Thursday, December 28, 2006

Thursday 11th January 2007

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing. ( This means the maximum is 6 per discipline! )

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of The British Freediving Association, and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Thursday 4th January 2007

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing. ( This means the maximum is 6 per discipline! )

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of The British Freediving Association, and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Thursday 28th December 2006

No session tonight.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Thursday 21st December 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing. ( This means the maximum is 6 per discipline! )

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of The British Freediving Association, and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Thursday 14th December 2006

Lucia and Toby in for a spot of statics, and Mark practising DNF.

Thursday 7th December 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing. ( This means the maximum is 6 per discipline! )

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of The British Freediving Association, and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Thursday 30th November 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing. ( This means the maximum is 6 per discipline! )

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of The British Freediving Association, and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Thursday 23rd November 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing. ( This means the maximum is 6 per discipline! )

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of The British Freediving Association, and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Thursday 16th November 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing. ( This means the maximum is 6 per discipline! )

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of The British Freediving Association, and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Thursday 9th November 2006

David, Persy, Toby and Mark were tonight's apneic bobbing corks, while Lucia, Fred, James, Jonny, Theo and Sandor ( pronounced Shandor ) were FRCing out and being generally dynamic in the slim lane.

Congratulations to Toby who PB'ed with a very relaxed looking 'x' minutes ( value hidden as I believe there is a competition about to take place ).

Good luck to everyone taking part at the Mavericks comp on Sunday!

Friday, October 20, 2006

Thursday 2nd November 2006

Everyone turned up as expected, and we all had lots of lovely room to manoeuvre in. Except for me and Toby, that is, who were on the statics ( wasn't it quiet floating there without scoobies clunking around? ).

Friday, October 13, 2006

Thursday 26th October 2006

Shallow-end Bobbers tonight were Lucia, Persy, Livvy, and Toby; whilst the Lane 'A' chargers were Gary, James, Andrew and Mark.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Thursday 19th October 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing.

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of an AIDA-affiliated association (e.g. The British Freediving Association ), and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Thursday 12th October 2006

Statics for Livvy, Maria, Toby Ben and Mark. Dynamics for Lucia, Theo, Andrew, Dean, Fred and Sebastian. James / Gary not able to make it.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Thursday 5th October 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing.

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of an AIDA-affiliated association (e.g. The British Freediving Association ), and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Thursday 28th September 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing.

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of an AIDA-affiliated association (e.g. The British Freediving Association ), and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Thursday 21st September 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing.

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of an AIDA-affiliated association (e.g. The British Freediving Association ), and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Thursday 14th September 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing.

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of an AIDA-affiliated association (e.g. The British Freediving Association ), and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Thursday 7th September 2006

No need for me to say who was here or trained in what, as the comments reflect that.

Congratulations to Maria on her static PB.

Good luck to Lucia as she migrates to Winchester on Sunday.

And good luck to everyone entering the Saltfree Splash! this weekend.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Thursday 31st August 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please book by posting a comment. Choose which discipline you want to train in ( either static apnea or dynamic apnea ), and state which you will be doing. Before you post, check to see if there are more than five others doing the same discipline – if so, then please either choose the other discipline if possible, or book for the next week if it is showing.

Please do not book more than a week in advance unless you have been unable to book for the current week, due to full subscriptions. Anyone not understanding the above, or having trouble with postings, please mail Mark H.

Attendees must be paid-up members of an AIDA-affiliated association (e.g. The British Freediving Association ), and must either have completed a freediving pool induction or have the appropriate qualifications for the disciplines they are training in.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Thursday 24th August 2006

Lucia, Livvy, Maria, Gary, David and Toby on static tonight, with well-earned PB's from Maria and Gary. Everyone else seemed to do good times too. The dynamicists were Persy, Alex, Tom, Rupert and Mark.

Thursday 17th August 2006

A big welcome to Sara, from Dahab, who alongside Gary, Alex, Benny and James practised dynamic. And toypeding.

Lucia, Livvy, Toby and Mark in the shallows remaining static, while Maddy was on non-apnea surface dynamic.

And no, we are not renaming our dynamic lane as 'Lois'. If I hear one more superman joke....

