Dave Edlund
02-06-2007, 01:17 AM
Hi SBers,
The U.S. National (Freedive) Spearfishing Championships will be held on Thursday, August 9, 2007 in Fort Bragg (Noyo Harbor), California and it is sponsored by the Underwater Society of America. The Cen-Cal council of divers under the direction of tournament director Mike Gower is gearing up for this years fine event. Cen-cal is setting up a website that will hold all the all the registration materials for this years Nationals. It will be up and running in March. For those unfamiliar with Fort Bragg, it is located in beautiful Mendocino County, an area with rugged coastlines and great natural beauty.
There will be plenty of 3-person "men's" teams attending, but at this date it is still too early to tell if we will have both "women's" and "mixed" team divisions which have 2 divers each per team. A "mixed team" can be made up of the following two combinations: An adult male diving with any adult/minor female or with a minor male (under age 16). An adult female diving with either an adult or minor male.
This is an important U.S. Nationals as it will determine our "International" spearfishing tournament teams. The next CMAS World Spearfishing Championships will be in Margarita Island, Venezuela in fall of 2008 and it will have both a men's and women's event. That's the good news. But, as the total countries participating will be limited to around 20, the U.S. men's team must dive an Americas Qualifier at Higuerote, Venezuela from roughly October 5-9, 2007. So this means, that after this years Nationals is over, there will be less than 2 months before the U.S. men's team must try to qualify for Worlds. Yikes! This will not be easy as the South American teams will be very motivated to qualify as the Worlds will be in South America. I will be working with Mike McGuire (Asst. National Skindiving Director) to determine the specific requirements of team participation. There will be likely a minimum time you must be prepare in Venezuela this October, 2007 in order to hold your position on the World team for 2008.
One final comment. The Florida and Southern California men's divers have the best chance of making the U.S. World team as they scored the most points at the 2006 Longfins hosted Freedive Spearfishing Nationals. With the World's being held in Venezuela, conditions similar to Florida, these divers should be very motivated to come to Northern California and make the U.S. World team. This is your great opportunity.
For those of you that want to participate in this year Nationals, you need to belong to a dive club recognized by the Underwater Society of America. As the National Director, I want to get your club involved. If tournament diving is your cup of tea, please e-mail me. And if you are a potential tournament sponsor and would like to support the U.S. Nationals or the U.S World spearfishing teams (both men and women), I want to work with you.
And for those interested in all the rules of U.S. National Freedive Spearfishing, I will post the website in March.
Here are the big picture details of the 2007 Nationals.
Hosting dive club/council: Cen-Cal (Central California Council of Diving Clubs, Inc.)
We, the skindivers of Cen Cal, take great pride in submitting this bid to host the 2007 United States Spearfishing Championships. It is our intention to host the 2007 Nationals on Thursday, August 9, 2007.
• Competition: 6 hours of diving time plus ˝ hour travel time each way
• Location: Noyo Harbor Beach (north side of north harbor jetty), Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, California
• Schedule of Events:
Monday, August 6, 2007 Competitors’ Mandatory Briefing
Thursday, August 9, 2007 National Championships
7:30 a.m. Roll call, assembly and sign in
8:00 a.m. Competitors briefing
8:30 a.m. Tournament starts (1/2 hour of travel time)
9:00 a.m. Divers can enter water
3:00 p.m. Divers are done hunting. Travel time begins
3:30 p.m. Divers must be through staging buoys
4:00 p.m. Divers must be on beach
4:30 p.m. Weigh-in begins
Friday, August 10, 2007 Banquet of Champions Dinner
• Event Headquarters: Group campsite to be specified on CenCal website
• Entry Deadline: July 31, 2007 Men’s Teams, Mixed Teams *, Women’s Teams*
*(For these 2 divisions, we ask competitors to contact Mike Gower with their intentions by May 31, 2007, so Mike can determine whether these divisions meet minimum participation requirements.)
• Registration Fees: $390 ** for men’s teams (3 persons)
$260 ** for mixed and women’s teams (2 persons)
** (There is a $30 per diver fee included in the team fee that goes to support the 2007/2008 U.S. World Spearfishing Teams.)
