Free Diving Not For The Faint Of Heart
December 4th, 2008

If you love water and have a yearning for an extreme sport, then free diving may be for you. There are a number of different kinds of free diving, from the tranquil snorkeling, to free dive photography, to the competitive apnea dive. All of these activities have in common the idea of diving without the help of a breathing apparatus. Yet while snorkeling is a rather low stress activity, after all, you will be swimming very close to the surface of the water and are able to breathe through a short rubber tube, apnea diving is the extreme fringe of the sport. Essentially, in the extremes, the idea is to dive as deep or long as possible on one breath of air.

There are about three categories that are recognized within the confines of free diving competitions:

The static category refers to competitors simply being timed while holding their breaths. This can be done in shallow water or even a swimming pool. Highly accurate time measuring devices are employed since many contestants are only split seconds apart.

The depth category has many facets. Some competitions will seek to determine who can dive deepest without the help of any gear, such as weights, lines, fins, or other diving helps. Other competitions may allow fins. Still others will permit a line along the descent but not allow any fins. Another kind of depth category competition will permit the use of weights on the descent and then will allow for the diver to ascend with the help of a lead line. Quite possibly the most dangerous form within the depth category is referred to as "no limits" competition where divers may use any kind of weight to dive deep and then enlist the aid of buoyancy helpers to ascend.

Another more tame kind of competition is the dynamic apnea trial, where divers compete while swimming underwater. She or he who can swim the longest underwater on one breath of air wins. Sometimes fins are permitted, but not always. Since this is an activity that can be held in a swimming pool it is particularly popular inlands.

While this activity may appear at first glance to be safer than other extreme sports, such as BASE jumping or bouldering, it is important to note that it does have its own host of problems that are unique to the sport. For example, many divers have drowned in the attempt to compete in the depth category. Either they go too deep or run out of air before they reach the surface. By the time someone realizes that the diver has gotten into trouble, cardiac arrest has usually already set in and it is too late for the competitive diver to be revived. However, there is another danger that may lurk in even the shallow end of the pool. A medical term "shallow water blackout" refers to the occurrence when an otherwise healthy, experienced swimmer suddenly passes out (or blacks out) even in shallow waters. Usually this happens when divers will practice holding their breaths under water. At fault is an overriding of the breathing reflex, which happens when oxygen in the blood is depleted before carbon dioxide levels have to the point of triggering the reflex. The result is that the swimmer does not realize her or his desperate need for air and instead simply loses consciousness. When the breathing reflex is then engaged, water fills the lungs and cardiac arrest and brain death occur.

In order to keep safe during free diving, follow these steps:

When you practice holding your breath, never ever practice alone. Have a spotter there with you can jump to your aid at a predetermined time period. While this is not a foolproof system to stay safe, it greatly increases your chances of being revived should you succumb to shallow water blackout.

Talk to your doctor and listen to her or him. If she or he advises you that the depth of diving or constant breath-holding are causing damage to your heart or other body system it is time to quit.

Know your limits. While it is tempting to hold on for just a split second longer, it is not worth it to be awarded a record posthumously. Safety comes first

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