2002 CAFA Nationals
Posted By Peter Scott on 5 June 2002
When the sun dawned on the first day of the 2002 Canadian Freediving Nationals, twelve competitors passed through a doorway to an alternate universe, the place where "Anything-Can-Happen."
In the week leading up to competition, local freedivers were joined by the out-of-towners, eager to get in the ocean for precious constant ballast practice. The goal: to set new personal bests and decide what to announce in the competition. Competitors like Brent Pascall and Damiano Angoli surpassed 45m for the first time only days before the competition. To set new personal bests is exhilirating, but the question that nags and torments every freediver is: Can I do it in competition? What should I announce? For the new freedivers like Dan Leus, with only months in the sport, what to announce is a rough guess at best.
And in the back of every freediver's mind was the fact that the field was wide open. Last year's Team Canada was absent except for Tom Lightfoot. Mandy-Rae Cruickshank opted not to compete so as to stay fresh for her static apnea world record attempt. Eric Fattah was a spectator and I had volunteered to help as a safety freediver. The coveted spots on the National team would go to the freediver with the most points over three events. It was anyone's game.
Experienced competitors like Tom Lightfoot are familiar with the Anything-Can-Happen Universe. Confusion, miscues, strange reactions to stress. Eric Fattah recalls his first ever competition: "I got no points at all. It was a learning experience for sure."
Anything can happen...
Day 1: Briefing and Static Apnea
After welcoming competitors from Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton,
Toronto, Italy and Cuba, and special guests from France, Belgium and the USA, Kirk Krack and Ken McCullum remind the nervous crowd that the Nationals will give them a ranking that would enable them to qualify for Team Canada participation in the AIDA Pacific Cup in Kona, Hawaii. "Be conservative, do performances within your capabilities, and you'll be fine," Kirk advises. "And good luck."
The pool is hot, stuffy and heavily chlorinated. Krack reminds competitors that in any competition, they'll never have the "ideal"
conditions they've practiced in. "But it's a level playing field for everyone," he says. The pool is a balmy 28C and the walls start to close in on a few competitors. Some decide to stick with what works, wearing a full 5mm wetsuit, while others try to adapt to the new conditions, shedding their neoprene and hoping to stay warm long enough to avoid shivering before their static.
Few competitors hold back, gunning for personal bests. Erik Young, looking to surpass his 5:41 static of 2001 (equaling the Canadian record), puts the pedal to the metal, huge convulsions rippling through his back, and finds himself on Martin Stepanek's knee, dancing his version of the Samba. "I should have pulled up clean at 5:30," Erik says, a sheepish grin on his face. "I let my ego take over."
Dan Leus, a newcomer to freediving after only one month of training, sets a personal best of 4:54. Perry Gladstone surfaces after a solid 4:02 and exclaims in wonder, "I don't think I had any contractions." It is the Toronto resident's first competition.
Tom Lightfoot, two-time Team Canada member and CAFA record holder, shows his experience with the thin line between consciousness and Samba-land, pulling up at 5:05 and taking the early lead.
By 10pm the event is over and the judges meet to survey the carnage:
5 out of 12 competitors disqualified for sambas (loss of motor control) and blackouts. It seems that for the less experienced competitors, trying for personal bests has become more important than getting points. It could have been the chlorine, or the swampy pool water clouding their judgment. One thing for sure is that from the first event, the standings are not what was expected.
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