2008 CMAS World Freedive Spearfishing Championships

[Dave Edlund]

World Spearfishing Championships

C.M.A.S. (Confederation Mondiale des Activities Subaquatiques) sponsors a World Spearfishing Championship every two years and usually limits participation to the top 20 of its member countries. CMAS is a worldwide organization for underwater sports and currently and has approximately 35 countries as members. Each World Spearfishing Championship is typically held at a different dive location around the World. In 2004, when I was a scout on the U.S. team, it was held in Iquique, Chile. In September 2006, it was the 25th CMAS World Spearfishing Championship and it was held in Sines, Portugal.

What happens at a World Spearfishing Championship?

The Worlds are a 2-day championship where divers shoot fish for about 7 hours per day. Each day, the diving is done at a different location. Typically, 20-25 teams qualify to compete at the World Championships. And because too many teams want to participate at the Worlds, sometimes there are regional qualifiers for the World Championships per Continent. In 2006, the U.S. team dove in Peru to qualify for the Portugal Worlds via the Americas qualifier. The World Championships are boat-based meets and each team is allowed to have three divers hunting. The Championships are run somewhat like a mini-Olympics where there are opening ceremonies and a big closing banquet. It is not uncommon for thousands of people to attend the opening ceremony where each team has there own national uniform. Imagine, thousands of people applauding for spearfishermen? What a concept. At the opening event there is a parade of Nations where each country carries their nations’ flag.

What does it take to do well?

These Championships are not about just having great freediving talent as all the divers have a high degree of talent. It is about preparation and having enough resources (time and money). The top teams in these Championships will spend months training at the site, finding fishy locations (scouting) and understanding everything about the tournament area. Let’s say, the Italian team, always one of the top teams brings 10 divers to the World site and spends 60 days diving there in preparation. That’s 600 full diver days in the water. You can have all the 100 foot freedive capable divers you want, but without scouting time to hunt miles and miles of coastline, you will not break the top 5 teams. America has never hosted a Worlds, but our top divers have won individual honors (Terry Lentz) and finished 2nd a couple of times (John Ernst). In my personal opinion, our U.S divers can hang with the very best. Our biggest challenges are the time and money aspect. We seem to "work" more than the rest of the World!

How you can get involved with the U.S World team?

There are many ways. You could qualify for one of the top spots on the men's or women's team by participating in U.S. National Championships. You could also come to the Worlds as a "scout" for the team. That’s the way I attended in 2004 in Chile. It’s a great way to help the team and prepare yourself for future Worlds. A scout typically spends 2-3 weeks prior to the Worlds and dives everyday with the team finding fishy locations. Then on tournament day you support a specific U.S. team member helping them with gear and advice.

Would you like to represent the United States at the 2008 World Championships?

Well, then you must come and dive this years U.S. National Spearfishing Championships in Fort Bragg, California on August 9th.

In future additions to this thread I would like to share details on the 2004 and 2006 Worlds and explain how the U.S. team is now working toward the next Worlds in 2008 which is at Santa Margarita Island, Venezuela. We will need a lot of help to do well in the clear warm waters of Venezuela, so I will be talking to all of the SBers who have dove there or want to be scouts for the team. And for those of you who can not be with us in Venezuela but want to support us, we will have World T-shirts for sale later this year. But even before the 2008 Worlds, the U.S. team must dive the Americas Qualifier at Higuerote, Venezuela from roughly October 5-9, 2007 as CMAS is limiting the Worlds to the top roughly 20 countries. So this means, that after this years U.S. Spearfishing Nationals are over, there will be less than 2 months before the U.S. men's team must try to qualify for Worlds. We are going to be busy!

Here is a few photos of the 2004 U.S. World team from Iquique, Chile. The U.S. team placed 7th out of 22 strong teams competing. All three U.S. divers (Dennis Haussler, Bob Humphrey and Mike McGuire ) placed in the top 30 competitors! We scored better than every English speaking country and every team in the Americas except Chile, the hosting country which was quite a feat for us and we all had the time of our lives. I will also show a picture the three top divers of the 2004 Worlds led by Stefano Ballani of Italy.

[pac]

Viva Chile...

[Marco]

Which kind of guns did you used on that particular championship?

[Mattedhead]

Dave-
In the past there have been t-shirts made up and sold, with the profits going to help the team in their efforts...Is anyone planning on doing this? I'd be willing to offer all the graphics work for free if someone can handle the arrangements for the screen printing. I'm sure the shirts would do quite well on SB. Just a thought, I'd love to help out any way I can.

Matt

[Man-O-War]

Is US team the oldest?

[Rbautista01]

Damn brought some guys out of retirement for this tourny :)

[Dave Edlund]

Sorry I have not written to this thread in a while.

To answer Marco's question, in 2004, the Americans finished an amazing 7th place in the team standing and all three divers in the top 30 individuals using mainly short guns to hole hunt. The second day of the competition vis was about 3-4 feet and the American team of old guys kicked butt with their strong low vis hole hunting skills.

To answer Matt's question, we will be preparing a special U.S. World Spearfishing team shirt to help raise funds for the team. I will post them to the board as soon as they are ready!

To answer Stringer bell, the American teams average age that was once in the 20's now ranges from the mid 30's to upper 40's. The 2007 team that finished an amazing 7th place overall have an average age of near 50 years old. These divers did better than any U.S. team in about 20 years, so age is not a limitation if you have the right trainiing and desire. The U.S. has great disadvantage in World competition as the top teams regularly scout 1-3 months for this event while the U.S. team scouts for maybe 18-20 days. We do not have the financial resources to scout more. If the Worlds where held in the U.S., we would beat all the other World teams. If we had the time to scout 2 months for World Championships, our U.S. teams would almost always be in the top five teams.

