Sport Diving (Scuba)
Sport Diving is an underwater aquatic sport, where aspects of scuba diving are performed in a swimming pool. The sport which originated in Spain to promote scuba diving, is currently played in many European countries.
underwater scuba diving at Mallorca. photo credit: Olivier Borgognon (freeimages.com)The sport primarily uses scuba diving equipment, some of which are, diving masks, fins, snorkels, diving cylinder, and full body swim suits. Some divers might also carry watches for personal timekeeping.
Sport diving competitions are conducted for both men and women, and can be contested individually or in teams of 2 or 4 members. Competitions are conducted in a pool that is 50 meters long and at least 2 meters deep.
Currently, there are five disciplines of sport diving for which international level competitions are conducted. Three of them are contested individually, the other two in teams. The individual events are, Event M 300 meters, Night diving and Immersion 6 kg. The team events are, Obstacle course and Briefing. In some regional and national competitions, additional events might also be included. In all sport diving events, the team or individual that completes the course in the least amount of time is declared as the winner.
The most popular international competition for sport diving is the Underwater Sport Diving World Championship, which is conducted annually. European Sport Diving Championship, is another international competition that is conducted biennially.
Similar Sports
- Underwater Orienteering — individual and team events in which competitors wearing scuba diving equipment swim an underwater course following a route marked on a map prepared by the competition organizers, using a compass and a counter meter to measure the distance covered.
- Underwater Photography — teams of competitors using scuba gear and using a digital underwater camera dive and photograph the same saltwater ocean sites at the same time over a two-day period, with the submitted digital images assessed to find the winner.
- Freediving — underwater diving which completely relies on the diver’s capability to hold its breath.
- Underwater Target Shooting — competitors free dive in a swimming pool, using spearguns to fire at targets.
- Underwater Fishing — competitions using a spear to catch fish underwater.
Related Pages
- The similarly named but quite different sport of diving
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports
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