulia Maryevich from Latvia, did a very elegant and solid 100 meters coming first out of the women and a new national record, one of three National records managed by the wonderful Latvian team.

Day two, Sunday, saw the number of athletes swell to 47 and the buzz around the centre increased too. The first part of the day was dedicated to Static (STA) and we all moved over to the 20 meter pool to register, warm-up and generally prepare for our Official Top start time. Athletes and their coaches congregated around the pool in preparation towels and yoga mats dotted the periphery of the pool for people to stretch, do yoga, lie or sit down, meditate, concentrate on breathing, or listen to music to get into their own competitive zone. There were some big breath holds by some of the men: Mateusz Malina (6:47), Erdhart Torsten (6:19) and British Adam Drzazga (5:58). There were also some strong statics performed by the women, notably the UK's Liv Philip and Yulia Maryevich.

The second part of day two was finished off with the Dynamic (DYN) with fins element of the competition. As you would expect there were some great performances by Malina and Maryevich who swam a brilliant 201 and 151 meters respectively, gaining the top spot out of the men and women and for Yulia a National Record for her country. We were also very proud to see some great and strong performances by our very own home-grown British talent Liv Philip and Tim Money. Liv took 2nd Place on the podium and Tim Money ranked 1st out of the British Men overall. Liv and Tim regularly represent the UK on the British Freediving Team and are well known and admired athletes. Also it was great to meet some of the Dutch divers, a great video here of Eric by Daan Verhoeven

A lot of work goes into making a competition successful and the sponsors of the Great Northern are deserving of a massive thank you for their generosity: Without a pool we would not have been able to compete: Lifestyle Fitness centres provided a wonderful pool and facilities for us all to enjoy. Sensational prizes were provided by Orca and Fins4U for the winners of the competition. And official Sponsors of the competition were Saka, Blue Orb, Freediving yoga lessons from OM diver and TriBeCa who hosted us in their trendy bar and fed us delicious pizza and safety from Gone swimming. The British Freediving Association has supported and promoted the Great Northern and is well deserving of a mention as are Lifestyles leisure for their excellently run leisure centre. And on a personal note and on behalf of the athletes, I'd like to say huge thank you to Steve Millard and his fantastic team for a truly sensational weekend - well done!

31/03/2013: Tandem No Limits World Record by Stavros Kastrinakis & Andrea Zuccari

Liv Philip headed the safety team for Andrea Zuccari and Stavros Kastrinakis' Tandem World Record of 126 meters on 21st January 2013 at the new Freediving World Apnea Center in Sharm El Sheikh. Andrea Zuccari went on to secure the Italian National Record in No Limits by going down to an incredible 155 meters, a record previously held by the legendary Umberto Pelizzari. The record was judged by the UK's David Tranfield and Liv Philip was the Head Safety.

Picture Credit: Daan Verhoeven

30/03/2013:First AIDA World Cup Series Winner, Liv Philip!

Friday 1st March 2013 - The British Freediving Association is delighted to announce that Liv Philip is the winner of the World Cup Series 2012. The World Cup Series is based on three World Cup events in depth - including Free Immersion, Constant Weight No Fins and Constant Weight. Liv is the first person to win this new accolade! The first competition in the World Cup Circuit was the 5th Mediterranean Cup Freediving Comp in Crete in June where Liv picked up a silver medal. At the 2012 AIDA Red Sea Freediving World Cup in September she did one better by winning gold. And in November, at the 2012 Vertical Blue the third and final competition, Liv secured the title by diving to an impressive Constant Weight No Fins dive of 50 meters.

Picture Credit: Alice Cattaneo

05/12/2012: Go Freediving Summer Party - 7th July 2013

Go Freediving are delighted to announce the date of their summer party to be held on Sunday 7th July 2013.

The morning will be spent at the pool with a static and dynamic session and the chance to try the amazing carbon fins from Fins4U. In the afternoon you'll be at Vobster to try the whole range of incredible DPVs from www.suex-store.co.uk and to take part in our underwater treasure hunt to win top prizes! There's also a BBQ at the end of the day and more fun stuff to be announced soon!

To find out more please visit www.gofreediving.co.uk/GoFreediving/Club.html or contact Emma Farrell at

04/12/2012: Indoor World Championships 2013

UK Team Selection

Applications for the UK Team - 2013 AIDA Indoor World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia are now open. The competition will take place from 21st-30th June and will include Dynamic apnea (without fins), Static Apnea and Dynamic Apnea (with fins).

We hope to send a full team of 3 men and 3 women per discipline, plus up to 2 additional athletes of each gender as substitutes, and a Team Captain/Coach (who may or may not be part of the competing team). Selection will be based on the highest proven performances in the three disciplines. (AIDA world championship team selection will be by AIDA ranked points dated from 18 months prior to 3 months before the competition entry deadline. In case of candidates wishing to be considered who do not have AIDA ranked points a performance witnessed by an AIDA Judge or AIDA UK Instructor will stand at 80% of the resulting outcome.)

If you are interested in competing for the UK in Serbia, please let us know by 24th FEBRUARY. Please send an email to chair@britishfreediving.org listing your highest AIDA ranked performances since September 24th 2011 in Static Apnea, Dynamic Apnea (with fins) and dynamic apnea (without fins) with details of where this ranking was obtained. If you do not have a ranked performance in any or all of these disciplines, please let us know your current best performances in training, and when you anticipate seeing those ratified officially. If you anticipate achieving a higher ranked performance in any of the disciplines in the next few months, please also let us know that in your email. If your geographical location makes it difficult for you to gain a ranked performance, please let us know and we will take this into consideration. If you are interested in going to Serbia as Team Captain/Coach, please let us know you are interested by 15th July, letting us know your experience in this area, and why you think you would be good for the job. Applications for the Team Captain/Coach position will be considered by the team once they have been selected, and appointed within one month of final team selection. If you make the decision to apply for the 2013 team, you obviously need to be available to be in Serbia for the dates above. You also need to be sure you can afford your flights and expenses and the entry fee of 420 Euros (which includes 9 days accommodation, 3 meals/day, the arrival package ,comp entry, training, ceremonies and an event tshirt.)

In the meantime the BFA will be doing all it can to gather both sponsorship and logistical support for the 2013 team. All competing athletes must be over 18 years old, UK citizens and members of the BFA at the time of the competition.

22/12/2012: Winners of UK National Freediving Championship 2012

The BFA would like to congratulate Tim Money and Liv Philip who are the winners of the UK National Freediving Championship 2012!

Each year, the BFA grants a National Championship Award for men and women, to the athlete who has scored highest in STA (static apnea), DYN (dynamic apnea with fins), and CWT (constant weight).

Picture Credit: Daan Verhoeven

Liv and Tim both train at London Freediving in Richmond and Crystal Palace Clubs, where they are extremely popular and respected athletes. Tim and Liv are always approachable to the older and newer members of the clubs, offering training advice when asked and willingly sharing their valuable experiences as freedivers.

Tim, a seasoned, strong athlete continues to push the boundaries of his abilities, gaining an easy personal best in the discipline of constant weight at the AIDA Freediving World Championships in Nice, having taken a short break from the sport which clearly did him no harm!

Liv has a wealth of experience as a freediving competitor and performed at various competitions throughout 2012, including the Red Sea AIDA World Cup in Sharm El Sheikh in September. This is the sixth year in a row that Liv has won the UK National Freediving Championship (2007-2012)! Liv is keen to point out that UK based Georgina Miller and Egypt based Anna Parayair were strong contenders for the top spot this year.

Tim Money
STA: 6:03
DYN: 169m
CWT: 60m

Liv Philip
STA: 5:58
DYN: 142m
CWT: 62m

We are pleased to announce that Tim and Liv plan to compete again next year and have included the UK Pool Championships run by Steve Millard and also the Mediterranean World Cup in Greece run by Stavros Kastrinakis in their plans. We wish them huge success in 2013 and we will be sure to keep you posted on their progress.

Next year, for the first time ever, athletes will be able to win the Championship with the scores accumulated from the best they have done in each of the six competitive disciplines (STA, DYN, DNF, CWT, CNF, FIM). This better reflects the changes in the sport of competitive freediving in the last few years, and for the first time acknowledges the no fins athletes' performances. The scores are counted between the dates November 1st to October 31st and the awards are announced by the BFA at the annual AGM in November.