And to answer Rbautista's question, we didn't pull anyone out of retirement for the U.S. world team. The reality is that the best tournament divers in the U.S. are mainly 35-55 year olds. Dennis Haussler, who won this years Nationals is a 50 year old dynamo who can beat anyone younger or older than him. My team, that won the 2005 U.S. Spearfishing Nationals averaged a ripe 55 years old! Age means nothing in tournament diving. Skill, preparation and desire are paramount.

[YOSHI]

Hi Dave.

I would like to know when it will take place, next year?
I am thinking about coming as a member of Japan Team.:thumps:

[Asturven]

Dave,

In fact the three times world Champion Pedro Carbonell (Spain) already went to Venezuela two times these year.
Scouting is very important but too expensive and time consuming.

Cheers

Ivan

[Random]

Is there going to be a womens comp at the worlds?

[Dave Edlund]

This years Spearfishing Worlds will be held October 23-26th at Isla Margarita in Venezuela.

There will be a women's invitational tournament sponsored by Venezuela. This will be the third time on a row that there has been a women's invitational. So far, CMAS has not given full endorsement to a women's championships.

[Bañados]

Official Web Site of the XXVI Spearfishing World Championship CMAS
October 20th to 26th 2008. Margarita Island, Venezuela


http://mundialpescasub2008cmas.fvas.com.ve/

[Dave Edlund]

Hi divers,

CMAS Worlds 1st day of competition was yesterday. Out of 21 teams the USA men's team finished 7th. Harolf Dean was high place American at 10th place. Mike Hickey finished 24th. Day 2 is today. The Spanish team has a huge lead and finished 1,2,and 3rd the first day. I will report the results soon.


Dave Edlund
USOA Skindiving Director

Individual Classificación Competidor País Puntos Porcentaje
1 Kerejeta Joseba ESP 30.010 100,00%
2 Mullor Juan Fuentes ESP 29.230 97,40%
3 Carbonell Pedro ESP 25.525 85,05%
4 Sideris Loannis GRE 22.085 73,59%
5 Ramacciotti Maurizio ITA 19.645 65,46%
6 Buratovic Antonio CRO 18.840 62,78%
7 Gospic Daniel CRO 18.085 60,26%
8 Benoist David FRA 17.450 58,15%
9 Alex Ortega VEN 16.980 56,58%
10 Harold USA 16.225 54,07%
11 Rejes VEN 16.110 53,68%
12 Zephirin Tarahu TAH 13.445 44,80%
13 Jody Lot POR 11.435 38,10%
14 Ossandon Soto Miguel Angel CHI 11.000 36,65%
15 Paulo Longo BRA 10.185 33,94%
16 Contreras Bosquez Franco CHI 9.675 32,24%
17 Marinov Dario CRO 9.560 31,86%
18 Bellani Stefano ITA 9.050 30,16%
19 De Silvestri Bruno ITA 7.420 24,73%
20 Paul Rosso AUS 7.025 23,41%
21 Wastavino Rodriguez Jorge CHI 6.990 23,29%
22 Tiou Fouc Franck TAH 6.385 21,28%
23 Tsiou Fouc TAH 6.385 21,28%
24 Hiki USA 6.170 20,56%
25 Antonio Silva POR 5.925 19,74%
26 Fedash Roman UKR 5.385 17,94%
27 Lagutin Andrii UKR 4.445 14,81%
28 Thoni Fernando BRA 3.325 11,08%
29 Kevin Day GBR 3.300 11,00%
30 keith eayrs GBR 3.200 10,66%
31 Gyula Plagany RSA 3.065 10,21%
32 Paul Cristy AUS 3.025 10,08%
33 Dominguez POR 3.005 10,01%
34 Fung Carlos PER 2.220 7,40%
35 Milanes Nicolas COL 2.070 6,90%
36 Lossy Loic FRA 2.035 6,78%
NC Espinoza Mario PER 0 0,00%
NC Ortega VEN 0 0,00%
NC Kozlenko Sergiei UKR 0 0,00%
NC Konya Selim TUR 0 0,00%
NC Alan Fraser RSA 0 0,00%
NC Surgakora Olga RUS 0 0,00%
NC Kochetrov Alexander RUS 0 0,00%
NC Marquez Danniel PER 0 0,00%
NC Andrews Keane NZL 0 0,00%
NC Delgado Herbert COL 0 0,00%
NC Kuznestov Mikhail RUS 0 0,00%
NC Ochoa Pereira Jorge Esteban COL 0 0,00%
NC Fitzmaurice Shane NZL 0 0,00%
NC Drapo Jucaton FIN 0 0,00%
NC Lebone FIN 0 0,00%
NC Pearce David GBR 0 0,00%
NC Kambanis Nichols GRE 0 0,00%
NC Peristeris GRE 0 0,00%
NC Herbert Peter NZL 0 0,00%
NC Longo Paulo BRA 0 0,00%
NC Gencer Hakan TUR -1.000 -3,33%
NC Miguel Gionovar USA -1.330 -4,43%
NC Latho Perti FIN -1.330 -4,43%
NC Demircioglu Volkan TUR -1.330 -4,43%
NC Bonci David FRA -2.660 -8,86%
NC Drew Feney AUS -3.325 -11,08%
Descalificado Jaco Blignaut RSA



Por Paises Puesto País Coeficiente
1 España 282,46
2 Croacia 154,9
3 Italia 120,34
4 Venezuela 110,26
5 Chile 92,19
6 Grecia 73,59
7 USA 70,19
8 Portogallo 67,86
9 Tahiti 66,08
10 Francia 56,06
11 Brasil 45,02
12 Ukraina 32,76
13 Australia 22,41
14 Gran Bretaña 21,66
15 Sudafrica 10,21
16 Perù 7,4
17 Colombia 6,9
18 Nueva Zelanda 0
19 Rusia 0
20 Filandia -4,43
21 Turquia -4,43






__._,_.___

[Bill McIntyre]

Harolf Dean was high place American at 10th place.