Friday, July 21, 2006

Thursday 10th August 2006

AIDA ** training tonight.

Thursday 3rd August 2006

AIDA ** training tonight.

Thursday 27th July 2006

Welcome tonight to Maria, Tom, Darren, Fergus, Steven and Michael. Well done for

a) Getting to the pool under difficult conditions, and
b) Successfully completing your induction!

Livvy and Mark providing the guiding hands. Also welcome to Matty providing surface support ;-)

Friday, July 14, 2006

Thursday 20th July 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please post a comment. ( This includes those who haven't been for a while - you don't need to ask, just put up a posting and come along. ) It would be helpful for buddy pairing if you can say what training you expect to do. Mark H will be supervising.

Anyone who hasn't been before, and doesn't have AIDA qualifications is welcome next on 27th July - please mail Mark H beforehand. ( Regulars please note - normal training night is suspended on the 27th to make room for the induction session ).

Unfortunately we are now down to one lane for the foreseeable future, so be prepared for a tight squeeze if doing dynamics. Statics are less of a problem as we can use the 'Scuba side' in the shallow end. If we can make sure when doing dynamics to breathe-up / chat on the long edge of the pool, then this allows turns for those doing them. As always look ahead now and again to avoid collisions.

Post Meeting:
Statics for Liv, Mark, Toby, Gary, Persy and Orchid Dave, plus PB's for Gary and Toby. Lucia, Alex, and Dave L did the sweeping in Lane 1.

Friday, July 07, 2006

Thursday 13th July 2006

Welcome back to Dave L, and congratulations on your static PB!

Joining Dave in the shallows for static were Livvy, Lucia, Persy, Toby, Ben and Mark. Down dynamic lane were James, Gary and Alex.

Friday, June 30, 2006

Thursday 6th July 2006

Welcome tonight to Zoe from Australia, who joined us for some non-apnea surface dynamics. ( The old folk call that 'swimming'. ) Meanwhile Livvy, Lucia, and Mark went static only. Gary, Alex and James all dynamic. Orchid Dave and Toby mixed their disciplines. Dave also scored a PB with the most impressive wetsuit rip I have ever seen. Went clean in half. Good effort!

Oh yes, and it seems the fin-forgetting-fairy visited Toby this week ( you know, Toby who chastised me for forgetting my fins the week before?? ). What goes around.....

Friday, June 16, 2006

Thursday 29th June 2006

A pleasant summer's evening at the baths. Wallowing in the shallows for statics were Lucia, Livvy, Ben and Toby. Dynamic partakers were Persy, Alex, James and Mark.

Well done to Toby for his static PB!

Thursday 22nd June 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please post a comment. ( This includes those who haven't been for a while - you don't need to ask, just put up a posting and come along. ) It would be helpful for buddy pairing if you can say what training you expect to do. Lucia will be supervising. Anyone who hasn't been before, and doesn't have AIDA qualifications is welcome next on 27th July - please mail Mark H beforehand.

Unfortunately we are now down to one lane for the foreseeable future, so be prepared for a tight squeeze if doing dynamics. Statics are less of a problem as we can use the 'Scuba side' in the shallow end. If we can make sure when doing dynamics to breathe-up / chat on the long edge of the pool, then this allows turns for those doing them. As always look ahead now and again to avoid collisions.

Last but not least - there is a UK Constant Weight competition running at Chepstow this September - the Saltfree Summer Splash. What are you waiting for - no point in training if you don't have something to train for!

Friday, June 09, 2006

Thursday 15th June 2006

Firstly, welcome back to Orchid Dave - good to see your coaching skills were on form, pulling Ben along to his new peak static performance. ( Or was it the poolside crowd of female fans cheering him on that made the difference? Only Ben knows... ). Well done Ben.

Joining Dave and Ben in the static area, were Lucia and Toby. Meanwhile down Dynamic street, were Alex, Theo and Mark. ( Theo also impressing both the female fans *and* Alex and Mark, with his ability to do training lengths equal to most people's dynamic PB's. )

Friday, June 02, 2006

Thursday 8th June 2006

Lucia, Alex, Benny B and Mark were the four apneateers tonight. Lucia stunned us with her new ice-cool fins. The temperature of the pool lowered noticeably when she dipped the blades in!

