SolveYourProblem Article
Series: Extreme Sports
I Love The Adrenaline Rush Of Extreme Sports
Free
Diving - What Is It?
If you love water and have a yearning for
an extreme sport, then free diving may be for you. There are
a number of different kinds of free diving, from the tranquil
snorkeling, to free dive photography, to the competitive apnea
dive. All of these activities have in common the idea
of diving without the help of a breathing apparatus. Yet while snorkeling
is a rather low stress activity, after all, you will be swimming
very close to the surface of the water and are able to breathe
through a short rubber tube, apnea diving is the extreme fringe
of the sport. Essentially, in the extremes, the idea is to
dive as deep or long as possible on one breath of air.
There
are three categories recognized within the confines
of free diving competitions:
The static
category refers to competitors simply being timed
while holding their breaths. This can be done in shallow water
or even a swimming pool. Highly accurate time measuring devices
are employed since many contestants are only split seconds
apart.
The depth
category has many facets. Some competitions will
seek to determine who can dive deepest without the help of
any gear, such as weights, lines, fins, or other diving helps.
Other competitions may allow fins. Still others will permit
a line along the descent but not allow any fins. Another kind
of depth category competition will permit the use of weights
on the descent and then will allow for the diver to ascend
with the help of a lead line. Quite possibly the most dangerous
form within the depth category is referred to as “no limits”
competition where divers may use any kind of weight to dive
deep and then enlist the aid of buoyancy helpers to ascend.
Another more tame kind of competition is the dynamic
apnea trial, where divers compete while swimming underwater. She
or he who can swim the longest underwater on one breath of
air wins. Sometimes fins are permitted, but not always. Since
this is an activity that can be held in a swimming pool it
is particularly popular inlands.
While this activity may appear at first glance to be safer
than other extreme sports, such as BASE jumping or bouldering,
it is important to note that it does have its own host of problems
that are unique to the sport. For example, many divers have
drowned in the attempt to compete in the depth category. Either
they go too deep or run out of air before they reach the surface.
By the time someone realizes that the diver has gotten into
trouble, cardiac arrest has usually already set in and it is
too late for the competitive diver to be revived. However,
there is another danger that may lurk in even the shallow end
of the pool. A medical term “shallow water blackout” refers
to the occurrence when an otherwise healthy, experienced swimmer
suddenly passes out (or blacks out) even in shallow waters.
Usually this happens when divers will practice holding their
breaths under water. At fault is an overriding of the breathing
reflex, which happens when oxygen in the blood is depleted
before carbon dioxide levels have to the point of triggering
the reflex. The result is that the swimmer does not realize
her or his desperate need for air and instead simply loses
consciousness. When the breathing reflex is then engaged, water
fills the lungs and cardiac arrest and brain death occur.
In order to keep safe during free diving, follow these steps:
- When
you practice holding your breath, never ever practice
alone. Have a spotter there with you can jump to your aid at
a predetermined time period. While this is not a foolproof
system to stay safe, it greatly increases your chances of being
revived should you succumb to shallow water blackout.
- Talk
to your doctor and listen to her or him. If she or he
advises you that the depth of diving or constant breath-holding
are causing damage to your heart or other body system it is
time to quit.
- Know
your limits. While it is tempting to hold on for just
a split second longer, it is not worth it to be awarded a record
posthumously. Safety comes first!
# # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
> Home > Extreme
Sports:
Main Page
|