Is he the guy who was disqualified from the SBO for cheating?

[bgbill]

Harolf Dean was high place American at 10th place.


Is he the guy who was disqualified from the SBO for cheating?


Yes.

[SporaScrub]

Is he the guy who was disqualified from the SBO for cheating?

He sure is, lots of guys talked a lot of smack about him cheating but obviously his skills show even in a world championship.

[Bill McIntyre]

He sure is, lots of guys talked a lot of smack about him cheating but obviously his skills show even in a world championship.

In all the discussion, I don't think anyone ever questioned his skills. They said his skills made it all the more inexplicable that he cheated.

[SpearMax]

NC Miguel Gionovar USA -1.330 -4,43%


Dave, as we discussed by phone today, Mojarra must have had a bad first day.

Let us know the second day results when you have them. Thanks, Tony

[SporaScrub]

In all the discussion, I don't think anyone ever questioned his skills. They said his skills made it all the more inexplicable that he cheated.

understood

[josedesucre]

Southafrican Jaco Blignaut was disqualified for keeping his captures in a fish stringer attached to his belt, instead of to his floater or taken them back to his boat. He would have been second, according to the venezuelan website Sportalsub.net. The report also mentions that the Spaniard team had some "technological advantages" over the rest of the field, without further explanations. What were they using? Battery operated fishfinders?

[frogman]

Whatever the spaniards "technological advantages" were, I think the rest of us will need them. They placed 1,2,3 :D.
good job for my countryman Sideris who placed 1st (excluding the Spaniards):thumps:

[oskar]

After completion of the second day of the XXVI World Championship of Underwater fishing CMAS, held in Margarita Island, Venezuela, the Spanish Joseba Quereteba was titled World Champion, followed by the Greek Ioannis Sideris and Spanish Pedro Carbonell.
Go Joseba!!!! Go Euskadi!!!!:thumps:

[settingsteel]

Excellent and informative post Dave:toast:...I heard the weather isn't cooperating lately, surprised to see Mojarra isn't ranking higher:confused:.

Southafrican Jaco Blignaut was disqualified for keeping his captures in a fish stringer attached to his belt, I heard same, is this a rule? Are "scouters" able to assist the diver, eg take fish from competitor to boat?

[SporaScrub]

Southafrican Jaco Blignaut was disqualified for keeping his captures in a fish stringer attached to his belt, instead of to his floater or taken them back to his boat. He would have been second, according to the venezuelan website Sportalsub.net. The report also mentions that the Spaniard team had some "technological advantages" over the rest of the field, without further explanations. What were they using? Battery operated fishfinders?

The spaniards have been scouting the area for almost a year. Compared to other teams that only have a couple of weeks or month of scouting if there lucky.

[element]

The Spaniards have been scouting the area for almost a year.

Wow, thats dedication.

[Dave Edlund]

Here are the final results for the CMAS World Spearfishing Championships that just finished in Venezuela. Out of 21 National teams, the USA men's team finished 8th place in this 2 day competition. Our top finishing diver, Harolf Dean finished 10th overall! That is the highest place by an American in many years. In the last 10 years, the only other American to break the top 15 that I am aware of was Andrew Geist in Tahiti.

Here is the web address for the results:

http://mundialpescasub2008cmas.fvas.com.ve/

What makes it tough for Americans to crack the top 10 is that the top teams, the Spanish, Italians, etc. have the financial resources to scout in the tournament area ( in man hours) for 5 and more likely 10 times what the USA team can afford. We go and work 2-3 weeks with a team of say 5 divers. Some of these other teams go with a team of 8-10 divers for 2-4+ full months. And since scouting (finding fishy areas) is the key ingredient to success, we have a great disadvantage.

I have not talked to the team yet, so I do not have any stories yet to tell, but I will once the team is back home. I will then announce the location of the 2010 Worlds.

Best Regards,

Dave Edlund

[settingsteel]

thx for the update

We go and work 2-3 weeks with a team of say 5 divers. Some of these other teams go with a team of 8-10 divers for 2-4+ full months I've always said we work waaaay too much in the States, what do they say, the average Europeans work week is 25 hours (or something like that), with over a month paid vacation time...indeed Harolfs standing is a feat:thumps:

[spaghetti]

thx for the update

I've always said we work waaaay too much in the States, what do they say, the average Europeans work week is 25 hours (or something like that), with over a month paid vacation time...indeed Harolfs standing is a feat:thumps:

hehe. No Tone we work much more than that. But our 3 italian team members have a waaaay big lot of time for diving indeed in their real lives: Maurizio, the guy who ranked 4th, is a self employed salesman of wetsuits (and of course he's got to test the wetsuits before selling... ;)...), while Bruno who ranked 9th place is a rescue diver for the Fire Dept. (and you always give a peek underwater to check if someone eventually needs to be rescued ;)), and Stefano (17th) works with his wife as a seafood restaurant owner: "Honey, if you need some more fish for the kitchen..." :thumps:

[Dave Edlund]

Settingsteel asked about the role of the scout. Each team can have an unlimited number of scouts before the tournament. You just need the financial resources to get them half way around the world in some cases. During the actual 2 day tournament, each one of the three team divers has his own boat. It has an assigned local boat driver, a CMAS appointed official who looks for rule breaking (who also bags the fish) and a boat helper who is typically a scout who stays in the boat, but assists the diver in the water. The boat helper may hand spearguns to the diver in the water and stuff of that nature.

[spaghetti]

True that the Spanish is the richest team under this aspect. I don't know anything of their preparation for Venezuela 2008 WC, but 3 years ago at the European Champs the spanish had sent 18 divers (on scuba too) to scout the comp field for two straight weeks, taking land marks and Gps points of every grouper hole, sargo hole, eels and meagres miles around. It's very hard to beat them this way. I think they're the most skilled ones too, but they throw in so much money and scout time that no one can match.