Benny B and Mark were statics-only, and Lucia / Alex on dynamics. Plenty of breathing space for, er, not breathing.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Thursday 1st June 2006

We welcomed back our stray cat from Dahab, Fred Stone, here on a flying visit. Fred joined Gary, Jonny, James and Mark for the ups and downs of dynamic training, while Lucia and Toby focused on statics.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Thursday 25th May 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please post a comment. ( This includes those who haven't been for a while - you don't need to ask, just put up a posting and come along. ) It would be helpful for buddy pairing if you can say what training you expect to do.

Lucia will be supervising. Anyone who hasn't been before, and doesn't have AIDA qualifications is welcome in June ( date TBA ) - please mail Mark H beforehand.

Unfortunately we are now down to one lane for the foreseeable future, so be prepared for a tight squeeze if doing dynamics. Statics are less of a problem as we can use the 'Scuba side' in the shallow end. If we can make sure when doing dynamics to breathe-up / chat on the long edge of the pool, then this allows turns for those doing them. As always look ahead now and again to avoid collisions.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Thursday 18th May 2006

Lucia and Livvy went in for the pure static experience, while Gary, Toby and Mark did the familiar split of statics / dynamics. Toby made a PB with a record breathe-up(!)

Good Luck to Livvy, Ben and Theo who are competing next week onward in the Dahab Trible Depth ( Livvy ) and Nice CIPA Open ( Ben, Theo, Mark ). I'm off to William Hill this lunchtime to put a bet on one of them coming back with a new national record :-)

Friday, May 05, 2006

Thursday 11th May 2006

Quite a few on board tonight, with everyone doing dynamics for at least part of their training. Livvy, Lucia, James, Jodie, Gary, Toby, Irvine, Simon, Ben and Mark making up The Richmond Ten.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Thursday 4th May 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please post a comment. ( This includes those who haven't been for a while - you don't need to ask, just put up a posting and come along. ) It would be helpful for buddy pairing if you can say what training you expect to do. Mark H will be supervising.

Anyone who hasn't been before, and doesn't have AIDA qualifications is welcome in June ( date TBA ) - please mail Mark H beforehand. Unfortunately we are now down to one lane for the foreseeable future, so be prepared for a tight squeeze if doing dynamics. Statics are less of a problem as we can use the 'Scuba side' in the shallow end.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Thursday 27th April 2006

Firstly, our good wishes go out to one of our occasional visitors, Sam Still. Sam is recovering in hospital after being caught up in the recent terrorist attacks in Dahab. He is doing well and should make a full recovery, I understand.

Tonight, the fanatastic five were Livvy, Lucia, Irvine, Gary and Mark. Not only a pleasant evening's training, but PBs for Liv in DNF, and Irvine in dynamic ( with his snazzy Russian Monofin ).

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Thursday 20th April 2006

Attendees tonight - Lucia, Livvy, Toby, James, Gary, Jonny, Irvine, Ben and Mark. L&L dynamics only, B&M exclusively static - everyone else mixing their drinks.

How did everyone manage to simultanously get colds / flu over Easter?

Keep taking the vapours.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Thursday 13th April 2006

Just the diehards tonight - Lucia, Irvine, Simon and Mark - all very, very dynamic.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Thursday 6th April 2006

Welcome to our newcomers tonight - Suzanna, Mike and Andreas. Congratulations to Gavin and Simon, for completing the pool modules of their AIDA ** course. Congratulations also go to everyone else - Lucia, Livvy, Irvine, Ben, Gary, Toby, Matt, Steve and Mark - for coping with the cramped conditions.

If I have missed anyone off the list, please accept my apologies - with 14 of us, only half of whom are regulars, it isn't always easy keeping track!

Friday, March 24, 2006

Thursday 30th March 2006

Apneists tonight were Alison, David, Livvy, Lucia, Simon, James, Gary, Ben and Mark. No takers for static! Mainly dynamic with a bit of rescue scenarios thrown in.

Congratulations to Alison and David, who have now completed the pool modules of their AIDA */** course.

And a big apology to the lifeguard who went into VT after my over-realistic simulated BO.

