The First-Ever AIDA Camotes Freediving Challenge Concludes

Asya Kleschevnikova, Head of Sales & Customer Service
asya@molchanovs.com
molchanovs.com

Camotes Island, San Francisco, Philippines, 4 April 2023 - The very first edition of the AIDA Camotes Freediving Challenge has concluded.

Competition organizer and Camotes Freediving owner Thibault Guignés successfully completed a 110m (361ft) dive. Photo by Federico Buzzoni.

The dive site featured a flat sea, calm currents, an average visibility of 25m (82ft), a maximum depth of 150m (492ft), and a newly constructed platform. Competition organizer, Camotes Freediving owner, and French National Record Holder Thibault Guignés and his team are all experienced athletes and safety divers, and received support from Superhome Freediving and John Folkvord from Panglao as the main judge. A total of 20 athletes from 14 different nationalities participated in the competition.

Three new AIDA National Records were set for the USA, Syria, and Singapore.

Elys Lai secures the Singaporean AIDA National Record at the Camotes Freediving Challenge 2023. Photo by Federico Buzzoni.

Competition Results

New AIDA National Record

Male
CWT - Tory George (USA) - 111m/364ft
FIM - Shadi Turk (SYR) - 80m/262ft

Female
FIM - Elys Lai (SGP) - 65m/213ft

Overall winners

Male - David Mellor (GBR) - 210 points
Female - Enchante Gallardo (USA) - 206 points

To see the full list of results, check AIDA’s Event Results page on the competition.

The Camotes Freediving team was very pleased to arrange a competition of this level just a year after opening their doors in June 2022. Camotes Freediving offers students and athletes autonomous training in 100m+ (328ft+) depth or in their 25m (82ft) pool, buoy training, and platform training year-round in pristine conditions.

What's next?

The next competition will be the AIDA OceanQuest Philippines in May 2023, featuring 35 athletes, including possible World Record attempts by Alexey Molchanov and Alessia Zecchini. This event promises extremely deep depths, featuring athletes who dive 110m+ (361ft+) that include Antonio Mogarevo, Vincenzo Ferri, Thibault Guignés, Tory George, Sendoh Wang, and Costa Zhu. Thibault plans that the AIDA OceanQuest Philippines will become Camotes Freediving’s main annual event, and may even provide footage from Diveye this year.

To find out more about the upcoming AIDA OceanQuest Philippines, click here.