[settingsteel]

hehe. No Tone we work much more than that. But our 3 italian team members have a waaaay big lot of time for diving indeed in their real lives: Maurizio, the guy who ranked 4th, is a self employed salesman of wetsuits (and of course he's got to test the wetsuits before selling... ;)...), while Bruno who ranked 9th place is a rescue diver for the Fire Dept. (and you always give a peek underwater to check if someone eventually needs to be rescued ;)), and Stefano (17th) works with his wife as a seafood restaurant owner: "Honey, if you need some more fish for the kitchen..." :thumps:

Fancy meetin you here Spago, thx for shedding some light on the matter, I was close though:p.

I've heard over and over the importance of scouting, and indeed it seems to make or break the winners I guess at this, level as already mentioned, these guys are all pretty close in skill, its just a matter of finding the fish. With that in mind its a bit surprising the Venz. did not rank higher in their home water.

Dave so the scout can acually handle the fish? Is it common for scouts to dive with the contestant? Just wondering if such is the case why the African guy was carrying his fish on him?

It would be interesting to throw a World over in the States, hmmm food for thought (not debate)

[SpearMax]

3 years ago at the European Champs the spanish had sent 18 divers (on scuba too) to scout the comp field for two straight weeks, taking land marks and Gps points of every grouper hole, sargo hole, eels and meagres miles around.

So, they scout on scuba.......interesting.

Did they do that in Venezula for this event?

[josedesucre]

I don't know if they used scuba equipment for their scouting in Venezuela. I do know that the spaniards visited the area at least three times in the last few months, and took gps readings of the good spots. However, if familiarity with the area were the only, or even the main reason, for winning the championship, then the Venezuelans should have won easily, and they didn't. In fact the Venezuelan federation designated the national team choosing only spearos who live in Margarita island and knew the zone as the palms of their hands. Last year the championship was in Portugal and was won by a Chilean.

[Dave Edlund]

Scuba scouting is not allowed at CMAS Spearfishing World Championships, at least not in recent years. But I don't think many police this issue if you scouted 6 months in advance. The big rule change for this World event was allowing the use of GPS. Historically, use of GPS was banned. You had to use triangulation to re-locate fishy areas which can be difficult at times.

The competitors are supposed to bring every fish they spear and hand it to the judge on the boat who puts the fish in a big bag. Usually, the judge will let teammate (a pre-tournament scout) who is sitting in the boat pick up the fish and hand it to the judge.

It is against the rules to wear a stringer and hang on to fish. That's why that diver got in trouble. It is also against the rule to ditch fish, Undersize fish give divers negative points at the weigh-in. Lots of rules!

[EEZerik]

We are a bit disheartened Jaco Blignaut was disqualified after being 2nd (day 1) for body-stringing his fish. He's a great guy and an excellent diver. He's also using our Fins and Guns... :D


Erik

[SpanishSpear]

VIVA ESPANA!!!!!!!! OLE, OLE, OLE!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations to my Countrymen!!!! it is great to them do well in an International/World setting. I can only image the amount of talent that the tournament drew from all over the world. Spear Fishing in Spain is something that we take very seriously and we have a great number of fabulous competitive spearos that put in lots of time in the water and work very hard to get sponsorships and put our country in the top of the rankings.
GREAT JOB GUYS!!!!! and congratulations to all that qualified for such event
:thumps::thumps::thumps::thumps::thumps::thumps:

[frogman]

Sideris finished second. That is unbelievable considering that the Greek team (like the American one) does not have the resources and time to scout as much as the "heavy hitters" (Spain, Italy).
I am assuming that the top finishers were diving VERY deep. I know that Sideris along with the spaniards and italians can hunt effectively in 120 fsw. On the website, there is a picture of Sideris holding two groupers.

Harolf, congratulations, man :thumps: 10th place is extremely good especially in such a competitive field.

[FishDie]

I'm surprised that the US Team officials allow a cheater to be a member on the Team. I personally wouldn't want Harolf representing anything related to the United States.

Besides that unfortunate incident, great information on this thread and thank you for sharing it Mr. Edlund. Congratulations to the winners and the fortunate participants.

Two questions:

1. Why hasn't the US ever been considered as a valid venue for the Championships?

2. In order to even the playing field, has the option of only allowing a certain amount of time to scout prior to the 2 day event ever been considered?

[Asturven]

Viva España

Great for my Countrymen, the Spanish Team!!!!!!!!

Congratulations to Harolf for his place 10 th both days, he really was consistent.

Ivan

[Bañados]

Hello Skindivers,

News from Venezuela http://mundialpescasub2008cmas.fvas.com.ve/

The Spaniards clean up house again. USA finished in 8th place beating several favorites.

Our own USA Skindiver Harold Dean finished 10th place amongts the best divers in the world.

Check out the pictures http://mundialpescasub2008cmas.fvas.com.ve/

Official results are attached.

