US Freediving President (& Malibu Diver) Awarded Highest Honor as International Freediving
Judge
The United States Apnea Association (USAA) is pleased to announce that Grant W.
Graves, President of the USAA, has been awarded the Best International
Freediving Judge for 2008 by the International Center for Apnea
Recognition and Education, ICARE. This
is the highest honor a freediving judge can receive from the international
community.
There are over 200 freediving judges with the International
Association for the Development of Apnea, AIDA.
Grant is one of the highest level judges within the organization as a
Judge Instructor. He recently was one of
six judges to officiate the 2008 AIDA Team World Championships that took place
in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt this past September. That competition completed over fourteen
weeks of judging duties for Grant this year.
As a judge, Grant officiates local, national and international
competitions, national and world records, and conducts judge courses. This was Grant's third nomination for this
award; he was nominated in 2004 and 2006.
Grant said, "I am honored to be recognized for all my work
with freediving as a judge. It was an
honor to have been nominated in the past and to win this time. I am very thankful to be able to help grow
freediving. It is amazing to me what
this sport allows people to do and what it proves we are capable of."
ICARE is a direct affiliate of the International
Association for the Development of Freediving, AIDA. As such, ICARE awards the top performers in
international freediving each year.
Awards are given to the best male and female freediver, the best new
male and female freediver, the best international judge, the best national
institution, the best national captain or coach, and special service
awards. Results are based on nominations
and voting from the entire international freediving community.
The
USAA is a nonprofit association founded on the democratic representation of
freediving within the United
States and internationally. Founded in 2003, the USAA consists of an
active membership dedicated to furthering freediving in the United States
and abroad. For more information about the USAA, the U.S. National Freediving
Team, and membership please visit www.usfreediving.org. Jana Strain Named Best New Female FreeDiver
Continental Record Holding Freediver Awarded Highest Honor
Jana Strain, a resident of Santa Monica, CA, has been awarded the Best New Female Freediver for 2008 by the International Center for Apnea Recognition and Education, ICARE.
This is the highest honor a new freediver can receive from the international community.
Jana began freediving only six months ago after taking her first freediving class. After training for only two months she broke the North American Continental Record with a swim of 171 m / 561 ft in Dynamic Apnea with Fins. She broke the old mark of 150 m / 492 ft. Her quick progression caught the attention of the international community and is what led to her receiving this award.
Jana said, "I was honored to even be nominated. To actually win is astonishing. I am very thankful for this honor and want to thank all for the support I have received since starting on this journey. I feel so privileged to be able to participate in such an amazing sport."
Dynamic Apnea is an underwater swim for distance on a single breath of air using fins. Distance is measured with the use of a metered tape measure. The pool must be at least twenty-five meters long for the performance to be valid. Other disciplines of freediving include tests in depth and time.
ICARE is a direct affiliate of the International Association for the Development of Freediving, AIDA. As such, ICARE awards the top performers in international freediving each year. Awards are given to the best male and female freediver, the best new male and female freediver, the best international judge, the best national institution, the best national captain or coach, and special service awards. Results are based on nominations and voting from the entire international freediving community.
The International Association for the Development of Freediving, AIDA, is the international sanctioning body for freediving, individual and team competition, and freediving world record attempts. For more information about AIDA please visit http://www.aida-international.org.
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