Friday, March 17, 2006

Thursday 23rd March 2006

Good to see everyone in good spirits, despite the squash into one lane. ( Unfortunately this is now going to be ongoing, unless I can come up with a radical solution. We will discuss this next week. )

Welcome to David and Alison, who both made a good start with their AIDA course, which Livvy instructed. Lucia and Mark provided the occasional demonstration. Meanwhile in the dynamic lane, we had Simon, Gary, Ben, James and Jody all taking part in a fin testing session.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Thursday 16th March 2006

Firstly, apologies to everyone for the disruption last night with our lanes reduced down to one. Our deal with the Scuba club is that anything they are doing takes precedence, and we have to fit in around that - last night they had a lot of people there and needed more room.

Good to see everyone though, after our break. Livvy, Lucia, Gary, James and Mark took a walk on the dark side, venturing into Scuba territory to do statics, while Simon, Ben and Alex enjoyed life in the last lane with their dynamic training.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Thursday 2nd March 2006

Tonight we welcomed back one of our old freedivers, Simon Reid. For those of you that don't know Simon, he has an encyclopeadic knowledge of freediving, so it's well worth coming along early for a chat with him whenever he's coming along.

Also, welcome to Virginia, who is an AIDA qualified freediver, but new to Richmond. The remaining attendees were Lucia, Laura, Irvine, Theo, Ben, Alex, Marc, Justin, Gary, Toby and Mark. If I've missed anyone, I do apologise, but with 13 attendees, four of who I hadn't met before, it's sometimes a little difficult to keep track! Anyway, I think everyone was able to do the training they wanted, and most importantly trained safely.

Last but not least, congratulations to Lucia for winning her Deeper Blue award, and getting a weekend's training at HMS Dolphin.

Thursday 23rd February 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please post a comment. ( This includes those who haven't been for a while - you don't need to ask, just put up a posting and come along. ) Steve G and Theo will be supervising. Anyone who hasn't been before, and doesn't have AIDA qualifications is welcome next on 2nd March, but please mail Steve G beforehand.

Thursday 16th February 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please post a comment. ( This includes those who haven't been for a while - you don't need to ask, just put up a posting and come along. ) Livvy and Nick will be supervising. Anyone who hasn't been before, and doesn't have AIDA qualifications is welcome next on 2nd March, but please mail Steve G beforehand.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Thursday 9th February 2006

Apologies to everyone that had grief posting comments. Not my fault, honest Guv. Anyway, it should all be fixed now.

Tonight's 'regulars' were Persy, Lucia, Irvine, Ben and Mark. A big welcome to Marc, and a big welcome back to Alex, after a wee 6 year break (!)

Lucia and Marc busied themselves with a full session of statics; Persy, Alex and Mark partook of some leisurely dynamics; and Ben and Irvine went 50/50.

Pool a bit on the chilly side tonight.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Thursday 2nd February 2006

Anyone wishing to come along, please post a comment. ( This includes those who haven't been for a while - you don't need to ask, just put up a posting and come along. ) Mark H and Steve G will be supervising. Anyone who hasn't been before, and doesn't have AIDA qualifications is welcome also, but please mail Steve G beforehand.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Thursday 26th January 2006

Livvy, Persy, Lucia, Irvive, James, Jody and Mark were all up for a full-on 90 minute training session. I don't know if the dry statics helped or not, but I think we'll try them a few more times - maybe every other week.

James and Jody were Dyn NF, Livvy and Irvine mainly statics, while Persy, Lucia and Mark all practised their dynamic rescues. I would ask all of you to consider your training and rescue abilities when you are in the pool ( especially dynamics ). How far away is your partner....would they be able to lift you effectively if you were sunken in the deep end....when did you last practise a rescue? Personally, I wouldn't want to be training alongside someone if I wasn't confident that I could effect an immediate rescue of them should they get into difficulty. Why not build in a practise rescue into your training schedule? They are fun, and serve a very worthwhile purpose.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Thursday 19th January 2006

Diver Magazine's 'Buddy of the Year' Laura Storm was with us tonight, to help Lucia and Persy with their Dynamic training assessment. I understand they are both ready now to move on to rescue training. Well done, and thanks Laura Storm!

Meanwhile, Steve and Livvy busied themselves with statics, while Irvine and Mark did a mix of statics and timed dynamic sprints.