Cheers

Erik Banados
fathomier@socal.rr.com

CLASIFICACIÓN INDIVIDUAL DEFINITIVA / INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

PO Nº ATLETA / ATHLETE PAÍS / COUNTRY 1er. Día 2do. Día TOTAL

1 17 Joseba Kerejeta Espana 100,000 81,705 181,705
2 32 Loannis Sideris Grecia 73,592 93,075 166,667
3 18 Pedro Carbonell Espana 85,055 69,674 154,729
4 36 Maurizio Ramaccttio Italia 65,462 74,721 140,183
5 13 Daniel Gospić Croacia 60,263 74,090 134,353
6 45 Andre Domingues Portugal 10,013 100,000 110,013
7 63 Alex Ortega Venezuela 56,581 48,636 105,217
8 16 Juan Fuentes Espana 97,401 0,000 97,401
9 34 Bruno de Silvestri Italia 24,725 63,146 87,871
10 21 Harol Dean Estados Unidos 54,065 31,426 85,491
11 15 Antonio Buratović Croacia 62,779 18,354 81,133
12 61 Jhony Reyes Venezuela 53,682 19,469 73,151
13 28 Kevin Daly Gran Bretana 10,996 58,700 69,696
14 50 Jaco Blignaut Sudafrica 0,000 69,557 69,557
15 52 Zephirin Tarahu Tahiti 44,802 22,755 67,557
16 35 Stefano Bellani Italia 30,157 37,309 67,466
17 26 Benoist David Francia 58,147 8,803 66,950
18 7 Miguel Soto Chile 36,654 24,780 61,434
19 43 Jody Lot Portugal 38,104 20,188 58,292
20 5 Paulo Longo Brasil 33,939 19,880 53,819
21 44 Antonio Silva Portugal 19,743 27,964 47,707
22 14 Dario Marinov Croacia 31,856 14,847 46,703
23 9 Franco Bosquez Chile 32,239 11,414 43,653
24 58 Roman Fedash Ucrania 17,944 19,249 37,193
25 42 Carlos Fung Peru 7,398 28,638 36,036
26 39 Kieran Andrews Nueva Zelanda 0,000 32,277 32,277
27 2 Drew Fenney Australia -11,080 43,104 32,024
28 62 Jhony Ortega Venezuela 0,000 26,951 26,951
29 25 Lossy Loic Francia 6,781 19,263 26,044
30 46 Kuznestsov Mikhail Rusia 0,000 24,795 24,795
31 1 Paul Roso Australia 23,409 0,000 23,409
32 53 Tsiou Fouc Franck Tahiti 21,276 0,734 22,010
33 60 Andrii Lagutin Ucrania 14,812 6,661 21,473
34 4 Fernando Thoni Brasil 11,080 9,844 20,924
35 20 Mike Hickey Estados Unidos 20,560 0,000 20,560
36 8 Jorge Rodriguez Chile 23,292 -5,854 17,438
37 41 Daniel Márquez Peru 0,000 16,021 16,021
38 49 Gyula Plagany Sudafrica 10,213 0,000 10,213
39 3 Paul Christie Australia 10,080 0,000 10,080
40 37 Peter Herbert Nueva Zelanda 0,000 9,478 9,478
41 51 Alan Fraser Sudafrica 0,000 7,350 7,350
42 11 Nicolás Milanes Colombia 6,898 0,000 6,898
43 30 Keith Eayrs Gran Bretana 10,663 -3,903 6,760
44 33 Emmanouil Peristeris Grecia 0,000 6,485 6,485
45 67 Julian Lockett Peru 0,000 6,162 6,162
46 31 Nikolaos Kambanis Grecia 0,000 6,059 6,059
47 64 Teva Montagnon Tahiti 0,000 5,986 5,986
48 57 Volkan Demircioğlu Turquia -4,432 6,426 1,994
49 6 Georges Martens Brasil 0,000 0,000 0,000
50 10 Jorge Pareja Colombia 0,000 0,000 0,000
51 12 Hebert Delgado Colombia 0,000 0,000 0,000
52 23 Rapo Jukka Tom Finlandia 0,000 0,000 0,000
53 24 Levonen Jukka Tapio Finlandia 0,000 0,000 0,000
54 29 David Pearce Gran Bretana 0,000 0,000 0,000
55 38 Shane Fitzmaurice Nueva Zelanda 0,000 0,000 0,000
56 40 Mario Espinoza Peru 0,000 0,000 0,000
57 47 Alexander Kochetrov Rusia 0,000 0,000 0,000
58 48 Olga Surgakora Rusia 0,000 0,000 0,000
59 54 Steve Tetuani Tahiti 0,000 0,000 0,000
60 56 Selim Konya Turquia 0,000 0,000 0,000
61 59 Sergii Kozlenko Ucrania 0,000 0,000 0,000
62 65 Salakari Marko Finlandia 0,000 0,000 0,000
63 66 Mille Christian Francia 0,000 0,000 0,000
64 68 Anthony Heugh Australia 0,000 0,000 0,000
65 19 Miguel Guinovart Estados Unidos -4,432 0,000 -4,432
66 22 Laakso Pertti Rudolf Finlandia -4,432 0,000 -4,432
67 27 Bonci David Francia -8,864 0,000 -8,864
68 55 Hakan Gencer Turquia 0,000 -11,708 -11,708
69 0,000
70 0,000

CLASIFICACIÓN DEFINITIVA POR PAÍSES / TEAM RESULTS

POS PAÍS / COUNTRY 1er. Día 2do. Día TOTAL

1 Espana 282,456 151,379 433,84
2 Italia 120,344 175,176 295,52
3 Croacia 154,898 107,291 262,19
4 Portugal 67,860 148,152 216,01
5 Venezuela 110,263 95,056 205,32
6 Grecia 73,592 105,619 179,21
7 Chile 92,185 30,340 122,53
8 Estados Unidos 70,193 31,426 101,62
9 Tahiti 66,078 29,475 95,55
10 Sudafrica 10,213 76,907 87,12
11 Francia 56,064 28,066 84,13
12 Gran Bretana 21,659 54,797 76,46
13 Brasil 45,019 29,724 74,74
14 Australia 22,409 43,104 65,51
15 Ucrania 32,756 25,910 58,67
16 Peru 7,398 50,821 58,22
17 Nueva Zelanda 0,000 41,755 41,76
18 Rusia 0,000 24,795 24,80
19 Colombia 6,898 0,000 6,90
20 Finlandia -4,432 0,000 -4,43
21 Turquia -4,432 -5,282 -9,71
22 0,000 0,000 0,00
23 0,000 0,000 0,00
24 0,000 0,000 0,00
25 0,000 0,000 0,00

[EEZerik]

Thanks for the update Erik.

