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🇿🇦 Entries Are Open: AIDA SA Pool Nationals 2026The AIDA South Africa Pool National Championships will take place 20 to ...
04/03/2026

🇿🇦 Entries Are Open: AIDA SA Pool Nationals 2026

The AIDA South Africa Pool National Championships will take place 20 to 22 March 2026 at Rachel Finlayson Pool in Durban, KZN, and registrations are officially live on the AIDA International website.

Whether you are chasing a national title or stepping into your first competition environment, Nationals is an opportunity to test yourself in a professional, supportive setting governed by AIDA standards.

This will be the third annual National Championship and we are looking forward to building a strong start list from across the country.

If you have been training quietly, improving your PBs, or feeling curious about competing, this is your invitation.

For assistance with registration or any questions, please contact [email protected]

Let’s continue growing competitive freediving in South Africa 🇿🇦

https://www.aidainternational.org/Events/EventDetails-5013

🏆 Think you’ve got what it takes to be South Africa’s next Freediving Champion?Entries are officially open for the AIDA ...
16/07/2025

🏆 Think you’ve got what it takes to be South Africa’s next Freediving Champion?

Entries are officially open for the AIDA SA National Pool Championships 2025! Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or stepping onto the competition platform for the first time — this is your chance to rise, dive deep, and represent.

Entry Fee: R500
+ R150 per discipline

📧 Email [email protected]

Let’s see who earns the title of AIDA South African Champion 2025. It could be you. 🇿🇦

🇿🇦 Meet Leslie Taur, the male athlete representing South Africa at the upcoming 2025 AIDA World Championships in Japan!B...
20/06/2025

🇿🇦 Meet Leslie Taur, the male athlete representing South Africa at the upcoming 2025 AIDA World Championships in Japan!

Born in South Africa and raised across Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the UK, Leslie is now based in Taiwan, where he teaches both scuba and freediving. He took his first breath-hold course in 2020 and started competing just a year later in 2021.

For Leslie, freediving is much more than a sport - it's a mirror.
“Freediving has helped me understand myself on a deeper level, confronting my emotions and sensations in ways I never imagined.”

He’ll be focusing on Dynamic with Fins (DYN) at World Champs, drawn to the thrill of flying underwater - but he also has a love for Statics and DNF, which he says offer deep meditation and a visceral connection with water.

Inspired by athlete Lisa Ries, Leslie admires her ability to balance strength, resilience, and grace - reminding us that success isn’t just measured in numbers, but in presence, persistence, and passion.

Let’s cheer Leslie on as he joins Fiona De Sousa in flying the SA flag high on the world stage! 🇿🇦



Image credit

🇿🇦 Meet Fiona De Sousa, the female athlete representing South Africa at the 2025 AIDA World Championships in Japan!At 52...
20/06/2025

🇿🇦 Meet Fiona De Sousa, the female athlete representing South Africa at the 2025 AIDA World Championships in Japan!

At 52, Fiona is a mother of two, a mindfulness facilitator, and a freediver whose journey started unexpectedly in 2022. But from the very first breath-hold, she found something deeper: peace, joy, wonder—and a reason to keep diving. 💙

Her favourite discipline? Statics.
Why? “You don’t need to do anything at all,” she says. “No finning, no equalising—just existing. It’s where the deepest self-realizations happen.” Fiona will be focusing on this very discipline when she steps onto the world stage later this month.

Fiona draws her inspiration not from one athlete, but from the entire South African freediving community - a tribe of dreamers, water lovers, and self-expressers whose joy and freedom in the water lit a fire in her to become the best version of herself. She gives a heartfelt nod to Gletwyn Rubidge, Natalie Rudman, Sophia van Coller, Angie van der Hoogen, John McCarthy. A special shoutout goes to Charles Muller, her long-time dive buddy and co-dreamer, with whom she once made a pact: to become SA record holders. That pact still fuels her fire today.

We’re so proud to have Fiona carrying the SA flag in Japan. 🇿🇦

: 🇿🇦- Where are you based & how are you connected to the freediving world?I am based in Durban, South Africa. I’m an av...
03/02/2025

: 🇿🇦

- Where are you based & how are you connected to the freediving world?

I am based in Durban, South Africa. I’m an avid freediver (W2 Molchanovs). I have also completed an AIDA judge course and safety diver certification for pool comps.

- Where did you first learn to freedive?

I did a basic introductory course through many years ago which planted the seed. At the time, I couldn’t pursue the sport as I was competing in bodybuilding and powerlifting. After retiring, I turned all my attention to the magical underwater world and embarked on another basic intro to freedive workshop with . Around the same time, I discovered .squad.dbn – the squad I still train with and serve as assistant coach.

Current PB(s) you’re proud of?

DYNB – 112m. DNF- 82m. DYN – 120m (Monofin)

- Current freediving challenge/goal you want to master?

I’m chasing being more at ease and progressing in depth and STA

- Favourite discipline?

DNF. So much fun to learn and master!

- Favourite gear/freediving brand?

My silicon fins and mono, and my sexy red Meister F130’s are my favourites!

- Freediver you admire locally & internationally?

I admire the behind-the-scenes heroes of our comps, the safety divers. They are the angels that keep everyone safe, while athletes get to compete and push the limits. Safeties are the heroes in our sport in my opinion. They have to dive on demand, doing multiple dives to depth while being hyper focused.

- Best place to dive?

My favourite spots are right here in South Africa! Sodwana Bay with our incredible skipper, Digga from and of course Aliwal Shoal with Cassie from . If you get the chance, try dive with these guys… you won’t regret it.

- Tips or advice for other divers?

Everyone is on a self-journey. It’s always only you against you. Don’t rush the process, relax, take your time, and enjoy the ride.

