Apnea Media Base

Description from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:

Since the first official world championships in breath-hold diving (1996), a sport has developed where the athletes compete in various disciplines of breath-hold diving. One of the rules is that the diver should surface from a dive without showing any signs of hypoxia. Depending on the severity of hypoxia, a diver may suffer disqualifying signs such as loss of consciousness (LOC) or loss of motor control (LMC), the latter including signs such as confusion, affected postural control, spasms or speech problems. Data was collected from the results of the major international competitions following AIDA guidelines (Association International pour le Dévelopment de l'Apnée) in 1998, 2001-2004. The data was analyzed for frequency of LOC and LMC during constant weight diving and during static apnea. In constant weight diving, the diver swims down (and up) as deeply as possible along a vertically suspended rope (current record 105 m). In static apnea, the diver strives for maximum duration, floating motionless face down in a pool (current record 8.58 min). A total of 601 static apnea (SA) performances and 596 constant weight dives were judged in the six competitions. On average, 10 % of SA, and 11 % of CW performances were disqualified due to signs of hypoxia. For the competitions in 2002-2004, a distinction was made in the rules between LOC and LMC; of a total number of 355 SA performances, 1.1 % resulted in LOC, while 9.6 % resulted in LMC. For CW, the number was 344 with 6.1 % LOC and 6.1 % LMC. Despite the relatively high incidence of dramatic signs, it is noteworthy that there have been no reports of fatal accidents or permanent injuries from any of the above-mentioned competitions. This descriptive paper shows a relatively high incidence of disqualifications due to signs of hypoxia in breath-hold competitions 1998-2004.

Description from forums.deeperblue.net:

Don't know if it has been brought up already, but within AIDA there circulates a document originally authored by Frenchman Jean Waldmann. This document lists various criteria in the categories "Blackout", "Samba", "Fatigue" & "Clear", the latter two being acceptable. "Cardiac arrest" f.i. is labeled "Blackout" (!) and so forth. The purpose of the document is to act as a an aid to judges when deciding on exits

I'm enthusiastic about this document and use it as a Danish judge, because it brings at least some level of objectivity into the judgment of, in particular, samba. Personally, I think AIDA should just include Waldmann's list into the regulations and make the various distinctions official. No more subjectivity.

I have attached the document to this post, it's in .xls. It's a bit outdated as compared to present regulations, but still it gives you guys a hint.

Speciale sull'apnea. Si parte dalla tragica morte di Audrey Mestre, avvenuta il 12 ottobre 2002 nelle acque della Repubblica Dominicana. Audrey Mestre, 28 anni, francese, compagna del pluriprimastista mondiale Francisco Ferreras, noto come Pipin, stava tentando il record mondiale di immersione in apnea 'no limits' alla profondita' di 170 metri. Tra ...

Description from YouTube.com

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