Here's some more info From SA:

Described by Mark Jackson:



well what can i say besides that it was a royal fiasco. Day 1 saw all our divers in the deep on some rocks in 38m of water just to find a screaming current and no fish. back up plan was then implemented with the guys going for spots that have fish in the shallower water just to find divers on the spots and no fish. gyula went for a definite and speared a rock salmon of 2.2kg out of a cave against the island. jaco went to a cave that you enter and then swim 15m to a air bubble. he then swam from this air pocket to another 10m further into the cave. then from there he would swim to the end on the cave and he speared 9 rubberlips there with 8 weighers. he came second on day one. when we went on stage to weigh they announced that he had been disqualified for using a body stringer which was illegal. we almost fell on our backs. the body stringer rule was an obvious rule that we new about as there is a danger that a shark could bite a diver if the fish are on his belt. jaco had put a stringer on a weight and left it on the bottom of the cave and was stringing there which is not illegal. a Chilean diver had lodged a complaint that jaco was using a body stringer which was untrue. jacos commissioner on the boat even backed him up so we where sure that we could get it over turned. sa was 5th on day 1 without the disqualification.
we lodged an official appeal.

day 2 saw even a bigger disaster. a false start saw about 30 divers starting to dive before official start. this was not the divers fault but the organizers and the commissioners on the boats who said the divers must go. our divers listen to the commissioners. thew committee organizers caught 9 divers in the water diving as the had been told that the comp had started. they where then told that the 9 where disqualified including gyula and moo. gyulas boat was then taken from him and given to a Croatian and off the Croatian, Daniel Gospic, went with gyula’s boat and gear. day two was a 4 hour comp and gyula only received a boat almost 3 hours onto ther comp with no gear. he eventually got his gear but was seriously dehydrated from the hour on the boat in a suit in 30 degrees plus.

jaco did it again going head to head with top divers in a cave and managed 8 fish, 7 weighers. putting him in second overall and the team 6th .

we later heard that they where standing to the disqualification on jaco and that was that. we fought it to the end but they did not even give us a hearing or anything. just a disqualification due to the Chilean divers statement, that is all.
we appealed and appealed and they changed the story so many time, from that he had a body stringer to that the weight stringer was illegal to many more.

basically in black and white. sa came 10th with jaco as best diver at 14.

jaco actually came second overall with the team coming 6th even with the false start fiasco. we would have definitely came in the top 5 if gyula and moo had a full 4 hours.

well done gent and especially jaco. event rammachotti from italy was amongst many that came to congratulate jaco and said that they did not understand the disqualifications.

any way we have a 3day trip back home so i will add more once home.

the team is devastated on the outcomer and the happenings that i and many teams and captains do still not understand.


thanks mark

[M_HeaDHuNTeR]

REMEMBERING THE POST FROM MAY OF THE SPEARBOARD COMPETITION THAT ALL YOU MEMBERS WERE TALKING SH*T ABOUT THE SPETTON TEAM CHEATING AND MAINLY TALKING BAD ABOUT HAROLF DEAN SAYING HE CHEATED ON EVERY COMPETITION WHAT DO YOU PPL HAVE TO SAY NOW THAT CUBAN FREEDIVER FROM MIAMI REPRESTEND THE UNITED STATES TEAM AND CAME OUT IN 10TH OUT OF 68 DIVERS AND FIRST TIME AN AMERICAN COMES OUT IN THE TOP 10....HOW DID HE CHEAT NOW?????

[jfjf]

...WHAT DO YOU PPL HAVE TO SAY NOW THAT CUBAN FREEDIVER FROM MIAMI REPRESTEND THE UNITED STATES TEAM AND CAME OUT IN 10TH OUT OF 68 DIVERS ...HOW DID HE CHEAT NOW?????

I say that he should not have been allowed to compete. He is a known spearfishing cheater and should not have been representing the USA. It has nothing to do with how well he can dive. Are we SURE he didn't cheat again? Does he only cheat when he thinks he can get away with it? Has he decided to stop cheating in future tournaments?

[FishDie]

I say that he should not have been allowed to compete. He is a known spearfishing cheater and should not have been representing the USA. It has nothing to do with how well he can dive. Are we SURE he didn't cheat again? Does he only cheat when he thinks he can get away with it? Has he decided to stop cheating in future tournaments?

:stupid:

His success in this competition does nothing to refute the fact that he cheated in the Spearboard Open and got caught red-handed (finally :rolleyes:) In my opinion those actions should have warranted him being removed from the US Team and having his sponsors drop him. Maybe he should go represent Cuba next time instead of the US.

[M_HeaDHuNTeR]

Obviously You Dont Know How These Competitions Work...theres No Way To Cheat In These Competitions And All Of You Are Talking Speculations Because Theres No 100% Proof That He Cheated Its All Hear Say...you Guys Are A Bunch Of Jealous Spearfishermen That Cant And Never Will Fish At His Level And If You Ever Want To Compete Agiasnt This Person Or Spetton Team I Can Easily Set It Up....

[M_HeaDHuNTeR]

As You Can See You Guys Are A Bunch Of Racist That Have Something Agiasnt Cubans So You Have To Make It Seem As If Hes Cheating

[FishDie]

Obviously You Dont Know How These Competitions Work...theres No Way To Cheat In These Competitions And All Of You Are Talking Speculations Because Theres No 100% Proof That He Cheated Its All Hear Say...you Guys Are A Bunch Of Jealous Spearfishermen That Cant And Never Will Fish At His Level And If You Ever Want To Compete Agiasnt This Person Or Spetton Team I Can Easily Set It Up....

We know very well how Spearboard Open works and he (and others) cheated. Period. No speculation, no magic tricks. He was given the opportunity to disspell the accusations of him and his team cheating and they turned it down, i.e., they cheated.

