From September 8th to 16th, Villefranche-sur-Mer and Nice will host the 8th edition of the World Team Freediving Championship. A major sporting event that will bring together top champions and nations seeking records.
The story begins with Luc Besson’s “The Big Blue,” the film released in 1988, which inspired desires for thrills. Some try the adventure of the depths, but trying is not the same as succeeding. The sea is an untamable element, a vast element that seems so peaceful that one almost forgets it can surprise you.
The first freediving course in the world took place in 1989 in Villefranche’s harbor. The idea emerged after Jacques Mayol’s feat (the first diver in the world to descend below one hundred meters in freediving) but especially following the record set by the Frenchman Claude Chapuis in Nice. A few years later, in 1996, it was the first World Team Freediving Championship that opened the doors to this sport, which would quickly grow in magnitude. In 2000, the first Freediving World Cup was organized, and five years later, the first individual world championship in constant weight took place in the much-coveted harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer. Freediving earned its prestige thanks to the relentless work of the Nice University Subaquatic Club (NUC) in collaboration with the General Council.
This is the second time that the department is taking on the challenge of organizing such a championship. Two hundred competitors from 34 nations are expected in the Alpes-Maritimes, a “privileged” location for these championships according to Eric Ciotti, president of the General Council.
Another privilege is hosting and meeting the greatest champions: Guillaume Néry (world champion of deep freediving) and Natalia Molchanova, among others. Aurore Asso, the French freediving champion, will also be participating and more than ever deserves her place since she holds the French record at -75 meters.
She will defend her team’s colors in the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, “a very sheltered and perfectly inhabited area used since antiquity and allowing for great depths.” Regarding training, “she follows the rhythm of the seasons, combining cardio and running when the weather doesn’t permit practice,” and Aurore “does not neglect this important groundwork, as much as the mental preparation which allows for more serenity.” Her ritual is “visualization.” Ready to be in total symbiosis with her partners, she recalls that decisions are made collectively, so “the announced performances must be in concert.” This is what differentiates individual diving from team diving.
There are three events in which the French and others will compete. For the constant weight event, which will take place in the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, the goal will be to dive as deep as possible. Static apnea requires mastering the time parameter (University Pool of Nice), and finally, dynamic apnea requires surpassing oneself to go as far as possible (Jean Bouin Pool – Nice). The risks of this practice are not forgotten, not even by our Nice champion who advises “to be sincere and honest with oneself” to never attempt the impossible.
The competition will also be an opportunity to highlight the diversity of the seabed, which is the desire of the organizers who will ensure the conservation and protection of what is most precious in the Mediterranean.