11/12/2012: Mike Board is Britain's deepest man - 96m Constant Weight

Monday 10th December 2012; -- Mike Board has officially claimed his place as Britain's deepest man; at the Vertical Blue competition last month he pushed the men's Constant Weight record of 91m to 92m, 94m and finally 96m. He attempted 100m to become the first Brit to officially cross the line, but despite being conscious on the surface was disqualified for forgetting to remove his noseclip.

Mike had already made his mark on British freediving with two National Records in the discipline of Free Immersion (pulling himself down and up a submerged, weighted rope) to a maximum depth of 83m. These records, and his closest of misses at the 100m, really solidify Mike's reputation as an outstanding freediver.

The competition got off to a wobbly start as nerves got the better of Mike in this, his first, attempt at the lauded CWT title. On 20th November Mike turned early at 88m on his first attempt at 92m, however two days later managed to pull the record out of the bag with a dive to 92m in two minutes and 50 seconds.

With the record secured, the pressure was off, and things began to get very exciting for the British freediving instructor and owner of freediving school, Freedive Gili in Indonesia. On 26th November, Mike did a far more comfortable dive to 94m one second faster than his previous record, and on 28th he hit an incredible 96m the same depth as fellow Briton Sara Campbell's former World Record in two minutes 51 seconds.

Buoyed by his success Mike decided to take a risk on his final dive and attempt the magic 100m. To all intents and purposes it was a clean, successful dive, however the protocol of competition requires that a diver removes all facial equipment before giving the 'OK' sign to the judges. Mike forgot to remove his noseclip, thereby disqualifying this attempt as an official British record. Mike said: After having narrowly missed the National Record at the Worlds in Kalamata last year I set my sights on Vertical Blue to really test my 'depth legs'. Equalisation looked like being my main barrier to achieving it, but with a few tweaks, which clearly worked, any by increasing the speed of my dives to reduce my hypoxia at the end of the dives, I not only stole the record from Dave King, but I broke my own record twice over! The Worlds are being held again in Kalamata next year and you can put money on me attempting the 100m once more officially then! For now it's back to work in Gili, and training whenever I can find the time and depth.

Liv Philip, one of the UK's top female divers, was also at Vertical Blue, and came third in the No Fins category with a dive to 50m, and an excellent fourth place overall after a very tough and tight battle with Japan's Tomoko Fukuda.

11/11/2012: BFA AGM December 2012

The committee would like to say thank you to Sara Campbell for her time as press officer over the last two years. We are sad to see her leave and wish her all the best with her diving in the future. Also we should say another big thank you to Lia Tseki who is stepping down as membership officer. Your help will be missed!

It's that time of year again. This year's British Freediving Association Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place at Upstairs bier bar, lark lane ,Liverpool L 18 at 12pm. You are all very welcome to come to the AGM, listen, take part and give your views. If you can not make it in person, you are very welcome to join in via skype. We have an account: We_are_the_BFA, password is SteveZissou

The AGM is your chance to find out what the British Freediving Association has been up to over the past year and express your views on what it should be doing in the year ahead. Most importantly, it is your chance to stand for a Committee position and get involved!

We need to fill a few gaps in the BFA Committee this year and really hope you will use this chance to give something back to the sport you love. Without the BFA, we may not be able to compete at International or organise recognised competitions, will struggle with teaching insurance and won't get our records recognised properly. If the Committee positions are not filled, then there is a good chance the BFA won't be able to continue - so please consider whether you might be able to give an hour or so a week to give something back. To continue, according to our Constitution, we must appoint at least a Chair, Membership Secretary, Training & Safety Officer and a Treasurer. At the moment chair and training have someone who definitely wishes to stand for election, however membership role needs to be filled! It is currently be care taken by Liv Philip.

The Committee posts can all be managed wherever you live, as long as you have internet and email access a couple of times a week. Whilst it would be helpful, to us and to you, you do not need to attend the AGM to stand for a position.

The BFA Committee positions are:

Chair - Currently Brian Crossland, who will stand again. The Chair manages the organisation of the Committee in terms of the AGM, leads discussions on new developments for the organisation, keeps a bit of an eye to make sure all the Committee members are fulfilling their post's requirements and generally keeps email and other discussions under control. The Chair sometimes also ends up covering roles in the short-term when vacancies arise and acting as a point of contact for other Committee members when they are on leave.

Clubs - Currently Georgina Miller, who will stand again. The Clubs Officer manages the recognition of BFA affiliated clubs, answers questions from club organisers and members, supports the clubs in developing their activities and advises on how to set up new clubs.

Competitions - Currently Ed Wardle, who will be standing again. The Competitions Officer supports anyone in the UK organising AIDA-ranked competitions, oversees the competition from the BFA's point of view and may work with the E Media and Press Officer to help promote the competition. If organisers do not come forward, the Competitions Officer may be required to proactively seek out and encourage members to organise competitions.

E Media - Currently Martyn Jones, who will be standing again. The E Media Officer runs the BFA website and e-communications. Some technical ability is required for this post.

Membership - Currently care taken by Liv Philip after Lia tseki stepped down. The Membership Officer keeps track of who the current members are, processes membership applications, sends out membership packs and works with the Sponsorship Officer on building member benefits. Some technical ability required for this post.

Press Officer - Currently Sara Campbell, who will be stepping down. The Press Officer liaises with the media (mostly the UK dive press and dive websites) to publicise records, competitions and other freediving stories and acts as a point of contact for media with queries about freediving. A new appointee will be provided with lists of contacts but it would be helpful if they had some previous PR or writing experience. The Press Officer needs to work closely with the E Media Officer and the Sponsorship Officer, to ensure all stories are covered on the website and that Sponsors get sufficient coverage in return for their support.

Records and AIDA Liaison Officer - David Tranfield who will stand again. This position is responsible for liaising with the AIDA International Board and AIDA Judge list, sending information on any AIDA International Level votes (about 10 a year) out to the Committee, monitoring responses and sending back our reply. This post also handles the management and recognition process for UK records, based on the UK record rules you can download from the BFA website, and liaises with the Press and E Media Officers to make sure the records are publicised. It would be helpful if the person appointed to this post were an AIDA Judge.

Secretary - currently Gary Mac Grath, who will be stand again. The Secretary manages the BFA E-newsletter and other communications with members, takes minutes at the AGM and provides secretarial support to the other Committee members as required.

Sponsorship - currently Jay Cluskey, who will be standing again. The Sponsorship Officer manages our relationships with sponsors and builds new sponsorship agreements. Sponsorship normally relates to the UK Team but it would be great to achieve more general sponsorship for freediving in the UK.

Training & Safety - currently Liv Philip, who will be standing again. This post oversees freedive training within the UK, working with the AIDA Education Committee to advise instructors on matters of training. It also has a wider remit, usually working with the Clubs Officer and sometimes with the Competitions Officers, to advise on matters of safety and is responsible for keeping the Open Water and Confined Water BFA safety advice sheets up to do date. The Training and Safety Officer needs to be a qualified freedive instructor.

Treasurer - currently Gareth Cantin, who will be standing again. The Treasurer produces the annual BFA accounts for the AGM, keeps an eye on our finances, makes a final decision with the Chair on major expenditures, runs the BFA bank account and PayPal account.

ALL the Committee members are actively involved in voting on AIDA International matters, discussing and putting forward the UK's views on the development of the sport through AIDA, selection and support of the UK Team at AIDA International competitions and supporting the BFA in various ways in its purpose of "promoting freediving recreationally and competitively, in safe environments".

Voting Process - In line with the BFA Constitution, anyone who wishes to stand (or re-stand) for a post, should send an email submission, stating the post or posts for which they would like to be considered along with a short CV or manifesto explaining why they think they would be suitable. This should be sent in by the 17th November to committee@britishfreediving.org. Where more than one person stands for a post, that post will go to a majority vote of BFA members. Any vote will be sent to all BFA Members by 24th November. You have two weeks to vote and the results will be announced at the AGM on the 9th December.

Thanks again for your support and we look forward to seeing you at the AGM.

28/10/2012: UK National Pool Freediving Championships needs you!