Regardless of his physical abilities and talent, I could never be jealous of a man who cheats against his fellow brother for a trophy and some prizes. :rolleyes:

Edit: You are ignorant to think race has anything to do with this issue. He (and other Team Spetton members) cheated and got caught, period. Regardless if they were black, mexican, chinese, or cuban they disgraced themselves and their abilities and now they have to live with it.

[SporaScrub]

:stupid:

His success in this competition does nothing to refute the fact that he cheated in the Spearboard Open and got caught red-handed (finally :rolleyes:) In my opinion those actions should have warranted him being removed from the US Team and having his sponsors drop him. Maybe he should go represent Cuba next time instead of the US.


Trust me, if it wasn't for political reasons, there would be a bunch of spearo more than happy to represent Cuba. It would be great to compare the cuban team's standing against the US ;)

[jfjf]

As You Can See You Guys Are A Bunch Of Racist That Have Something Agiasnt Cubans So You Have To Make It Seem As If Hes Cheating

So first it was that we are jealous, then it was simply hearsay, and now it is racism.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[FishDie]

Trust me, if it wasn't for political reasons, there would be a bunch of spearo more than happy to represent Cuba. It would be great to compare the cuban team's standing against the US ;)

You are correct. The message I was trying to send by saying that was that he should go represent someone else other than the US. Nothing against Cubans or Cuban Americans by any means.

[M_HeaDHuNTeR]

So Fishdie We Should Have You Represent The Us?????? And Jfjf Its A Combo Of All Three You Guys Keep On Coming Up With Reasons Why He Shouldnt Represent. He Got Where He Is Fair And Square You Guys Have To Accept The Fact That He Is Good And Thats Why He Came Out In 10th In The World Championship. Not By Cheating, Not Because Hes Cuban, Just Because Hes A Damn Good Spearfishermen. And If He Would Of Cheated There Like You Ppl Think He Cheats Everywhere Im Sure They Would Of Realized That. But No He Got There Fair And Square

[FishDie]

So Fishdie We Should Have You Represent The Us?????? And Jfjf Its A Combo Of All Three You Guys Keep On Coming Up With Reasons Why He Shouldnt Represent. He Got Where He Is Fair And Square You Guys Have To Accept The Fact That He Is Good And Thats Why He Came Out In 10th In The World Championship. Not By Cheating, Not Because Hes Cuban, Just Because Hes A Damn Good Spearfishermen. And If He Would Of Cheated There Like You Ppl Think He Cheats Everywhere Im Sure They Would Of Realized That. But No He Got There Fair And Square

There's no doubt that he's a exceptional spearfisherman, I never said he wasn't. He tainted his abilities and respect when he cheated in the Spearboard Open this year. Now, he'll have to carry the burden of proof that he isn't cheating. I'm sure he and the others of Team Spetton have justified their actions in the Spearboard Open but the fact remains that they finally got caught cheating and were rightfully disqualified. Because of those events his level of achievement and future competitions will always (and should be) questioned. How you can not understand that is beyond me.

Edit: And because of those actions he's tainted this very thread and all the great information in it.

[Bill McIntyre]

As You Can See You Guys Are A Bunch Of Racist That Have Something Agiasnt Cubans So You Have To Make It Seem As If Hes Cheating

I'm assuming that you are a Cuban American. If so, I have nothing against Cuban Americans, but I have something against cheaters. It seems to have been proven that he and his team cheated in the SB Open.

Its silly to invite me or anyone else to compete against him or the Spetton team. I don't have the ability. But if a guy who won the Olympic Marathon took a shortcut that cut off a mile from the distance, I would be critical, even though I can't run as fast as he can anyway.

I happen to be of Irish/German descent. If a guy of Irish/German descent is caught cheating, I'm not going to call anyone who is critical of him a racist.

[M_HeaDHuNTeR]

All Im Saying Is That There Is No 100% Evidence That Him And His Team Cheated...they Did Not Put Him On The Lie Detector Machine Instead They Put Him On A Human Lie Detector...without A 100% Positive You Are Dirting His Name For No Reason...and I Know This For A Fact

[greekdiver]

Wouldn't it be ridiculous easy to prove that he didn't cheat by showing the gps log for that day? And for sure he used a gps to find his spots...

[FishDie]

All Im Saying Is That There Is No 100% Evidence That Him And His Team Cheated...they Did Not Put Him On The Lie Detector Machine Instead They Put Him On A Human Lie Detector...without A 100% Positive You Are Dirting His Name For No Reason...and I Know This For A Fact

A Human Lie Detector, hmmm, so there are other species on this planet that take lie detector tests? Is there a Big Foot Lie Detector test? How about a Geico Caveman Lie Detector test?

We have plenty of reason to discuss his actions. He and his team were accused of cheating, could not prove otherwise (see above post), and were officially disqualified. Furthermore, they never filed an appeal which only adds to the suspicion of their guilt. Thus his presence on the United States Spearfishing Team is questionable. I know this because it's the truth.

Please stop with your nonsense, it's only dragging Harolf and the others of Team Spetton that were caught cheating through the mud more and embarrassing yourself.

[M_HeaDHuNTeR]

This Is My Last Blog Because Obviously Im Dealing With An Idiot(FISHDIE) And Ask Tony About His Human Lie Detector Test And To Tell The Truth About What Happend That Day....thank You And Good Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bill McIntyre]

Wouldn't it be ridiculous easy to prove that he didn't cheat by showing the gps log for that day? And for sure he used a gps to find his spots...

I don't think anyone is saying he cheated at the Worlds. Its a question of whether he should have been allowed to compete for the US after cheating at the SBO. If he had not been permitted to compete at the Worlds, then this thread about the Worlds wouldn't have been sidetracked into an argument about cheaters.

