National Record Blitz at The AIDA Freediving QLD State Champs 2021

By Jordy Duncan

Following the cancellation of the AIDA Freediving Australian Pool Nationals 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions in most Australian states and territories, 15 eager athletes waited in anticipation to be able to compete at the AIDA Freediving Qld State Champs 2021… but the wait was well worth it!

Pool Freediving Disciplines: Static Apnea, Dynamic, Dynamic Bifins and Dynamic No Fins

The competition was hosted by theBrisbane Freedivers Club at the Sleeman Sports Complex from Friday 29 October to Sunday 31 October 2021. All 15 athletes currently reside in Queensland, Australia but multiple countries were represented across the three-day competition, including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Germany, Japan and Colombia. Each athlete had the opportunity to compete in three of the four pool freediving disciplines, Static Apnea, Dynamic, Dynamic Bifins and Dynamic No Fins.

Competition organisers, Leigh Woolley, Kevin Wong, Amber Bourke and Jordan Duncan (who were all also competing themselves) said the calibre of registered athletes was extremely high.

Competition organisers: Leigh Woolley, Amber Bourke, Jordan Duncan and Kevin Wong

Setting New Australian National Freediving Records

A whopping four nationals records were broken during the competition. Congratulations to:

• Jordan Duncan for her Australian national record in dynamic bifins 175m
• Rebecca Lo for her Hong Kong national record in dynamic no fins 116m
• Amber Bourke for breaking her own Australian national record in dynamic no fins 166m
• Christian Zuluaga Bedoya for his Colombian national record in dynamic no fins 135m.

Four national record holders: Christian Zuluaga Bedoya, Amber Bourke, Jordan Duncan and Rebecca Lo

With less than one point between them, Ben Eckert from Brisbane was awarded Male Overall State Champion, with Ant Judge from Cairns taking out Male Runner Up State Champion. For the females, Ka Yan (Rebecca) Lo, representing Hong Kong, was awarded Female Overall State Champion and Amber Bourke from Brisbane took out Female Runner Up State Champion.

Male Overall State Champion, Ben Eckert and Runner Up State Champion, Ant Judge

Congratulations to all athletes! A full list of results can be found on theAIDA International event page.

Wayne and Ant Judge

These competitions aren’t possible without a lot of support and hard work behind the scenes. As such, the organisers and athletes would like to thank the judges, medics, safety divers, volunteers, spectators, family and friends, and the Sleeman Sports Complex.

Female Overall State Champion, Rebecca Lo and Runner Up State Champion, Amber Bourke.

A final special thank you goes out to our competition sponsors. Major sponsors:Adreno andTruDive. Other sponsors:Molchanovs,Gold Coast Dive Adventures,Swimwear Shack,Lobster,Encounter Freediving andFreedive Café. We were absolutely blown away by your generosity and support.

We look forward to seeing what the 2022 competition season brings!