The UK National Pool Freediving Championships has been announced by Apneists UK and the British Freediving Association for next year on the 9th and 10th of March 2013. It follows the successful format of the previous three years, which is day one; a dynamic no fins competition (DNF), and day two; the UK National pool competition which is a combination of an early afternoon Static (STA) competition and an early evening Dynamic with fin(s) (DYN) competition. We are looking for athletes, judges, helpers and spectators. Please contact me at apneaboy111@hotmail.com for details.

This British Freediving Championships is now known as 'the event!' because it is the largest gathering of like minded UK Freedivers in the calendar. Also, because of the good vibe the group always produces. It has been attended by a few International athletes and pretty much every single group in the UK has been represented. It might as well be a family day out the way everyone interacts, what a wonderful occasion. Some pictures here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvcerCpXTIg

There were an unprecedented amount of personal bests achieved in 2012, many athletes reporting 3 PBs in three events, I think the trust in the safety staff and the relaxed atmosphere certainly helped. We have had at least two National records every year we have had the competition. It is a competition I encourage athletes from all abilities to attend, all are catered for, we aim to please.

Here is George Miller, the 2012 Female Pool champion, winning the day two event which included another National record http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_AjsC0_5YY

Next year we hope for more athletes and aim to make it a truly International event, come join us, tell your friends. I will be putting accommodation and flight details up for those coming from Europe and beyond. Anyone interested in sponsoring this well attended established event, please contact Steve Millard.

23/10/2012: British Freediving Team holds strong at AIDA Freediving World Champs in France

This September (8th to 16th) saw the biggest freediving World Championships so far. To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of AIDA, freediving came home to Nice, France the birthplace of AIDA all those years ago. 120 athletes were supported by a safety and logistics crew of well over 100 people.

The team this year consisted of Georgina Miller, Liv Philip (captain), and newcomer Beci Ryan for the women, and Gary McGrath, John Moorcroft and Tim Money for the men. We also had the support of two reserves, James Cluskey and Gary Lowe. Sara Campbell was also there teaching free yoga and meditation to the athletes.

The team was very kindly once again sponsored by top Italian wetsuit manufacturer Elios Sub (www.eliossub.com) and team kit was generously provided by British dive fashion brand SevenTenths (www.seventenths.com). The team is also grateful for sponsorship from Oceanic (www.oceanicuk.com), for providing us with amazing new dive computers by Aeris and lava core wear. This company is in exciting talks with the BFA's sponsorship officer, James Cluskey for a longterm mutually beneficial relationship and we look forward to being able to announce exciting news in the very near future on this front.

With challenging conditions both in and out of the water a special mention should be made to Gary McGrath for his impressive personal best of 68m in Constant Weight. Tim Money also managed a new personal best in Constant weight of 60m. John Moorcroft who, after over 30 years in the sport is also still pushing his depths to never-before reached numbers - 67m in competition! Beci also did amazingly well, having started the sport this year, she entered the competition with a spirit of courage and endeavour and, despite very unfamiliar and stressful surroundings for a beginner, also delivered personal bests in all three disciplines! In The pool we saw another personal best in dynamic from Georgina Miller of 133m, she also made 6th place overall in the women's static, Tim Money also delivered a very strong 169m. Liv, George, and Tim are seasoned athletes who also delivered consistent and strong performances, both competing and coaching the less experienced members of the team, which is a tall challenge at such a big and important competition.

A strong captain in Liv Philip, with support, coaching and fabulous photography by Daan Verhoeven and coaching and general care from Stavros Kastrinakis made a difficult event a success.

19/09/2012: British Liv Philip placed 4th in World's Absolute Freediver Awards

As the six British athletes selected to represent the UK at the Team Freediving World Championships this year in France polish off their training, Liv Philip, one of the longest-serving and most consistent of all UK athletes has been placed fourth in the world overall for her performance over the past year in the annual World's Absolute Freediver Awards (WAFA) 2011.

Liv received this award in 2010 also, but has since then increased her overall score (based on her performances in all competitive disciplines) by almost 20 points. Liv trains herself and runs training evenings at London Freedivers at Pools on the Park in Richmond, Surrey. As well as this, Liv also supports the British Freediving Association acting as their Training & Safety Officer. She is undoubtedly one of the most committed freedivers in the UK and the BFA is proud to have her representing the UK again at the Team Freediving World Championships, alongside teammates Georgina Miller (another long-standing competitive Freediver) and newcomer Beci Ryan.

The British men's team will be represented this year by Gary McGrath in his first ever Worlds appearance, Tim Money who returns to competitive freediving after a few years out working in Australia (and getting married and having a baby!), and John Moorcroft, who was honoured with an Outstanding Achievement Award by the BFA for a decade of service to the freediving community earlier this year. John's commitment to competitive freediving goes back to 2000 when he competed in the 3rd ever AIDA World Championships in Ibiza.

More information on Liv's WAFA award can be found at on the apnea cz website or some behind-the-scenes info in the blog too. The full results can be viewed at http://apnea.cz/ranking.html?awards. The AIDA Team Freediving World Championships are being held this year in Nice, France from 8th-16th September. All athletes are looking for personal or team sponsorship.

To sponsor the athletes, please send an email to sponsorship or press

03/07/2012: BFA Safety Divers

The British Competition Freediving scene has really been hotting-up in the last few years, with UK athletes becoming competitive with the best freedivers in the world. Combining that with some excellent clubs and Instructors back home who are successfully helping more people into the sport, and providing safe and fun training places, even more freedivers are able to practise and make new freediving friends than ever before. Perhaps this is why so many people have participated in local and national competitions, discovering the fun of being part of a larger freediving community.

With record numbers of people competing in the UK already this year, the BFA want to make these events the safest places that you can go freediving and would like to announce that all safety divers at BFA endorsed competitions in pool and open-water, will now have a minimum safety diver qualification of AIDA 2*. We will be increasing this in September 2012 to a minimum of AIDA 2* plus the AIDA Competition safety diver course, or pool safety diver course (except for qualified & renewed instructors).

We have had positive feedback from swimming pools about this development and hope that it will help give the safety divers the support they need to continue to give the very best freediving safety to all of our freediving events. The BFA will be assisting clubs to organise AIDA Competition safety diver courses, or pool safety diver courses. If you would like some assistance or you would like to find out how to enrol on a safety diver course please email training@britishfreediving.org

You can download the associated safety images, for printing out, here.

27/05/2012: Results for the British Freediving Association National Depth Championships 2012 - Hosted by Apneists UK and Salt Free Divers

Well, we haven't had a BFA depth competition in the UK for a while, and its a nice way for a few of the divers who can't get out of Blighty to get some points on the board and a very good excuse to meet old friends and make some new ones. So, freedivers.co.uk and saltfreedivers.com teamed up to run an event.

They say the sun shines on the righteous, and there it was, not a cloud for two days pretty much, which meant there was a wonderful feel to the whole event.

As ever the community pulled together and helped judge, safety, scuba, pull ropes, announce, man jetties and pontoons etc for our lovely athletes. Thank you all very very much!!. The athletes shone brighter than the sun and we had a slick showing with no red cards, a couple of National records from Apneists UK Mike Benke (Hungary) and some very very relaxed dives from everyone.

John Moorcroft won with two 50m dives, one was with no fins on. Tim Money finished second with two great Constant weight dives and Mikes two CNF NRs of 34m and 38m saw him finish third overall, and Chris Crawshaw getting the joint second best CNF dive getting the UK third spot. Rebecca Coales the yoga expert of OMdiver fame had a very comfortable dive to get the top spot for the ladies.

03/05/2012: British Freediving Association National Depth Championships 2012 - Hosted by Apneists UK and Salt Free Divers

Entries for the BFA National Depth Championships 2012 are open. The competition will take place on the 26th and 27thMay at NDAC Chepstow in 3 disciplines CNF/FI/CW.

Saturday 26th May - Social dive, and practice hosted by Salt Free Divers. Contact sam@saltfreedivers.com.

Sunday 27th May - National Depth Competition. Registration will be at 9.30am, first top will be 12pm.

To enter you must be an BFA/AIDA national member, hold a valid medical certificate.

For details and entry forms please contact Steve Millard at apneaboy111@hotmail.com.

