AIDA Swiss Freediving Meeting 2003
Posted By Emma Farrell on 13 October 2003
tzerland! Deep lakes, high mountains, edelweiss and cheese. Also the home of world class freedivers and my destination back in June to take part in a freediving meeting in Locarno, by Lake Majore.
At the Cyprus competition I had met three Swiss freedivers, and they had invited me to the meet, entitled 'Freediving friends seeking for the sources'. One bucket flight later and I found myself in Zurich where I took a legendary efficient train down to Locarno. The scenery was spectacular, as I passed, nose pressed up against the glass of the only non-smoking carriage, perfectly clipped near vertical fields and gardens, Heidi houses and Mordor style mountains which touched the sky.
I was taken to a house high above the lake and sat back on the veranda, wondering how my communication skills were going to hold up over the weekend. Switzerland has four official languages and I could speak none of them. Well, not entirely true. I could give directions to 'la Banque' in French, say 'Help help! My arm is broken (or was that leg?)' in German and declare 'I have the head of a watermelon' in Italian, which, surprisingly, has got me out of several tricky situations in the past. My hosts however were gracious and helped me by translating and trying not to laugh when I spoke.
Despite Switzerland having perfect lake diving conditions, we were going to recreational freedive in rivers around Locarno. The first morning we were up early to meet with local freedivers and drive in convoy up to the Verzasca Valley. Among our party of about fifteen were Joanna Massacand, member of the Swiss team and national record holder, Fred Goliasch, the team coach, and Massimo Romano the AIDA Swiss President.
Safety was paramount and there were constant warning signs about the dangers of the rapids. Despite the warmth in the air and sunshine it was only twelve degrees at the surface and so suited up in my 7mm suit and a pair of borrowed bi fins. The water was crystal clear and we spent about forty-five minutes in each section, exploring nooks, picking up glittering stones and writing our names in the silt on the bottom. The depth never got below 8 metres and me and my buddy Susanne Jegge, who runs the Dolphin Cup, never lost sight of each other.
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