Freediving New Zealand Depth Nationals 2020

Freedivers from all over New Zealand came together for the AIDA Freediving New Zealand Depth Nationals 2020 on March 13-15 at lake Taupo just in time before the national lockdown due to COVID-19 put all our in-water activities on hold. Reflecting the international flavour of our membership, divers represented not only New Zealand but also Australia, Argentina, Lebanon, Germany and the USA. 

With a very short lead time, the Freediving New Zealand board did a marvellous job organising the annual competition against many odds and last-minute challenges. A huge thank you to the organising team Joy Keene, Nathanial Fairweather and Bradley James. 

The Depth Nats 2020 turned out to be a great success, with some outstanding dives, many PBs, no incidents and the best conditions we could have wished for. Our AFC rec graders blew our minds with Allison Kennedy, Vance Miller and Adrian Bosi all doing 30 metre dives in all 3 disciplines! The deepest dives of the weekend were masterfully done by Phil Clayton (57m CWT), and close on his fin tips Bradley James (56m CWT and FIM). Congratulations to all winners!

We are very grateful for every competitor who participated and every volunteer who helped out. Events like this are a huge community effort where every contribution counts. Thank you to the judges, the safety divers and head of safety, our medics, boaties, line man and organisers! Thanks to Danny Hurst from Continuum Fins for coming over from Aussie to help us with safety.

Also, our sponsor are an integral part of our community. We greatly appreciate the wonderful prizes from Octopus Freediving and financial support from Ruku Blades NZ. A special mention goes to Brad Brown and his Total Lubricants Thundercat Racing Team for letting us have your boat!