30/04/2012: Emma Farrel to appear in in channel 4's "Hidden Talent"

British Freediving Instructor to appear in new TV show Freediving Instructor Trainer, Emma Farrell from Go Freediving is to appear in a new TV show airing in May. The show, 'Hidden Talent' seeks to find members of the general public with hidden talents and Emma's role as the expert on freediving was to devise tests to find the right person and then train them up. The main freediving episode airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on Tuesday 1st May followed by a live web chat with Emma and then on the 29th May for the catch-up show. You can also take some of the tests yourself and see how to perform the 'frenzel' at www.channel4.com/programmes/hidden-talent

16/04/2012: World Championships 2012 - UK Team Selection

Applications for the UK Team - 2012 AIDA Team World Championships in Nice, France are now open.

The competition will take place from 8 - 16th Sept, deadline for entry 15th July.

For more information visit the competitions page by clicking on the right hand menu or go direct by clicking here.

01/04/2012: Competitions Page Statement and new rules

The BFA aims to promote fair and safe competition in British Freediving at home and internationally for UK free divers and to help organisers to run their competitions safely and within the official rules of AIDA and BFA best practice.

We aim to inspire and encourage all levels of free divers to take part in competitive freediving and to help bring together volunteers to make the competitions possible.

You can visit the updated competitions page by clicking on the right hand menu or go direct by clicking here.

Volunteers: BFA Competitions are set up to support competing athletes and rely entirely on volunteers so if you want to help please contact the BFA at competitions@britishfreediving.org

20/03/2012: British Indoor Freediving records sent crashing for second time in under two weeks

Friday 16th March 2012: -- Three British freediving athletes set incredible new records at the UK Indoor Nationals last weekend on 10th and 11th March; Georgina Miller pushed her own static record even further for the third time with 6 minutes 20; John Moorcroft took Chris Crawshaw's brand new record with a Dynamic No Fins (DNF) swim of 153m; and to top off the excitement Chris reclaimed his record within the hour with an incredible DNF swim of 163m.

Georgina Miller, or George as she is known, has been training and competing for a few years now, but really found her confidence in 2009 when she made her first mark on the British records, with a static performance of 5 minutes 46 seconds. Since then she has gone from strength to strength, her second record coming just three months later when she became the first woman to break the magical six minute mark with a new records of 6:04. She knocked that record with 6:11 and now tops that with 6:20! George has represented the UK at all recent World Championships and also serves on the British Freediving Association.

She said: I had a great weekend getting a national record in the static of 6:20 and a first overall for the ladies. I would like to thank Daan Verhoeven who was a fantastic coach and has put lots of work into helping me, particularly in static. Thanks also to Orca for the wonderful sponsorship of the comp with a Breathe suit

John Moorcroft is one of British freedivin's most consistent and persistent athletes and not only did he make a stunning performance with his second British record of 153m DNF (first in 2000 STA 5:05) at this year's Indoor Nationals, he was also honoured with an Outstanding Achievement Award by the BFA for a decade of service to the freediving community. John's commitment to competitive freediving goes back to 2000 when he competed in the 3rd ever AIDA World Championships in Ibiza. This weekend he not only took second place in DNF but also came third overall in the men's competition. He is now in training for the UK Depth Nationals in Chepstow in May where he hopes to be in the mid-50s in Constant No Fins (CNF) and mid-60s in Constant Weight (CWT).

John said: Basically I'm really pleased with my record even if it only lasted an hour. My training is going well, and thanks go to Steve Millard for his coaching. I started snorkeling at the age of nine, and now at 44 my passion for breathhold diving depth and spearfishing mainly is stronger than ever. Thanks to PoloSub (www.polosub.com) for sponsoring me a new suit to keep me warm for my depth training in cold UK quarries over the next few months!

Chris Crawshaw is still cutting his teeth in freediving compared to John, but he is doing it in style. With two National Records in just two weeks, the first one was a beautiful 150m DNF hosted by www.totalfitness.co.uk and the second was a massive 163m in the main competition on the Saturday. This took the DNF record from 144m to a huge 163m, Chris has suddenly become a very compelling prospect for the future of British and possibly World freediving. He already has his first Worlds experience under his belt from the 2011 Indoor Championships in Lignano, Italy and is now setting his sights on even greater things. While he has a long way to go to the current DNF World record of 218m, with progression like this, who knows where he might end up!

Chris said: Thanks go first and foremost to Steve 'raising the dead' Millard because, as anyone who watches the video can see, without his coaching on the side it would probably have been a red card. That's what it took, though, to put distance on John for whom I have so much respect as a diver and as a friend. I'm currently looking at a move out to New Zealand to train and to continue working as a doctor but the long term plan is to leave my job for a year and focus on the depth disciplines, providing I can find support and sponsors. It's been such an incredible couple of weeks.

Thanks go to Steve Millard of Apneists UK, www.freedivers.co.uk for organising the event and coaching many of the athletes.

Prizes donated by Orca, Polosub, No Tanx and Emma Farrell

Thanks to www.totalfitness.co.uk for hosting the event.

We would like to thank the sponsors of this competition;

www.orca.com
www.polosub.com
liverpool.gov.uk/leisure-parks-and-events/leisure-facilities/
www.britishfreediving.org
www.sppv.co.uk
www.notanx.com
www.emma-freediver.co.uk

03/03/2012: New AIDA Instructor Trainer Announced in UK

The British Freediving Association is pleased to announce that Steve Millard has been approved as a new AIDA Instructor Trainer by AIDA International.

After making his application to the BFA where Steve showed exceptional
levels of commitment, skill and experience as an AIDA Freediving Instructor
to the AIDA education system, he was recommended to AIDA International as a
candidate in 2011. When Steve got the good news last week that he had been
approved as an Instructor Trainer he said 'I am really happy to be given
recognition of all my hard work teaching using the AIDA education system
over the last several years'. Steve has worked alongside the BFA & AIDA
International to help develop freediving as a whole within the UK , and he
had to show achievements in his own freediving. Whilst teaching he
has upheld AIDA recommended safety guidelines and developed his freediving
school to provide opportunities for freedivers across the UK.

Steve will now be offering AIDA Instructor courses to suitable candidates in the UK. We look forward to seeing the same high standards of teaching from Instructors who train with him.

12/02/2012: Liv Philip Wins Riga Freediving Cup

On the weekend of February 11th & 12th 2012 three British athletes set out in the London snow, headed for an even more wintery destination. They were off to the AIDA Riga Freediving Cup 2012 to compete in the biggest indoor competition of the year in Eastern Europe. The competition invites you to take part as an individual and as a team. It was the third time that Riga gathered freedivers from the Baltic nations Sweden, Estonia, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Poland & Finland, and the three UK athletes put on a good show.

Liv Philip, Tim Money and Gary McGrath who all train with London Freedivers in Richmond www.londonfreediving.org, competed on the first day in static and dynamic no fins. Liv won the static event with the best static she has done in a competition of 5:58. Later in the day Gary did one of his first DNF competition performances swimming a very stylish 82m. Tim swam an easy 111m to put him in 5th place, and Liv won the women's event and was placed 6th overall in the DNF with an easy 110m swim.



After exploring a frozen lake where fishermen cut holes in ice which creaked underfoot as you walked on it, and your face froze after a few minutes in -10, the three cold Brits decided that freediving in Riga was best done in swimming pools and headed off on day two to the 50m pool complex. A memorial to its former soviet days, the pool had real atmosphere.

The Dynamic competition is always tough when you are amongst Eastern European Freedivers as they have access to great pools and many experienced athletes who train this discipline. The World Champion Goran Colak was at the event and swam a smooth 225m dynamic. Feeling inspired by watching other great divers, Tim did 163m dynamic performance to put him into 5th place in that event, his best competition distance to date and in beautiful style. Gary and Liv put in two solid performances of 115m & 134m respectively.



Liv Philip won the women's competition overall and Goran Colak topped the men's ranking both winning new tailor made Elios freediving suits. Tim, Liv and Gary hope to see some of the freedivers they met in Riga at the UK Championships in Liverpool in March.