• Diving Conditions:
Visibility 3-30 feet: 6-15 feet normal
Water temperature 52-56 degree F
Depth 5 to 60 feet: 18 to 30 feet normal
Surf 3 to 12 feet
Current 0 to 2 knots, very slight
Tides 4 to 6 feet between high and low
Bottom Rocky to sandy
• Fish Species:
Rockfish (Blue, Black, Vermilion, Olive, Kelp, Copper, Grass, etc)
Lingcod, Cabezon, Kelp Greenling, Halibut
Perch (Pile, Rubberlip, Striped, etc)
No shark, ray, skate, mola mola, eels, finless fish (eels)
Minimum length: 14 inches or DFG rules if longer.
• Paddleboards/Kayaks:
Paddleboards/kayaks or float propulsion shall be powered by manual methods only. This includes hand paddling, kicking (foot fins) and paddles. No mechanized or other means of non-manual propulsion is allowed.
• Miscellaneous Rules:
A) There shall be no chumming. Chumming includes willfully breaking up the bottom and removing or damaging any shellfish or fin fish in order to attract other fish. No feeding (chumming) of fish in the tournament area 30 days prior to or during competition.
B) Divers may assist respective team members but may not assist divers of another team except in cases of emergency. Assisting or receiving assistance from another diver would include the following: sending signals, lending equipment and/or resting on another diver’s float. Divers must take their own fish; no trading or giving of fish to other divers is allowed.
C) No artificial breathing apparatus may be used.
D) Violation of any California Fish and Game rules will result in disqualification; divers must have current California fishing license.
E) No use of alcohol or rough play.
• Diving Areas:
A) The tournament boundaries will be marked by north and south buoys. The northern tournament boundary is a line from N39 degrees 27.300 W123 degrees 49.286 which is in roughly 60 feet of water to a point on shore at N39 degrees 27.210 w 123 degrees 48.848 which has a true course of 285 degrees when you look seaward. The southern tournament boundary is a line from N39 degrees 24.247 W123 degrees 49.600 which is in roughly 60 feet of water to a point on shore at N39 degrees 24.184 w 123 degrees 49.294 which has a true course of 285 degrees when you look seaward. Each boundary is approximately 1.78 miles either north or south from the main Noyo harbor buoy.
B) Competitors must enter and exit the water from the staging area only.
C) Competitors may only leave the diving (meet) area during competition with permission from a judge – except in an emergency
D) No fish may be taken in the meet area for one month prior to the meet date.
E) No competitor may possess a speargun or polespear in the meet area for one month prior to the meet date.
F) No competitor’s catch may leave the staging area until s/he has weighed his/her catch.
G) Buoys will clearly mark the water start and stop line and shall be supervised at the end of the meet to identify stragglers.
H) Competitors may dive in the meet area up to the day before the competition when, at 5:00 p.m., they must be out of the tournament area. Divers shall not re-enter the water in the meet area on the day of the meet prior to its start.
• Awards:
The following awards are the minimum planned. More than likely, the final number will be greater than shown:
Men’s “Team” trophies (based on total team points) - places 1-3 (9 total trophies)
Women’s and/or Mixed “Team” trophies: places 1-3 (6 total trophies) per division
Men’s Individual High Aggregate score trophies – places 1-5
Women’s Individual High Aggregate score – places 1-3
Men’s Large Fish
Women’s Large Fish
Men’s Novice Diver of Tournament
Women’s Novice Diver of Tournament
• Publicity:
Cen Cal will make every effort to see that the National Spearfishing Championships receives the recognition and status that it deserves.
• Sponsorship:
Cen Cal will work with manufacturers and sponsors of various diving equipment in an effort to best reflect our sport. We feel this National event is an excellent opportunity to better promote our joint interests.
• Accommodations:
A detailed packet of available hotels, rental, campsites, and campgrounds will be provided with maps, charts and points of interest. Each club/council will be sent this information as well as any other information we feel is necessary to keep everyone informed as to new developments. We plan to post all this information to a Nationals 2007 website and the website address will be given to all clubs/councils.
