CEBU will play host to a different kind of international competition as the Blood Red Philippine Depth Challenge kicks off on March 31 at the Club Serena Resort in Moalboal.
Competitors from Germany, Taiwan, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Czech Republic, Austria, Canada, Sweden and Australia among others, will compete in the tournament organized by Austrian freediver, Wolfgang Dafert.
Freediving means diving on a single breath of air and it is a sport that is being promoted by Dafert, who has taught and practiced the sport for more than 15 years. This marks only the second time that an Asian country has hosted a freediving tournament with Japan hosting the very first one in 2010.
The competition will be recognized by AIDA, the international governing body of freediving with international judges coming over to certify the records that will be made during the two-day event. The panel of judges include German Richard Wonka, Sarah Whitcher of the United Kingdom and JP Francois of Belgium.
In addition, since this is the first competition of its kind in the country, the winners will thus hold the national records.
There will be four disciplines that will be competed in including Static Apnea which is a competition to see who can hold their breath the longest in a pool and the free dive competition consisting of the constant weight, the unassisted and the free immersion dives. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio