Wednesday 20 October 2010

Article - performing under pressure

This article was in last week's Listener (New Zealand current affairs magazine). It's about the All Blacks cracking under pressure, but I found the second half of it quite interesting in relation to freediving.

I'm hoping that if you click on these images they will become bigger so you can read them. Otherwise you can try this link.

I think that as freedivers we should know our dives so well that in competition we can just switch off, do our best and enjoy the experience. I've always had a song for statics and I call on it if I'm struggling to just tune out.

Practicing under stress and positive thinking are also beneficial to freedivers.

Friday 15 October 2010

Videos

I found some videos of me from recent competitions:

Deep Obsession last weekend in Auckland:
Static, 6 minutes 31s

Dynamic without fins, 136m

Dynamic, 180m

Wellington Winter Champs about 2 months ago:
Dynamic, 151m

Dynamic without fins, 154m (the contentious one with the foot touch)

Summer training workshops and competition

This is a preliminary invitation to all freedivers come and diving with Deep South Freedivers in February 2011, at the end of the New Zealand summer in a beautiful spot; Lake Wanaka. Please register your level of interest by responding to this email (or to the event on Facebook: search for "New Zealand freediving adventure") so I know what to prepare for!

The set up is to allow novice through to elite freedivers to participate (new divers would need to complete the courses over the first two days).

The training workshops will definitely go ahead and if there is enough interest I will also run a week long competition (see below).


The rough preliminary plan:

Sat 12 Feb: introduction to freediving course - dependant on numbers: min 2, max 6 people - NZ$200
Sun 13 Feb: intermediate freediving course - dependant on numbers: min 2, max 6 people - NZ$200

Mon 14 - Sun 20 Feb: Structured training workshops (lake, pool, theory - based around competitive freediving) and sightseeing trips around Wanaka which, as part of New Zealand's main adventure tourism region could include hiking, mountain biking, fly fishing, drift dive the Clutha river, dive Arethusa Pool (a lake on Mou Waho island on Lake Wanaka where there are 1000 year old totara trees preserved in the water), kayaking, visiting Queenstown, bungee jumping, jetboating, skydiving, trip to coast where you can collect paua in knee deep water (fairly untouched), etc

Mon 21 Feb: rest day and competition preparation.

Tues 22 - Sat 26 Feb: Competition covering all AIDA disciplines (lake and pool) - competition will be dependant on numbers interested. We can potentially make it a world record status competition but please express your interest now to make this happen.

Sat 26 Feb: party in evening

Sun 27 Feb: head home


Lake Wanaka is 311m deep with good easy access points from shore, and various deep bays that will allow us to find sheltered deep water if the wind is blowing. The water is clean and clear and the temperature should be in the mid to high teens (Celcius).

The weather is usually hot and settled in February.

Wanaka has a nice 25m pool, but we will probably go to Cromwell for competition in dynamic disciplines as their 25m pool is a bit deeper.

Wanaka has a lot of holiday homes, where we will book accommodation. If numbers are small, all accommodation and food will be included in a package. A rental car may be required too.

Roughly budget NZ$150/day all inclusive once you're here (it will hopefully be less) plus courses if required (includes for workshops, entry fees and eating in, but not tourist activities). I'm trying to keep prices down and am not doing this for profit!

Domestic flights into Wanaka on those dates are very cheap right now (NZ$157 each way from Auckland/Wellington) - expect these prices to double closer to the time.

Please send this invite around your freediving friends/clubs and respond as soon as possible. Hope you can make it!

Kathryn McPhee
DSFreedivers@gmail.com