The U.S. National (Freedive) Spearfishing Championships will be held on Thursday, August 9, 2007 in Fort Bragg (Noyo Harbor), California and it is sponsored by the Underwater Society of America. The Cen-Cal council of divers under the direction of tournament director Mike Gower is gearing up for this years fine event. Cen-cal is setting up a website that will hold all the all the registration materials for this years Nationals. It will be up and running in March. For those unfamiliar with Fort Bragg, it is located in beautiful Mendocino County, an area with rugged coastlines and great natural beauty.
There will be plenty of 3-person "men's" teams attending, but at this date it is still too early to tell if we will have both "women's" and "mixed" team divisions which have 2 divers each per team. A "mixed team" can be made up of the following two combinations: An adult male diving with any adult/minor female or with a minor male (under age 16). An adult female diving with either an adult or minor male.
This is an important U.S. Nationals as it will determine our "International" spearfishing tournament teams. The next CMAS World Spearfishing Championships will be in Margarita Island, Venezuela in fall of 2008 and it will have both a men's and women's event. That's the good news. But, as the total countries participating will be limited to around 20, the U.S. men's team must dive an Americas Qualifier at Higuerote, Venezuela from roughly October 5-9, 2007. So this means, that after this years Nationals is over, there will be less than 2 months before the U.S. men's team must try to qualify for Worlds. Yikes! This will not be easy as the South American teams will be very motivated to qualify as the Worlds will be in South America. I will be working with Mike McGuire (Asst. National Skindiving Director) to determine the specific requirements of team participation. There will be likely a minimum time you must be prepare in Venezuela this October, 2007 in order to hold your position on the World team for 2008.
One final comment. The Florida and Southern California men's divers have the best chance of making the U.S. World team as they scored the most points at the 2006 Longfins hosted Freedive Spearfishing Nationals. With the World's being held in Venezuela, conditions similar to Florida, these divers should be very motivated to come to Northern California and make the U.S. World team. This is your great opportunity.
For those of you that want to participate in this year Nationals, you need to belong to a dive club recognized by the Underwater Society of America. As the National Director, I want to get your club involved. If tournament diving is your cup of tea, please e-mail me. And if you are a potential tournament sponsor and would like to support the U.S. Nationals or the U.S World spearfishing teams (both men and women), I want to work with you.
And for those interested in all the rules of U.S. National Freedive Spearfishing, I will post the website in March.
Here are the big picture details of the 2007 Nationals.
Hosting dive club/council: Cen-Cal (Central California Council of Diving Clubs, Inc.)
We, the skindivers of Cen Cal, take great pride in submitting this bid to host the 2007 United States Spearfishing Championships. It is our intention to host the 2007 Nationals on Thursday, August 9, 2007.
• Competition: 6 hours of diving time plus ˝ hour travel time each way
• Location: Noyo Harbor Beach (north side of north harbor jetty), Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, California
• Schedule of Events:
Monday, August 6, 2007 Competitors’ Mandatory Briefing
Thursday, August 9, 2007 National Championships
7:30 a.m. Roll call, assembly and sign in
8:00 a.m. Competitors briefing
8:30 a.m. Tournament starts (1/2 hour of travel time)
9:00 a.m. Divers can enter water
3:00 p.m. Divers are done hunting. Travel time begins
3:30 p.m. Divers must be through staging buoys
4:00 p.m. Divers must be on beach
4:30 p.m. Weigh-in begins
Friday, August 10, 2007 Banquet of Champions Dinner
• Event Headquarters: Group campsite to be specified on CenCal website
• Entry Deadline: July 31, 2007 Men’s Teams, Mixed Teams *, Women’s Teams*
*(For these 2 divisions, we ask competitors to contact Mike Gower with their intentions by May 31, 2007, so Mike can determine whether these divisions meet minimum participation requirements.)
• Registration Fees: $390 ** for men’s teams (3 persons)
$260 ** for mixed and women’s teams (2 persons)
** (There is a $30 per diver fee included in the team fee that goes to support the 2007/2008 U.S. World Spearfishing Teams.)