- Name a song that sums up your freediving journey:

Matt Simons – Catch & Release🎶

A few of our favourite snaps from the AIDA 2 Pool safety course in CPT this weekend🇿🇦Well done to all those who invested...
24/11/2024

A few of our favourite snaps from the AIDA 2 Pool safety course in CPT this weekend🇿🇦

Well done to all those who invested in their upskilling & another HUGE thank you to for heading down south to share his knowledge.

Let the learning continue💪See you in the water!

Congratulations to everyone involved in the AIDA WC Spring 2024 Mini Pool Comp🔥Thank you for organising, for hosting t...
19/11/2024

Congratulations to everyone involved in the AIDA WC Spring 2024 Mini Pool Comp🔥

Thank you for organising, for hosting the two-day event at his training pool, & for the lekker photos!

Appreciation further extended to our safeties for keeping vigilant & to & for flexing their judging muscles💪

Overall winners:

Women:
Men:

📣Well done, .the.freediver for smashing a new DYNB NR & CR of 192m, and representing SA🇿🇦 at the .deutschland Champtions...
15/11/2024

📣Well done, .the.freediver for smashing a new DYNB NR & CR of 192m, and representing SA🇿🇦 at the .deutschland Champtionship.

“I was stressed at work for the past three months and could not train specifically for this comp. The week leading up to the championship I was in Denmark on holiday, where I could not get into the water at all. As a result, I had low expectations. The first discipline was static, where I did a relatively easy 6:15, which was also a PB for me. This gave me confidence that I could put into action with DYNB. I am thrilled with the results and definitely did not expect to reach 192m!” — Anton de Wet

- Where did you first learn to freedive? On Aliwal Shoal, KZN.- What PB are you most proud of? My CNF 30m requiement for...
08/11/2024

- Where did you first learn to freedive? On Aliwal Shoal, KZN.

- What PB are you most proud of? My CNF 30m requiement for my instructor cert... I expected it to be the most demanding requirement, but it wasn’t. I actually enjoyed it!

- What current challenge do you want to master? I want to get more comfortable with static. My personal goal is to hold for the duration of Bohemian Rhapsody.

- Favourite discipline? FIM. I generally use FIM in my warm-up dives, and it’s definitely the favourite.

- Favourite gear? I love my mask! I was gifted the Core mask by students. It’s ridiculously comfortable and white, which makes it easy to identify me underwater. This is comforting for students who are complete beginners and who might be a little nervous about being out in the ‘Big Blue’.

- Freediver you admire locally & internationally? Locally, without hesitation, is . She noticed how much I loved the ocean and convinced me to jump on a Wave 1 course with her... I’ve never looked back, and I still hear her voice when I dive. Internationally, it’s got to be . I’ve been following her for quite some time and can’t help but adore her! I love that she doesn’t take herself too seriously. She is a little goofy but a total badass!

- Best place to dive? I haven’t done much dive travel, so I don’t have much to compare it to, but Aliwal Shoal will always be home! I’ve been scuba diving that reef since 2009. She can be wild and unpredictable, but I’ve had the most incredible encounters with wildlife there.
When she’s on fire, Aliwal is the best (for me, at least)!

- Tips or advice? Not to state the obvious, but relax! We fall in love with freediving because of the feeling we get with every dive... don’t forget that. Enjoy it – the feeling, the beauty, the connection to the ocean and one’s self.

- A song that sums up your freediving journey? Do I have to choose one?! For the purpose of this post, it’s Not an Addict by K’s Choice.

Practise creates confidence. Our journey to safer freediving starts here💪That’s a wrap for the AIDA 2 Pool Safety course...
04/11/2024

Practise creates confidence. Our journey to safer freediving starts here💪

That’s a wrap for the AIDA 2 Pool Safety course, which recently ran over four days in Durban. HUGE thank you to for organising and to for offering his time and knowledge to make this certification accessible to our SA community🇿🇦We are looking forward to putting our new skills to the test!

“Communication is key to being a good safety… safety divers need to have a high level of self-awareness, but it’s also important to take care of yourself, too.” – Daniel (Dan) Becker, AIDA Instructor, Judge, and Safety

If you’re joining for the Cape Town course, we will see you 23-24 November!

As October rolls in, we can’t overlook this milestone for 🇿🇦 Her recent performance at the Freedive World Cup resulted i...
04/10/2024

As October rolls in, we can’t overlook this milestone for 🇿🇦 Her recent performance at the Freedive World Cup resulted in her deepest dive of 43m for CNF. This new PB earned her a bronze/3rd place amongst the female athletes🏆Nice one, Sophia!

“What an unforgettable experience, and some amazing dives in my favorite discipline, CNF. I am happy that I got to 43m, a personal best in competition, but I feel I can still swim much further. Hopefully one day I can carry on with what I love so much. New friendships were made, lots of laughs and an extremely well run competition! Thank you to all involved behind the scenes.’ - Sophia van Coller




🏆 DUC Cup 2024 wrap-up🏆The DUC Cup has come to a close, marking an exceptional milestone for this inaugural competition...
26/09/2024

🏆 DUC Cup 2024 wrap-up🏆

The DUC Cup has come to a close, marking an exceptional milestone for this inaugural competition. The spirit of community and sportsmanship was palpable throughout. A huge congratulations to all the competitors, admin volunteers, safeties, judges, sponsors, and organisers who made this event possible.

Overall Results:

DUC Cup 2024 winner: Shane Jansen van Vuuren (WC)

Men:🥇Shane Jansen van Vuuren,🥈Ryan Becker,🥉Leigh Riley

Women:🥇Wendy Paarman,🥈Arenea Becker,🥉Ashton Deyzel

For individual discipline results visit: https://www.aidainternational.org/Events/EventRanking-4187

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