10/03/2012: The Great Northern - UK National (with guests) Pool Competition 2012

Saturday 10th March: DNF competition (with the option to do DYN for ranking only) Sunday 11th March: UK National pool competition in the STA and DYN disciplines (with the option to do DNF in the 50 metre pool for ranking only)



We are extending the dynamic no-fins competition on Saturday 10th March to accommodate more people after the successes of last year. It was an exciting competition which John Moorcroft of Apneists UK winning for the men and Liv Philip (with a National record no less) winning it for the girls. It is again to be held at the Liverpool Aquatics Centre, Wavertree. This has kindly been sponsored by Lifestyle leisure who are also helping us host the main event. We have invited Male and female divers capable of breaking the UK record with that intention and we will open it up to divers from abroad to get their respective NR's in Dynamic No Fins. Also it will be an opportunity for some elite divers and also newbies to get their AIDA ranking points.

On the Sunday we wish to increase the numbers of those competing in those disciplines too. 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. It's also the perfect place to meet other Freedivers and meet some of the personalities in the sport. A compilation of pictures from last years event:

www.youtube.com Convinced? Please visit our website for your enrolment form www.freedivers.co.uk

Still not convinced? Turn up anyway, there is a free viewing gallery come and cheer the rest on or you can come and help we need around 30 - 40 helpers over the weekend to make it run as smooth as years gone by. This is the pool event of the year, all clubs come to compete, with a friendly relaxed atmosphere it is a great event.

05/11/2011: Liv Breaks Dynamic No Fins Record at Camberwell Pool!

On Saturday 5th November, Fusion Lifestyles' Camberwell Swimming Pool in South London played host to a Freediving National record attempt. Once the light had faded and the swimmers had gone home, a team of judges, videographers, coaches and safety team congregated at the pool to prepare for UK Freediving Champion Liv Philip to attempt to beat her current record of 111m in Dynamic No Fins.

Over 40 members of the general public attended the event, watching from the upstairs viewing gallery of the beautifully refurbished pool, and were given handouts to introduce them to the sport of competitive freediving.

Watched over by Judges David Tranfield and Sam Kirby, Liv made a swim of 116m breaking the previous record she set at the National Freediving Pool Championships in Liverpool in March 2011 by 5metres. A representative form Fusion Lifestyle said 'Fusion are thrilled that Liv Broke her record and that she bought it back to her training centre here in Camberwell.

Contact Liv at www.livphilip.com

24/10/2011: Georgina Miller keeps British womens' static record moving

Monday 24th October 2011 : - Georgina Miller has increased her lead on the other British women in static breathhold with a stunning performance at the Indoor Freediving World Championships in Lignano, Italy on 16th October 2011, when she set a new British Record of six minutes 11 seconds.

George, as she is known to everyone, said: It was seven seconds over my old record but felt comfortable and strong. I had a good deal of help from my coach and training partners Liv Philip and Daan Verhoeven, which has given me confidence to extend my breathold. I hope to keep up with my training in this discipline over the next year.

This performance brought Georgina in at fifth place overall against some of the strongest indoor freedivers in the world. Georgina previously held the record at six minutes and four seconds. She was coached by the wife of multiple World Record holder William Trubridge, Brittany, who is herself making waves in the freediving community with her yoga teaching. (www.brittanytrubridge.com)

Georgina attended both the Indoor and Depth World Championships this year demonstrating her commitment to the sport across the board. She trains at Richmond pool with Londonfreediving. The BFA congratulates her on her performance and wishes her well for her training and many more records to come.

Congratulations to all four British athletes attended the Indoor Worlds.

Georgina Miller STA NR 6:11
Liv Philip CNF 114m
Anna Parayiar first major comp, DYN 134m
Chris Crawshaw first major comp, STA 6:46, DYN 173m



For more information contact press@britishfreediving.org

10/10/2011: British men trash own records at Worlds

Monday 10th October 2011 : - The British men faced their toughest competition for records this year, with three strong athletes fighting for the No Fins title; Dave Tranfield, two-times holder of the title, newcomer Ed Wardle who took the record from Dave this summer at his first event; and Dave Kent, new to competitive freediving, who came through and surprised everyone, including himself.

At the 4th Mediterranean World Cup 1st-14th September athletes gathered from around the world to compete and prepare for the World Championships, taking place from 15th-25th September. Liv Philip shone for the women by taking Silver Medal overall in the women's with CWT 61m, FIM 62m and CNF 46m.



Liv, who coaches and trains at London Freediving Club in Richmond, said: I've been working long hours back home to allow me to compete this summer and it's been tough to fit training in, so I'm doubly pleased to have got a Silver Medal with so many strong athletes around.

On 14th September, the final day of the first comp, Dave Tranfield, or Tranny as he is affectionately known, although he prefers 'Sheffield Steel', and Ed Wardle who had ambitiously announced 65m, went head to head to push Ed's 55m record deeper. Tranny, due in part to his greater experience, kept his cool and successfully dived to 56m in two minutes 25 seconds, breaking Ed's former record by one metre.

Dave said: My dive started badly with a poor duck dive due to nerves and then my neck weight nearly knocked off my nose clip which barely hung on during the entire descent. But luckily equalisation went ok to the bottom and as soon as I took the tag I knew I had the dive. Unfortunately Ed didn't make his dive, having announced 10m deeper than his former record, and making an early turn.

On 19th September, the first comp day of the AIDA Depth World Championships, Dave Kent joined the action, putting further pressure on Tranny and Ed, and the tables turned in Ed's favour. Tranny made the most conservative announcement with 58m, followed by Ed with 60m and Dave Kent with 62m. Tranny was up first but didn't make it. Ed completed a 60m dive, claiming his second National Record in two minutes 19 seconds. Ed said: I trained hard this year and it paid off, I managed to focus and it was as close to a perfect dive as I could have wished for, a solid 60m. Ed's glory was short-lived as minutes later his record was broken by a Dave Kent, who made a clean and easy dive to 62m in two minutes 20 seconds. Kent, at his first ever major comp said: The world's were awesome, it was great to meet so many athletes that up until then had just been names from hours of watching YouTube footage. My time in Kalamata has only reinforced my desire to attend further championships, and improve as a no fins freediver.

The other disciplines at the event were Free Immersion and Constant Weight. In the Mediterranean Cup on 13th September Mike Board did a 77m FIM to regain the National Record from Dave King who had set it at 73m in June in France. But on the 24th September the final day of the AIDA World Depth Championships, Mike extended this record by a further six metres setting a new record in FIM of 83m in a dive time of two minutes 55 seconds.

Mike said: "It's been a fantastic month of training and dive performances for me that far exceeded my expectations. Training went well and I felt strong and confident enough to try new depths on the competition days."

The team was sponsored by Elios wetsuits (www.eliossub.com) who donated the full team a brand new wetsuit each for the Worlds. Thank you, Elios!

Congratulations to all nine British athletes attended these two amazing events.

Dave Tranfield
Sara Campbell
Dave Kent
Liv Philip
Dave King
Georgina Miller
Ed Wardle
Mike Board
Gary McGrath (Med World Cup)

For more information contact press@britishfreediving.org
For images contact Hungry Eye Images: www.hungryeye.co.uk, email - matt.green@hungryeye.co.uk , tel - 07767 848133

09/10/2011: A new British record in constant weight, no fins free diving set by David Kent at Dahab's Blue Hole

Only twenty days after setting the British Men's Constant Weight, No Fins Free Diving record at 62 meters (204 ft) at The World Championships in Kalamata, Greece on 19th September, David Kent, 41, broke and reset his own record by comfortably diving an impressive 66 meters (217 ft) in 2.32 minutes in The Blue Hole, Dahab, Egypt, on 9th October.

To set the Constant Weight, No Fins Free Diving record, Kent was required to descend to a pre-announced depth and return to the surface on a single breath of air and present the bottom-tag to the judges to qualify; He did this without incident and looked clear and focused as he resurfaced, a good indication that there's still deeper depths he can reach over time.

The discipline Kent specialises in (one of the three major competition disciplines) is often referred to as 'unassisted free diving', as the athlete swims to their depths and resurfaces without the aid of fins, sleds, airbag, or any other supplement - using only the combined power and discipline of the body and the mind.

41 year old Sussex Police Sergeant David Kent was given a mini career-break to train for and compete in the World Championships this year. He was coached by Brian Crossland of Blue Ocean Free Diving in Dahab, Egypt, leading up to the Worlds, then returned to train up for and carry out his record breaking attempt, organised and overseen by Crossland. He will no doubt be welcomed back to The Force with a huge round of well-deserved applause as the UK Men's World Record holder.

