U.S. FREEDIVERS TO MAKE HISTORIC RECORDS IN FIRST CMAS-SANCTIONED COMPETITION IN AMERICAN WATERS

Kailua-Kona, HI, August 17, 2018: The United States Freediving Federation (USFF) will hold The Hawai’i Cup of Freediving in Kailua-Kona on August 24-27, 2018. This historic national championship will be the first-ever CMAS sanctioned freediving event in the United States.

When I started to Freedive, I immediately recognized I was using a lot of meditation techniques during my dives. My knowledge of meditation has propelled my freediving career and because of these tools I’ve reached new goals and new states of mind. Freediving completely changed the trajectory of my life. Utilizing my knowledge base, I have created my own course “Meditation for Freediving” which helps students reach their goals faster and safer. Freediving has allowed me to combine my two greatest passions.

I think the entire freediving community as a whole is what has been my biggest inspiration to dive. I’ve met some of the most amazing people from different parts of the world, and to see how incredibly humble and down to earth many of them are no matter the depths they’re diving is really inspiring. 

Freediving has changed my life in a positive way and I have really found out who I was on my journey to achieving greater depths. It seems like every time a barrier would form in my freediving it was something in my life that needed to be changed before I can break through the barrier. This is why I owe myself to freediving because it has helped me dissolve many issues in my childhood and in my life so that I can become a better person.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. There’s no magic breathe up, certain speed you must go, no perfect technique, or guaranteed wetsuit and fins that will give you a new personal best. Everyone is different. Find what works for you and develop that. Is it you, not the gear.

I really love good seafood, and I love the ocean and the water, so when I discovered that it was possible to spearfish off the coast of Los Angeles, I immediately blew my tax return on a speargun, cold water freediving gear and the rest is history.

This, I think is the key in freediving, first figuring out what it is that stops me specifically at a particular depth, as everyone is different, then finding and trying-out solutions to overcome it. It's only through this process that I can find solutions to break through the barriers. And it might take weeks, months or even years to surpass a certain depth, but well that's just how it is :)

The introduction of freediving into my life caused a very positive life shift. It has helped me become much more comfortable with all aspects of life and has helped me learn to push my self-imposed boundaries to the side and explore what it is I am capable of achieving.

With the upcoming 2018 CMAS World Championships in October, we will be profiling each of the members of Team America. Enjoy their stories. Get to know them, and we hope that you find a nugget of inspiration from their story. First profile, Ashleigh Baird.