Rebecca Coales
I've been freediving for six years and competing for two and a half years. I train with Bristol Freedivers and Apneists UK with my coach Steve Millard. I've set five national records in dynamic disciplines and won the Great Northern/BFA UK pool championship last year. I juggle my freedive training with a civil service job, yoga teaching and freedive instruction so life is very busy! I enjoy the challenge that training and competition gives me, a chance to find out what I'm made of. I hope to keep exploring that over the next 10 days in Belgrade and beyond, and I'm proud to represent the UK. I've had lots of support this year to keep me fit and healthy including Team Bath, Nuffield Health and NuZest nutrition. Also a big thank you to everyone who supported my crowdfunding project to fund my entry to this World Championships Alice Hickson
I've been freediving for nearly 8 months now but can definitely say I'm addicted :) I've certainly found my passion and a great community of people to share it with! I train with Bristol freedivers who are always on hand with plenty of tips and encouragement to help me progress and offer endless support. I'm ecstatic to be going to the world championships as it's only my second time ever competing. I hope to gain as much experience as possible and can't wait to meet some of the top athletes in the sport setting new records. Hopefully I can set a few new PB's of my own! It feels amazing to have such an awesome opportunity to compete with the best athletes in the World whilst pushing my own limits. Hopefully this is the start of a long and fun filled journey in freediving! Thank you to all the people who have helped me on my way to Worlds - especially my family, friends, Pegasus Group, Bristol freedivers and team safety Snork ;) George Miller
George has always been interested in the underwater world. She learned to scuba dive in 1998, and is a PADI MSDT instructor since 2005. She has been freediving since 2007 and is an SSI freediving instructor. George is a 6 times British National record holder, currently holding the women's record of 06:33 in static apnea and competes for the UK; she has been part of the UK team since 2007. She has trained all over the world, including the famous Deans blue hole. George has a strong background in yoga and swimming and believes that mental focus and self-awareness is a crucial part of freediving, but most importantly it has to be fun. Above all freediving is a passion for her and a fantastic community to be a part of. She has recently set up a club called Aquacity Freediving (www.aquacityfreediving.com) along with her partner, photographer Daan Verhoeven. George has also been a committee member of the British Freediving Association as Clubs Officer since 2011, to help to share her love of the sport Beci Ryan
Beci has represented the UK at three World Championships, in Nice, Belgrade and Sardinia. Beci qualified for a wild card place in the discipline of dynamic no fins for this year’s World Championships and earlier this year came first at the National Pool Championships, the Great Northern. Beci is grateful to her fellow teammates and training buddies who have shared their knowledge, experience and skills freely with her, and have always been such a huge support. One of her favorite things about freediving, is that moment of silence, when having taken your final breath you go under the water Lucelle Simms
I started freediving 4 years ago, although I have always enjoyed being in the ocean and water - diving as a teenager in South-Africa and lots of scuba diving holidays until freediving took over! The club and sport has become a big part of my life and I try to fit training in as much as I can around a busy family life. I competed in Belgrade 2 years ago and came third at the BFA National Pool Championships earlier this year. I am very excited to be part of the team again and ready for another fantastic experience. I am very grateful to friends and family enabling me to go away for 10 days and to everyone at NoTanx in London for their support and encouragement every week. My name is Shirley Turner, I was born in South Africa, where I fell in love with the Ocean.
As a child I had a passion for protecting the marine environment and later discovered freediving. I started freedive training in 2013 and have taken part in just a handful of competitions but this will be my first opportunity to take part in the World Championships and I am so excited to be able to see the best athletes set new records. I have struggled to juggle motherhood and training but I hope to gain new PB's and continue competing in the future My name is Adam Drzazga, I am a competitive freediver, Aida Instructor, Judge and Chairman of the BFA. (British Freediving Association). I've been teaching Freediving for the last few years as well as representing GB in recent years.This year again I have pleasure to join the team and compete in Belgrade.
Participating in International events has given me experience in both recreational and competitive aspects of the sport . What I enjoy the most is recreational freediving, when you just go and dive on the shallow reefs and simply enjoy being there Jason Kirkpatrick
I am part of the recently formed Westcoast Freedivers group based in Glasgow. We are part of Apneists UK and work closely with Steve Millard who is my coach. I have always enjoyed being in and around water and freediving was something I wanted to do for a long time after enjoying snorkeling in the sea in Orkney while growing up. I took up the sport at the end of 2014 and qualified for the 2015 World Championships when I came 3rd in the UK Championships earlier in the year. I am excited to represent the UK in an International Competition and look forward to meeting other athletes from around the world and hopefully setting some new PBs! |