Kent has now set his sights on competing in the 2013 World Championships to medal-winning standard.

04/09/2011: Phil Clayton sets new DNF record

On Sunday the 4th September, at the Auckland Freediving Club Deep Obsession competition Phil Clayton beat his standing UK DNF National Record of 138m with a dive of 144m. What makes this achievement remarkable is that the dive was done on exhale (slightly beyond a passive exhale). Phil has been training exhale DNF around one day per week as part of his training regime as it was much easier to train while travelling for business without 4+kg of weights!

As time went by Phil (and his dive buddies) were repeatedly surprised by longer and longer exhale dives with no apparent hypoxia. Following the Wellington Winter Champs in June it became apparent that an attempt on the National Record was possible on exhale.

The first attempt on Sat 3rd was unsuccessful with the dive terminated at 110m, thought to be due to excess CO2. Changing the breathe-up on the Sunday lead to a successful result!

Phil is now keen to get back in the sea and the local lake to start constant weight training after all this 'exhale craziness' and is rumoured to be thinking that Nice would be Nice....

21/08/2011: NoTanx Dive Off Sept 17th/18th

Every Year since 2005,NoTanx have run a Freediving Comp in Vobster Quay. It has grown, now taking place over 2 days. There are 4 different competitions, such as the guess your depth comp on Sunday. But the main event is the NoTanx depth Comp. Of course, NoTanx is based on experience rather than performance... (enjoyment rather than depth) so it is only right that the winner is voted on by the other competitors. So it is "The Best Dive" rather than the deepest that will win.

This year 1st Prize = an all expenses paid Summer Vacation to Marsa Alam!!!!(Courtesy of Oonas Divers)

With 50 spaces for freedivers and various other activities, this year is even more of a spectator event. The Team Static is always a favourite with the crowd, where teams of apneists attempt to perform a "relay" of breath holds whilst being "distracted" by the other teams. (Pouring ice cold water on their backs was deemed as legal, as long as it was done from inside the water).

Although the largest UK freediving comp, the entry fee is always low as NoTanx Freediving Club is a non-profit organisation, dedicated to widening participation in this fun and healthy sport.

06/07/2011: Ed Wardle sets new National Record in Constant Weight no Fins

Ed Wardle, aged 40, a newcomer to competitive freediving, has taken his first National Record 55m in Constant No Fins (CNF swimming breaststroke down and back) in a special event in Santorini, Greece on 21 June 2011. The dive took him 2 minutes 11 seconds.

Ed's personal website: www.edwardle.tv


Photo by Will Winram

10/06/2011: Dave King does it again! New National Record in Free Immersion

Free Immersion seems to be popular recently, barely a month has passed since Mike Board reclaimed this record, it has been broken by Dave King. Pulling himself down to 73m in France last weekend where he was diving to acquiring points for the up coming World Championships.

11/05/2011: National Record in Free Immersion 3rd May 2011

On the 3rd May 2011 British freediver Mike Board, 40, a former Royal Marine who now lives in Gili Trawangan in Indonesia, reclaimed his National Record in Free Immersion (pulling himself down and up a submerged, weighted rope) with a faultless dive to 72m. The dive, held at the 'Freedive International' Minicomp in Dahab's Blue Hole, took 2 minutes and 41 seconds. Mike was again coached by four-times World Record holder Sara Campbell.


Photo by Jan Windszus

02/04/2011: LIDS winning BFA lotto ticket draw 2011

The winning ticket for the BFA Raffle is:



Please would the winner contact us by clicking Info.

02/04/2011: UK National Indoor Championships 2011

The weekend of 11-12 March saw the UK freediving community congregating in Liverpool's fabulous state of the art Aquatics Centre for the annual indoor national championships.



Saturday saw an unusual dedicated day of no fins diving, with 15 athletes invited to compete. With the movable boom in place to provide the ideal 25m pool, things were all set for the no finners. Newly qualified from the BFA's sponsorship programme, Dave Tranfield, was joined poolside by the experienced Sue Pugh to judge the day's events and some hopeful record attempts.

First up were some solid dives by some new freedivers, including many new to no fins an encouraging sign for the growth of this often overlooked discipline. In the men's event John Moorcroft came out on top with an impressive 130m swim, getting close to a new UK record. In the women's event, Liv Philip extended her national record by 5m, setting a new mark of 111m.

Day 2 of the event brought the UK Championships proper, with athletes competing in static and dynamic. The dive of the day in the men's competition was undoubtedly Dave King's new UK dynamic record of 226m. Dave took the overall men's championship for the second year running. Runner-up was Chris Crawshaw from the local Northern gang and in third place was Tim Money from London Freedivers in Richmond.

Liv Philip followed up on her DNF record by taking the women's championship with two solid dives. London Freediver George Miller was second, and third in the UK championship was newbie from Apneist UK, Nikki Bream.

The highlight of the weekend however, was a courageous and successful dynamic from Mandy Buckley of 150m. Mandy has recovered from a serious illness over the last year and to see her back to her best was an inspiration for everyone present. Mandy will be swimming the Great North Swim on June 18 in aid of CLIC Sergeant and the RNLI. You can sponsor her by going to here. Last word of thanks goes to Steve Millard and his team for organising another very successful competition. The facilities at Liverpool are first class, the staff were incredibly helpful and everyone was made to feel very welcome. We look forward to competing in a major international event here soon, and fingers crossed even more sponsors will see the appeal and we will entice some continental divers over :-)

We thank our current sponsors for helping this happen

Lifestyles Leisure
Sean Peters www.sppv.co.uk
George Stoyle www.earthinfocus.com
Orca wetsuits www.orca.com
Urban Gastropubs
Electrical lighting superstore
No-Tanx
Free divers

03/03/2011: NoTanx 5th Birthday Competition

This year NoTanx is holding its 5th annual Birthday competition on 19th March at Tooting Pool in South West London. It will include static and dynamic events, with a capacity for up to 45 athletes – both seasoned and newbies. The event is open to all freedivers, not just NoTanx divers.



NoTanx likes to focus on enjoyment and involvement as well as specific freediving skills and performance. Everyone is encouraged to coach other athletes as well as do their own dives, as buddying is a key aspect of all forms of freediving.

The competition will be held in two pools; it kicks off with the first official top in static at 4pm, followed by dynamics in a 33m pool starting at 7pm. Both pools have spectator areas, so bring your friends and family to watch and cheer you on. Registration is between 2-3pm. £15 for NoTanx members and £25 for non-members.

With two major pool competitions in March, the official British Open 'ooop norf' and the NoTanx 'daaahn saarf' there are no excuses this year for everyone not joining in the fun!

To register click here. Good luck everybody!

26/01/2011: Liv Philip named World's Absolute Freediver 2010

Liv Philip, the 35 year old freediver from South London, was the surprise winner of the 'World Absolute Freediver Awards 2010'. Liv claimed the award based on highest overall scores internationally across all six competitive disciplines. She clocked up a massive 346.1 points, which included a static breathhold (STA) of 5 minutes 43; 105m in dynamics no fins (DNF, underwater breaststroke); and the long-sought-after round number of 60m in constant weight (CWT depth with a monofin).


Photo by Emma Critchley

Liv is one of the big names of British freediving, having secured eight National Records in five of the six disciplines. On the international circuit she is a regular and popular competitor, and it is her consistency and determination as an athlete that has brought her this top accolade.

Liv said: I'm motivated first and foremost by my love of water and that spurs me on to continue. Anything else is an added extra, but the improvement in my results motivates me to keep working hard to fund my training. I'm keen to see what lies ahead in 2011, but the main thing will be to continue having fun.

Liv is expected to compete at the Indoor Nationals being held in Liverpool in March, as well as many of the depth competitions, including the Worlds in Greece in September.

Liv added: Freediving is an amazing sport we get to hangout in the blue training in pools and the ocean and they give us lovely awards just for doing what is incredible fun.

Liv is currently looking for sponsorship so if anyone is interested in contacting her, please email her at liv_ok@hotmail.com

The BFA congratulates Liv for her awesome performance, wishes her much success for 2011 and looks forward to making further announcements about her, and other athletes incredible dives this year.

Thanks to Fusion Lifestyle for their support of Liv's training in London.