• Diving Conditions:
Visibility 3-30 feet: 6-15 feet normal
Water temperature 52-56 degree F
Depth 5 to 60 feet: 18 to 30 feet normal
Surf 3 to 12 feet
Current 0 to 2 knots, very slight
Tides 4 to 6 feet between high and low
Bottom Rocky to sandy
• Fish Species:
Rockfish (Blue, Black, Vermilion, Olive, Kelp, Copper, Grass, etc)
Lingcod, Cabezon, Kelp Greenling, Halibut
Perch (Pile, Rubberlip, Striped, etc)
No shark, ray, skate, mola mola, eels, finless fish (eels)
Minimum length: 14 inches or DFG rules if longer.
• Paddleboards/Kayaks:
Paddleboards/kayaks or float propulsion shall be powered by manual methods only. This includes hand paddling, kicking (foot fins) and paddles. No mechanized or other means of non-manual propulsion is allowed.
• Miscellaneous Rules:
A) There shall be no chumming. Chumming includes willfully breaking up the bottom and removing or damaging any shellfish or fin fish in order to attract other fish. No feeding (chumming) of fish in the tournament area 30 days prior to or during competition.
B) Divers may assist respective team members but may not assist divers of another team except in cases of emergency. Assisting or receiving assistance from another diver would include the following: sending signals, lending equipment and/or resting on another diver’s float. Divers must take their own fish; no trading or giving of fish to other divers is allowed.
C) No artificial breathing apparatus may be used.
D) Violation of any California Fish and Game rules will result in disqualification; divers must have current California fishing license.
E) No use of alcohol or rough play.
• Diving Areas:
A) The tournament boundaries will be marked by north and south buoys. The northern tournament boundary is a line from N39 degrees 27.300 W123 degrees 49.286 which is in roughly 60 feet of water to a point on shore at N39 degrees 27.210 w 123 degrees 48.848 which has a true course of 285 degrees when you look seaward. The southern tournament boundary is a line from N39 degrees 24.247 W123 degrees 49.600 which is in roughly 60 feet of water to a point on shore at N39 degrees 24.184 w 123 degrees 49.294 which has a true course of 285 degrees when you look seaward. Each boundary is approximately 1.78 miles either north or south from the main Noyo harbor buoy.
B) Competitors must enter and exit the water from the staging area only.
C) Competitors may only leave the diving (meet) area during competition with permission from a judge – except in an emergency
D) No fish may be taken in the meet area for one month prior to the meet date.
E) No competitor may possess a speargun or polespear in the meet area for one month prior to the meet date.
F) No competitor’s catch may leave the staging area until s/he has weighed his/her catch.
G) Buoys will clearly mark the water start and stop line and shall be supervised at the end of the meet to identify stragglers.
H) Competitors may dive in the meet area up to the day before the competition when, at 5:00 p.m., they must be out of the tournament area. Divers shall not re-enter the water in the meet area on the day of the meet prior to its start.
• Awards:
The following awards are the minimum planned. More than likely, the final number will be greater than shown:
Men’s “Team” trophies (based on total team points) - places 1-3 (9 total trophies)
Women’s and/or Mixed “Team” trophies: places 1-3 (6 total trophies) per division
Men’s Individual High Aggregate score trophies – places 1-5
Women’s Individual High Aggregate score – places 1-3
Men’s Large Fish
Women’s Large Fish
Men’s Novice Diver of Tournament
Women’s Novice Diver of Tournament
• Publicity:
Cen Cal will make every effort to see that the National Spearfishing Championships receives the recognition and status that it deserves.
• Sponsorship:
Cen Cal will work with manufacturers and sponsors of various diving equipment in an effort to best reflect our sport. We feel this National event is an excellent opportunity to better promote our joint interests.
• Accommodations:
A detailed packet of available hotels, rental, campsites, and campgrounds will be provided with maps, charts and points of interest. Each club/council will be sent this information as well as any other information we feel is necessary to keep everyone informed as to new developments. We plan to post all this information to a Nationals 2007 website and the website address will be given to all clubs/councils.