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Bristol Blue Freediving Competition 2019

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The weekend of 23rd and 24th November saw the 6th Bristol Blue Freediving Competition and the 2nd as a team format. Teams of three freedivers made their way to Henbury Leisure Centre in Bristol to take part in Static, Dynamic No Fins, BiFins and Monofin disciplines with the winners being the team with the highest combined score for all three athletes.

12 teams and 36 athletes took part, 10 of whom were newbies to the competition scene. There were some fantastic performances – 69 official starts, 17 personal bests and 1 new DNF National Record for a Brazilian athlete.

The competition was very close at the halfway point. With each athlete having completed their first performance there was just 9 points separating the top five teams, equivalent to 15 secs per athlete in STA or 6m in dynamic disciplines. The final results were just as close with 7 points separating the top three teams!

The best newbie award was even closer with the top two males being separated by just a single point, and the top two females separated by 0.6pts!!

Congratulations to the winning team Shark Fin Troup (Charlie Bradford CG KB, Jake Costello and Anita Jasso) In 2nd place was Silly Willies and the Pussy Power (Alex Barton, Adam Drzazga and Danica Maynerd) and in 3rd Kiss My Apnea (Lorena Prieto Cacabelos, Valeria Olives Babler and Lucelle Simms).

Interestingly the top three teams were the only three with full white card count, all of the other teams either had illness or Red Card events showing how important white card mentality can be in these competitions.

And a huge well done to the Best Newbies: Charlie Bradford & Danica Maynerd.

The event was sponsored by MARES – just add water and www.britishfreediving.org who generously gave some fantastic prizes for the winning teams and athletes.

Well done to all who took part and all who helped make it happen behind and in front of and behind the scenes! We are so grateful to our community of freedivers, your efforts and enthusiasm all help keep this wonderful sport growing.

Thanks to Neil Wood for the images.

Find out more at www.britishfreediving.org.

Steve Millard is a leading UK based AIDA and PADI Freediving Instructor Trainer who is the owner of Apneists UK freediving group - www.freedivers.co.uk. Currently Press officer to the British Freediving Association and Performance mermaids lead coach.

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Euro-Divers to close dive centre at NH Collection Maldives Havodda

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Havodda

Euro-Divers have announced that as of 15 April 2024, they will no longer be operating the dive centre at NH Collection Maldives Havodda (formerly known as Amari Havodda).

The popular dive centre chain released this statement regarding the closure:

Dear valid customers, business partners and friends,

We are leaving NH Collection Maldives Havodda – former Amari Havodda as of 15th of April 2024.

Unfortunately, the information reached us on short notice that we are no longer operating the dive centre at the resort.

It was a great pleasure to work with the Amari Hotel group and continue to work with the NH Hotel group.

We wish our partners great success with all their new changes.

Thanks a lot for cooperating during our time at the resort. We wish everyone with whom we have worked a good and hopefully successful future.

Euro-Divers continue to operate in several other dive resorts throughout the Maldives in addition to other locations.

To finds out more about Euro-Divers, visit www.euro-divers.com.

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Marine Life & Conservation Blogs

Creature Feature: Undulate Ray

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In this series, the Shark Trust will be sharing amazing facts about different species of sharks and what you can do to help protect them.

This month we’re looking at the Undulate Ray. Easily identified by its beautiful, ornate pattern, the Undulate Ray gets its name from the undulating patterns of lines and spots on its dorsal side.

This skate is usually found on sandy or muddy sea floors, down to about 200 m deep, although it is more commonly found shallower. They can grow up to 90 cm total length. Depending on the size of the individual, their diet can range from shrimps to crabs.

Although sometimes called the Undulate Ray, this is actually a species of skate, meaning that, as all true skates do, they lay eggs. The eggs are contained in keratin eggcases – the same material that our hair and nails are made up of! These eggcases are also commonly called mermaid’s purses and can be found washed up on beaches all around the UK. If you find one, be sure to take a picture and upload your find to the Great Eggcase Hunt – the Shark Trust’s flagship citizen science project.

It is worth noting that on the south coasts, these eggcases can be confused with those of the Spotted Ray, especially as they look very similar and the ranges overlap, so we sometimes informally refer to them as ‘Spundulates’.

Scientific Name: Raja undulata

Family: Rajidae

Maximum Size: 90cm (total length)

Diet: shrimps and crabs

Distribution: found around the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea.

Habitat: shelf waters down to 200m deep.

Conservation Status : As a commercially exploited species, the Undulate Ray is a recovering species in some areas. The good thing is that they have some of the most comprehensive management measures of almost any elasmobranch species, with both minimum and maximum landing sizes as well as a closed season. Additionally, targeting is entirely prohibited in some areas. They are also often caught as bycatch in various fisheries – in some areas they can be landed whilst in others they must be discarded.

IUCN Red List Status: Endangered

For more great shark information and conservation visit the Shark Trust Website


Image Credits: Banner – Sheila Openshaw; Illustration – Marc Dando

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