25/01/2011: The Great Northern - UK National (with guests) Pool Competition 2011

Apneists UK are delighted to be able to announce that once again we will be holding the BFA UK National Pool Freediving Competition. We are holding a small showcase dynamic no-fins competition on Saturday 12th March and be held at the Liverpool Aquatics Centre, Wavertree. This has kindly been sponsored by Lifestyle leisure who are also helping us host the main event. We have invited Male and female divers capable of breaking the UK record with that intention and we will open it up to divers from abroad to get their respective NR in DNF. Also it will be an opportunity for some elite divers to get their AIDA ranking points for this years World Championships later in the year so hopefully we will be well represented. The main event will be 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) or Dynamic no-fins (DNF) but being a 50m pool it is better suited for DYN.

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 40 spaces over the two days (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. 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. If you can help please contact Steve Millard

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 click click for pictures, testimonials and any other information from last years competition. I will update this soon.

Convinced? Please click here 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

18/12/2010: Wanted - new AIDA Judges!

The BFA is looking for up to 8 people to qualify as AIDA Judges. We have a few judges in the UK but sometimes struggle to find judges who are available to support our competitions so it seems to make sense to make a few more. To make this happen, the BFA have decided to organise a course in the UK and subsidise the cost to bring it within reach of more UK freedivers.

What is the judge course?
The judge course is a two day programme conducted by an AIDA Judge Instructor. It will cover theory and practice of judging AIDA Record attempts. You'll use videos, pool and open water mocked-up scenarios to learn how to judge surface protocol, go through the AIDA Rules in intricate detail in the classroom and also learn how to stretch a rope and set up a site for a depth record attempt. It is a full-on weekend, you'll learn loads and you'll have a lot of fun.

Where and when is it happening?
The judge course will take place on the 5/6 February 2011 using the Saltfree facilities at the National Diving and Activity Centre in Chepstow. It will start at 9am on the Saturday and finish around 4pm on the Sunday. (Yes, you may well need to get in the lake in February - consider it a test of keenness!).

What will it cost?
The BFA is subsidising this course so the course that you will have to pay is only £100. You will also need to cover any accommodation and travel expenses for the weekend.

Who can apply?
All candidates must be able to provide proof of:

Minimum age of 21

First Aid and CPR Certificate not older than two years (at the course date)

Resident in the UK

Experience as a competitor, coach or safety-freediver at an official AIDA competition (Start and resultlist and/or other records) and be medically fit to freedive

At least AIDA** Freediver certification or equivalent

Current member of the BFA (at the time you apply for the course)

Scuba Diver Level PADI Open Water (or equivalent) highly recommended. Mandatory for Judge's levels A, B & C.

What are you looking for?
We are looking for a good geographic spread of judges, people who are likely to be available to judge over the next few years, and who probably have some competitive freediving experience - but most importantly you need to be keen!

How do I apply for a place?
If you'd like to be considered for a place on the course, please send a copy of your freediving CV and a brief email explaining why you think you'd be a good AIDA Judge and why we should select you to the Competitions Officer and Records Officer before the end of December 2010. We will let you know in early January if you have been successful.

Any questions?
If you have any queries before applying or would like to talk to someone about their experience as a judge, please contact Sam Kirby who will be more than happy to try and help.

29/09/2010: BFA AGM Announced - Sunday 14th November

It's that time of year again. This year's British Freediving Association Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place at the National Diving and Activity Centre, Chepstow (www.ndac.co.uk for directions) from 1pm until about 4pm on Sunday 14 November. You are all very welcome to come to the AGM, listen, take part, give your views and if you wish, to join us for a freedive in the morning.

The AGM is your chance to find out what the British Freediving Association has been up to over the past year and express your views on what it should be doing in the year ahead. Most importantly, it is your chance to stand for a Committee position and get involved!

We need to fill quite a few gaps in the BFA Committee this year and really hope you will use this chance to give something back to the sport you love. Without the BFA, we may not be able to compete at International or organise recognised competitions, will struggle with teaching insurance and won't get our records recognised properly. If the Committee positions are not filled, then there is a good chance the BFA won't be able to continue - so please consider whether you might be able to give an hour or so a week to give something back. To continue, according to our Constitution, we must appoint at least a Chair, Membership Secretary, Training & Safety Officer and a Treasurer. At the moment, only one of these posts has someone who definitely wishes to stand for election.

The Committee posts can all be managed wherever you live, as long as you have internet and email access a couple of times a week. Whilst it would be helpful, to us and to you, you do not need to attend the AGM to stand for a position.

03/09/2010: New UK Record - 100m passed!

The British Freediving Association is delighted to be able to announce that it today ratified a new British Record in the No Limits discipline.

Jim Lawless successfully dived to 101m using a sled and lift bag in Sharm El Sheikh on 28 August 2010, with the dive lasting 2 minutes and 7 seconds. Jim's record exceeds that of Paul Whincup set at 77m back in 2005.


The first Brit to outdive his D4 - Photo by Deborah Metcalfe, Blue Eye FX

Jim is the first British Freediver to officially break the 100m mark but others are following swiftly behind. The BFA is looking forward to more 100m+ dives in the next year or so - and with our Constant Weight records for men and women now both in the 90s, it may not be long before someone does it without a sled!

The BFA would like to extend hearty congratulations to Jim and many thanks to the judges Marco Nones, Angela Ambrosi and all at Only One Apnea Centre for making this possible.

15/07/2010: Dave King breaks UK record with a 91m CW dive!

On the 12th July 2010 Dave King dived a stunning 91m CWT at the Blue Hole in Dahab, Egypt setting a new UK record.

To read the editoral and watch the BBC interview with Dave's dive please visit the BBC by clicking here.

22/06/2010: 3rd Mediterranean Freediving World Cup

Seven British athletes attended the 3rd Mediterranean Freediving World Cup, between 6th and 20th June 2010, hosted in Kalamata Greece by Stavros Kastrinakis. Liv Philip, Georgina Miller, Maria-Teresa Solomons, Sue Pugh, Tim Money, David Tranfield and Mark Harris all competed.

In addition, Long-standing BFA committee member Ben Noble competed, representing Australia.


Photo provided by Laura Storm

A summary of their key achievements follows:

2nd place for Maria-Teresa Solomons in the Women's overall results

3rd place for Liv Philip in the Women's overall results

3rd place for Mark Harris in the Men's overall results

2nd place for Maria-Teresa Solomons, Sue Pugh and Georgina Miller in the Women's team results

A new British record in Constant-Weight No-fins of 53 metres for David Tranfield

A new British record in Free Immersion of 70 metres for Mark Harris

A new Australian record in Variable Weight of 100 metres for Ben Noble

A new Australian record in No-Limits of 105 metres for Ben Noble

25/05/2010: Sponsors of Team GB at the 2010 World Championships

The British Freediving Association (BFA) is very proud to announce that Team GB will be sponsored by Elios, Fourth Element and Suunto.

To visit any of our sponsors please click on the logo's below.

                        

23/05/2010: BFA selects Freediving Team for World Championships Okinawa, Japan

The British Freediving Association (BFA) has made its selection for Team GB to represent the UK at the 2010 Freediving Team World Championships in Okinawa, Japan. The event will take place from 30th June until 10th July,and Team GB will be sponsored by Elios wetsuits, Fourth Element clothing, and Suunto.

The UK will be represented by three of the most experienced athletes in the country: Sam Still, Maria-Teresa Solomons and Suzanne Pugh, making up a mixed team, which will compete in the men's category.

To find out more about this or to download our offical press release please click here

12/05/2010: NoTanx freediving display in the Dubai Mall

The 12 guys and girls have just returned from performing in front of over 10,000 people in Dubai

The display was intended to raise awareness of our sport and the conservation efforts of the Dubai Aquarium. It was full supported by Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd.... "We [Sea Shepherd] are not invited to Aquariums, so your shows are a great opportunity to pass on our message to a new audience"

With over 1000 people coming to the Mall especially for the show it was a great success and gained TV coverage all over the Middle East and Europe.



We would like to thank Immersion and 4th Element for supporting us, as well as Paul Hamilton and his team in the Aquarium itself.

