AthensTrainers® associate Effie Karipides, , is a Personal Trainer, Zumba Instructor and Pilates Instructor. AthensTrainers® supports and sponsors her effort this year.
Free diving or apnea is the sport of breath hold diving where a diver descends on a single breath of air.
The sports that I am involved in are:
Sea:
Free immersion (FIM) is a discipline in which the freediver dives under water without the use of propulsion equipment, but only by pulling on the rope during descent and ascent
Constant weight (CWT) is a discipline where the freediver descends with or without fins (CNF) by moving the hands, feet and during the entire dive there is no contact with the rope in order to reach the targeted depth.
Pool:
Static apnea (STA) is a discipline in which the diver holds their breath underwater for as long as possible, without swimming any distance. Apnea, dynamic with no fins (DNF), a dynamic with no fins (DYN).
So far, my performances are 35m depth in free immersion, 26m in bi-fins (CWT) and 15m (CNF). In the pool my static apnea is 3 minutes and 2 seconds long, in a single dive (DYN) with fins is 63m and 36m without fins (DNF).
The competing games that I will participate in are one breath apnea competition, Tripoli apnea competition, and the national championship in April.
My goals are to expand my static apnea time duration on a national level, and increase my dynamic performance with bi-fins discipline.
I had no idea about this sport until last April in 2017. It all started from a casual conversation with a friend about apnea, to going from one training in the pool after another, to training in the sea, discovering more of myself underwater. At the right time everything fell into place with my inspiring good friend, Michel Filinis.
I dive because I find myself. Since I was a little kid I love the depth in the sea. I was lucky enough since I was little. My siblings and I had the opportunity with my family to dive in deep waters, snorkeling, exploring the unknown deep blue, diving careless and free all day, spending countless hours and days. I wasn’t scared of the unknown or the waves. This is what my parents taught me and my siblings. Every time I dive deeper I feel closer to myself. My soul enjoys the sound and the feeling of the depth every meter I descend deeper.
The deep blue is a different world, and we just take a little taste from it by dipping into it during the summer. Especially the freefall feeling is something magical in the discipline of free immersion. The circumstances are never the same in the sea. So, every training, every dive, is unique. The pool has a different sensation from the sea, but it also leaves you pleasant, feelings at the end of each training. It feels like it refreshes you and cleans off your energy. I love sports and exercising, the challenge of becoming my better self in a discipline, the effort to exceed my limits systematically. Since I was little I was expressing myself through participating in different sports. Excelling and bettering myself in disciplines that I am involved in, gives me a great deal of pleasure and feeds my passion. It is a challenge to work in harmony your mind and body simultaneously beyond your goals and expectations. It takes strength, courage and thirst to exceed your boundaries. Through free diving practice I would like to become an apnea instructor promoting a unique sport discipline.
Effie Karipides, AthensTrainers® associate
Photos by Michel Filinis