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Did CMAS drop aquathlon (underwater grappling)? Haven`t seen much about it since the Russia and Ukraine and takeover of the Crimea. I knew folks that entered the spearfishing competition from Alaska about 20 years ago. I practiced momofin and bifin swimming for many years but could never find a meet in the US, Texas had a couple but it dropped off the radar. Underwater hockey was fun, played at college in the late 80s.As the Finswimming Director for the Underwater Society of America in the 1980s, I tried to bring this competitive finswimming back into the USA. I was somewhat successful, in that we did have a few competitions, and there are still some finswimming clubs in the USA. This is an international sport, much more popular in Europe and Asia than in the USA. There are several categories, and immersion is the one with the use of hand-held scuba in front of the finswimmer. This is the most streamlined, and you can see from the times that these finswimmers are very, very fast. These competitions are also swam on the surface, using usually a front-mounted snorkel. This is also a great way to stay in condition in the off-season for those of us who don’t use the off-season to go to the tropics.
To answer FishWatcher747‘s question, I think there are CMAS (World Underwater Federation) rules requiring scuba certification, but am not sure. However, these finswimmers swim the immersion swims just under the surface, and make flip turns at the end of the pool. The 50 meter immersion swimmers are breath-hold swimmers, swimming 50 meters in an amazing time. There is no danger of embolizing while competitive finswimming with scuba, as the swimmers are only a few feet (about one meter) underwater during all of the swim.
There are actually several other CMAS (World Underwater Federation) sports: underwater hockey, and underwater orienteering are some of them. (Underwater spear fishing competitions started this too.).
Now, think about this, Ye Ting Sun was under 3 minutes for a 400 meter swim; that fast! This is one reason I’m so against things like using the frog kick for normal diving rather than reserving it for the reason it was created (cave, wreck, and areas of silt which could cause blackout underwater if stirred up). The frog kick is so inefficient compared to the dolphin kick it’s incredible that it has taken over the diving field.
SeaRat
PS, here are the CMAS (World Underwater Federation) rules for Finswimming:
The other underwater sports from CMAS:
Finswimming:
LATEST
In addition to organizing international underwater sport events it is at the forefront of technical and scientific research and development.www.cmas.org
Underwater Orienteering:
ORIENTEERING
In addition to organizing international underwater sport events it is at the forefront of technical and scientific research and development.
Freediving (apnea):
Spearfishing:
SPEARFISHING
In addition to organizing international underwater sport events it is at the forefront of technical and scientific research and development.
Sport Diving:
SPORT DIVING
In addition to organizing international underwater sport events it is at the forefront of technical and scientific research and development.
Target Shooting:
TARGET SHOOTING
In addition to organizing international underwater sport events it is at the forefront of technical and scientific research and development.
Underwater Hockey:
HOCKEY
In addition to organizing international underwater sport events it is at the forefront of technical and scientific research and development.
Underwater Rugby:
Underwater Rugby
Under water rugby was invented in Köln, Germany 1961 and became popular in the Nordic countries under the name, UW-Polo. Before the first Championship in 1978 the rules had to be merged (different number of players, 4 vs. 8, playing above the surface, etc). The game has since then evolved and now...www.cmas.org
Visual (Underwater Photography):
VISUAL
In addition to organizing international underwater sport events it is at the forefront of technical and scientific research and development.
PS2: The photo below shows the results of the 400 meter relay, with a time of 2:38:30. Think about the speed of these swimmers. This was a surface event, and so you see the front-mount snorkels. It was won by China in the CMAS World Championships 2022. You can view it on the Finswimming USA Facebook page link above.
The answer is that I don’t know. I was not involved with Aquothlon, and it never was on my radar.
I watched some Aquothlon (underwater grappling). The thought that came to me was what could possibly go wrong with testosterone crazed males who hate to lose at anything performing underwater wrestling?The answer is that I don’t know. I was not involved with Aquothlon, and it never was on my radar.
SeaRat
It is called "underwater velocity" or "immersion finswimming" and it is one of the specialities of the finned swimming sport.
PADI has a mermaid certification.
No, she just need a good finned swimming instructor. No weight is employed by competitive immersion athlets.
My younger son practiced underwater hockey for many years at very high level, taking part to a number of international competitions.