08/05/2010: Mike Board claims his first British Record 68m FIM - Friday 26th March 2010

The British men's Free Immersion freediving record has fallen to a new-comer. Mike Board, training with Sara Campbell at her Discover Your Depths training camp in March, set the new record of 68m with a dive time of two minutes 39 seconds on Monday 22nd March.

Mike, already a freediving instructor, runs his own school near Bali on the idyllic island of Gili Trawangan. He completed the dive on the second day of competition.



Mike said: I didn't really have any goals when I came to train with Sara in Dahab, simply to improve my own diving and become a better instructor as a result. However, my progress was so fast once she taught me the mouthfill properly, the British FIM record suddenly came into view.

Sara said: Mike trained with me for three weeks and am thrilled by his progress he arrived a 43m diver and leaves with a really impressive National Record, and is more or less touching 70m. He absolutely deserves this result and I look forward to seeing his name at the top of results lists in the future.

At the same event, Sam Still, who became World Champion in static five years ago, made an impressive come-back to the competition circuit after four years out, with two strong dives, racking up a total of 124 points to put him in first place in the competition overall. Mike came a very close second with 121 points after equalisation problems forced him to turn early on his attempt at 70m Constant Weight on day one.

Most of the divers were competing with a hope of qualifying for the British Team going to the World Championships in Okinawa, Japan later this year. However, many were less successful, several competing for the first time ever and learning valuable lessons in terms of the rules for international competition and the surface protocol.

Sara added: Many divers forget that a successful competitive dive is 50 percent the dive, 50 percent technical details and rules, which must be studied and practiced ahead of a competition as much as the actual depth and breathhold training.

To contact Mike please click here

25/04/2010: A thank you to the sponsers of the Great Northern 2010 - by Liv Philip

As the clocks sprang forwards on the 28th March, the Liverpool Aquatics Centre was the beautiful venue of the UK National Freediving Pool Championship and marked the day when UK Freedivers came out of hibernation after a long, cold winter. As one of the 20 athletes I'd arrived at the competition grateful for an occasion so early in the year. After a slow start to my 2010 season, it had motivated me to train and get me out of all the bad habits of the winter.


Great Northern 2010 womens winners - Photo by Jean-Marc Kuffer

The day bought an interesting array of UK athletes from a broad selection of UK clubs together. Both the static and dynamic pools were perfect for the events, and the organisation, with Stuart Bond and Steve Millard both from Apneists UK (www.freedivers.co.uk) at the helm, left us athletes happy and relaxed to concentrate on our dives. There were some nice performances from newer divers and you could almost hear the rust falling off some of us more experienced ones. I was feeling a bit light on training so was really happy to take first place with 2 solid dives of 5.32 static and 133m dynamic putting some confidence in for later in the year. With many athletes achieving pbs, eye catching 150m dynamics from Stuart Bond and Mandy Buckley, & also with best newcomer Chris Laycock with a nifty 123m dynamic, Steves Northern Club Apneists UK looked on fine form on home turf with the men finishing 2nd, 3rd and 4th and two great swims from the ladies.

There was also good performances from George Miller and Sam Still who finished second winning trygon nose clips, and Stuart Bond and Sam Kirby receiving mono fin bags from No-Tanx for their third place but swim of the day had to go to Dave King with a groundbreaking dive of 217m dynamic for a new UK record, which not so long ago would have been a world record. He not only did a great swim, but he has such a fantastic attitude and is a great role model for other divers, that to see him do a dive like this was really fantastic.

As UK Champion, Id like to thank ORCA WETSUITS for supplying Dave & I with new suits, and on behalf of all the athletes to the entire dive team for all their hard work on a day which left you feeling very excited about UK Freediving.

02/04/2010: Great Northern 2010 - by Emma Farrell

On Sunday 28th March 2010 I, along with Matt Kitchen were the AIDA Judges for the BFA Great Northern Pool Competition at the Liverpool Aquatics Centre. For me, competitions are always an experience, but being out of the water made it a lot more fun.



Being pool side and watching the athletes compete meant that not only did I have the benefit of seeing all the preparation, performances and technique, but I was also given an amazing snapshot of the state of UK Freediving in the run up to the team world championships in Okinawa and the world cup in Greece and it's looking really healthy. This competition was all about unifying the various groups around the UK to put forward a united front.

First place for the men was taken by David King with a storming 6.58 static and 217m dynamic swim creating a new British record. He was coached fantastically by George Miller who came second in the women's comp, their electric blue suits marking them out as team Smurf. The only thing missing was Papa.

Sam Still of Apneists UK training at the moment in London, came second for the men, since his phenomenal position as world champion just a few short years ago, and then semi-retirement after the Dahab bombings, Sam was poolside demonstrating Qi Gong and an incredible physique, and back in the water 'just taking it easy' with two solid white card performances. Stuart Bond of Apneists UK was just behind him in third with a lovely 150 dynamic.

The competition was organised by Steve Millard of www.freedivers.co.uk, assisted by Stuart Bond of the BFA. Steve has been instrumental in growing British Freediving in the North West and in a few short years has an active club of over 50 and great new talent including the Buckley mermaids (Mandy with a 150m dynamic and her sister-in-law Alison with a solid 100m in her first competition) and also Chris Laycock who won 'best newbie' with an easy 123 dynamic swim.

Even though the ladies were thinner on the ground and we were missing big hitters such as Sara Campbell, the competition was very close with great performances from Liv Philip who came first in front of George Miller and Sam Kirby.

As a judge, my job was made all the easier by incredible organisation and facility, support from a great team and well drilled athletes. click here to watch Daves amazing swim.

Sponsors:
Liverpool Aquatics Centre
BFA
First Prizes - Orca suit
Second Prizes - Trygon
Third Prizes - No Tanx monofin bags

31/03/2010: NoTanx Freediving Competition results

Saturday 13th March saw the UK's Biggest Freediving Competition. 32 Clean performances by BFA members (Ady Hamilton did get a a technical red card for pushing on the bottom.... but then again he did walk 38m carrying 16Kg of weight!!)

Results...
1st place Lee Sheward (Biggest smile - Immersion Watch)
Joint 2nd Alan Barber (170m 98% grade - O'Neill Wetsuit)
Joint 2nd Jack Dybczak (Most relaxed dive - Immersion Stream Watch)
3rd Place Shared - Freya Greatwood, Ginny Kennedy, Bev Warner

NoTanx would like to thank all those who gave up their dive to help run the event.

03/03/2010: Great Northern Comp

Apneists UK are proud to announce they are hosting the BFA National pool competition on the 28th March 2010. The event will include both the Static (STA) and Dynamic with fins (DYN) disciplines. It has been officially recognised by AIDA International as a National with guests competition so all athletes will receive an AIDA worldwide ranking. This is important as many of the athletes are using the competition to gain points for the upcoming World Championships in Japan.

Many of the UKs most respected freedivers will either be competing or providing services for the smooth running of the event so it will be a great opportunity to meet some really good people. If you would like to come and support the event or spectate everyone is welcome.

Directions to the event and further details can be found by clicking here.

03/03/2010: NoTanx at the London Internional Dive Show

NoTanx will be repeating the Fantastic Dive' off Competition at London International Dive Show 27th/28th March at ExCeL.



A "features" video of this event can be viewed here

Try your luck to win an O'Neill wetsuit or an Immersion Dive Computer by guessing the winner of a Static Breathold or just pick up some tips as the how The NTStyle can improve your diving...

Information about the only complete freedive training system will be availible on stand 558

As always they will have a complete stock of freediving Equipment: including Elios Wetsuits, Cressi fins and the Incredible, new NoTanx Monofin bags.

03/03/2010: COMPETITION HOTTING UP FOR WORLDS TEAM SELECTION.

Six British athletes will be battling it out for a place on the Team going to Okinawa later this year, at two competitions being held in Dahab by Sara Campbell, supported by Freedive Dahab. Athletes listed to attend are:

Jay Cluskey
Chris Holmes
Mike Board
Anna Parayiar
Charlie Edwards
Sam Still

Static will be held on 18th March at the Swiss Inn Hotel, followed by two depth days on 21st and 22nd March in the Blue Hole for athletes to improve their rankings in Constant Weight.

Sara will be coaching the athletes in the run up to the competitions and all are hoping that her 'magic mouthfill' will rub off on them to get deep enough to qualify!

Good luck to everyone hoping to get on the squad!