À Bordeaux, les apnéistes reprennent du service
After two years extended by the Covid-19 and closing of the swimming pools, freedivers were able to resume competition with the Bord’eau Trophy, which was held this Sunday, November 14 at the Parc swimming pool.
Glasses, jumpsuit, nose clip and controlled breathing. Freedivers have resumed service at the Grand Parc de Bordeaux swimming pool this Sunday, November 14. After two years of absence due to the health crisis, the Bord’eau Trophy competition, organized by the Gironde committee of the French Federation of Underwater Studies and Sports (FFESSM) has made a comeback. About thirty participants, all adults and licensed from a freediving club in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, were at the rendezvous. On the program, several disciplines: static freediving, dynamic single-fin, dual-fins and without fins.
And in a freediving competition, you don’t skimp on safety. “For every competitor, there is what we call a safety freediver. At regular intervals and throughout the immersion, his role is to make a sign to the freediver, who must give him a sign in return to check that everything is going well ”, explains Thierry Dupont of the Regional Commission of freediving in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The objective for the safety freediver is to be able to intervene at the first sign of a loss of engine control.
During the immersion, a judge is present at the edge of the pool to time the performance. Once the freediver is out of the water, he has twenty seconds to signal to the judge that he is well before his performance is validated.
A discipline still little recognized
Recognized as a high level sport since last June, freediving remains a little recognized discipline. “There are still too few freediving clubs compared to the number of people who would like to practice it,” says Patrick Esteban, instructor and trainer. “Freediving is not yet present at the Olympics but the subject is on the table”, also underlines Thierry Dupont.
Record of the day for the Bord’eau Trophy: 7.17 minutes for Éric Lachiver in static apnea. On March 20, 2022, a similar competition will be held in Besançon, this time with a major stake: a qualification for the French championships which will take place in May 2022.