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The United States Apnea Association (USAA) is pleased to announce the selection of the
United States Freediving Team. The team consists of four male and four female athletes. Selection was based on performances at the US National Championships in early July.
The team is representing the United States at the International Association for the Development of Freediving, AIDA, World Team Championships in Vancouver, Canada that began Aug. 4. Competition began on Aug. 7.
The men's team members are Kevin Busscher, Michael Antinori, Peter Satitpunwaycha and Charles Gossett. The women's team members are Annabel Briseno, Julia Moran Morton, Jessica Wilson and Jennifer Housley. The team represents some of the finest freedivers in the United States.
The team will face off against an international cast of teams from around the world. The best men and women's team will be crowned the World Champions. The results of three performances for each team in both Constant Weight with Fins and Static Apnea are totaled for the competition. The total points of three competitors for each country are added together then combined for both events to determine each team's point total. The top three men and women's teams will be awarded trophies with event metals awarded for the top teams in each event.
The AIDA World Team Championships is a biannual event that brings the world's best freediving nations together to compete in three events: Constant Weight with Fins, Static Apnea, and Dynamic Apnea with Fins. Only the scores from Static and Constant Weight are used in scoring the event. The top team will be known as the World Champion. Dynamic Apnea is a demonstration activity only. It will not count toward the team points total.
AIDA recognizes eight categories of freediving (for information of all of the categories take a look at the website). Constant weight finds the athlete challenged to swim to depth and back to the surface on a single breath. The athlete keeps all of their gear in place while they do this. Static Apnea challenges the athlete to hold their breath for time. The athlete lays face down on the surface of the pool and holds their breath for the longest time possible. Dynamic Apnea challenges the diver to swim as far as they can on a single breath of air. Both Static and Dynamic Apnea are conducted in a pool. Constant weight is conducted in the ocean.
For more information about USAA and the US Freediving Team, please visit http://www.usaa.freedivers.com. Updates will be coming soon.
The USAA is a non-profit association founded on a democratic representation of freediving within the United States and internationally. Founded in 2003, the USAA brought together a diverse group of 21 founding members, all interested in the development and growth of freediving. In just six months, this highly dedicated group was able to create an association recognized as the voice of freediving in the United States by the international community. The association has grown to more than 60 members, with continued growth expected. USAA has a full team at the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada. For more information about the World Championships. visit http://www.aidaworlds2004.com. There will be daily video highlights and real time results posted there.
The International Association for the Development of Freediving (AIDA) is the international sanctioning body for freediving, individual and team competition, and freediving world record attempts. AIDA nationals are individual associations that represent freediving and AIDA in their country, similar to Olympic Organizing Committees. AIDA World Team Championships is occurring in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. For more information about AIDA, visit http://www.aida-international.org.
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