[SwampThing]

I am Cuban American and I don't think any of the comments on here have anything to do with race. When I first read the early posts and saw that Harolf was competing, I was surprised the US would have let him compete. Regardless of whether or not he cheated, he was speculated to have cheated and that is enough to taint his image. Some of his actions were sketchy enough to have brought these accusations foreward, aside from race

[greekdiver]

I don't think anyone is saying he cheated at the Worlds. Its a question of whether he should have been allowed to compete for the US after cheating at the SBO. If he had not been permitted to compete at the Worlds, then this thread about the Worlds wouldn't have been sidetracked into an argument about cheaters.

I was talking about sbo.

[Bill McIntyre]

I was talking about sbo.

OK.

In that case, if I went to the Bahamas and speared before the contest, I think I would delete my GPS log.

[Gamble]

All Im Saying Is That There Is No 100% Evidence That Him And His Team Cheated...they Did Not Put Him On The Lie Detector Machine Instead They Put Him On A Human Lie Detector...without A 100% Positive You Are Dirting His Name For No Reason...and I Know This For A Fact

Dude you need to resolve what ever your pissed at and get on with your life. His own buddies ratted him out on Tuesday BEFORE the SBO when he left the dock with his team and a second boat for the Bahamas. They did so because they where sick of him cheating every year.

The year before he posted pics of his "scouting" catch one or two days before the SBO and then had all his gear stolen before the tournament date. AMAZINGLY,,, he turned in the exact fish species within ounces of his "scouting" trip.

Look, he is an EXTREMELY talented shooter but obviously doesn't believe in his ability, so he cheats. I'm not saying he cheated in the worlds, but theirs NO question he cheated in past tournaments.

[Adelito]

:stupid:

His success in this competition does nothing to refute the fact that he cheated in the Spearboard Open and got caught red-handed (finally :rolleyes:) In my opinion those actions should have warranted him being removed from the US Team and having his sponsors drop him. Maybe he should go represent Cuba next time instead of the US.

dumba$$

[Gamble]

Please,,, last time I checked you had your head stuffed up his ass:rolleyes:

[Adelito]

Please,,, last time I checked you had your head stuffed up his ass:rolleyes:

last time i checked, u need a lesson in respect. I bet you would not have that pair of loose lips if we where face to face..... there is alot of tuff guys on the net.

[Adelito]

Regardless of what any of you think, especially those who have never even participated in a spearboard tournament, he placed 10. He didnt cheat in venezuela, this is conclusive, a guy got disqualified because strung a fish up on his belt to reload and shoot another fish, i think a more serious offense would have easy to catch. Fact is he is great, no matter what happens in any other tournament ever he is still the tenth best spearfishermen in the world in 2008. Spetton, miami, cuba, florida, bahamas, none of that matters........ because this one was in venezuela, and it wasnt for a trophy, or a prize, but PRIDE. Funny, alot of people say that they dont want him representing the US, but without him the US would have been the bottom of the barrel.PERIOD. It is unfortunate the he must contend such envy. i suggest alot of people do alot of growing up, and moving on. As a spearfisherman, and that is what we are all here for, we have alot to learn from him, and hopefully retain it for the next time around. I am thankful that this years team was mostly composed of cuban-refugees, cuban-americans, americans now none the less, who love this sport and this country so much that they have sacrificed enough to fund themselves a trip to put the US as high as they can among the rest of the world......... something all of us are not willing and able to do with the way things are of late...... so its great that all of you are excersing you rights to speak, instead of just excercising so maybe you could fish good too!!!!!

anyways regardless of what harolf did, or didnt do, there is a bunch of good young talent that will be representing the US, JUSTIN ALLEN, AND dan silva? i believe his name is dan silva.....

either way these to guys i have met personally, and i am impressed! with talent and class to spare these to guys need to be supported, they are our best chance at being the best country of spearos..... if you dont believe me ask anyone from MASS, or Cali.

-adelito

[PrimeTime]

I'm surprised that the US Team officials allow a cheater to be a member on the Team. I personally wouldn't want Harolf representing anything related to the United States.

Besides that unfortunate incident, great information on this thread and thank you for sharing it Mr. Edlund. Congratulations to the winners and the fortunate participants.

Two questions:

1. Why hasn't the US ever been considered as a valid venue for the Championships?

2. In order to even the playing field, has the option of only allowing a certain amount of time to scout prior to the 2 day event ever been considered?

I think I can put some light to your questions here FishDie.

In order for Harolf to be removed from the US team the other team members and captain would have to get together and vote him off the team. I know that this years team went through two team captains before settling on their third captain. One was a highly respected west coast freediver and former national champion and the other was a world record breath and depth holder for many years.

The US will never host a world championship because of what the CMAS rules want. The biggest rule that they allow and want that will never fly in the US is unlimited quanties on all species of fish. There is a reason that Bill Ernst has the record of 240 fish shot for two days of competetion and pretty much fair game on everything. If you look at the winning fish over the years of the worlds you will see a bunch of very small fish.

As for your last question. The world is a very political place dude.

[spaghetti]

For the records: it's not the first time a US spearo ranks in the world top ten:
Lentz won the individual World Champ in 1959 (US team 3rd), Don Delmonico was 3rd in 1961 (US team 3rd), Keffler was 2nd in 1963, Bill Ernst was 2nd in 1971, 1981 and 1983.
As shown here: http://www.apneateam.it/Palmares%20Mondiali%20di%20pesca%20Subacquea.htm

[spaghetti]

The US will never host a world championship because of what the CMAS rules want. The biggest rule that they allow and want that will never fly in the US is unlimited quanties on all species of fish. There is a reason that Bill Ernst has the record of 240 fish shot for two days of competetion and pretty much fair game on everything.

Not to be argumentative in any way, but it's no more as it was during Bill Ernst's times: now there are actually strict bag limits per species and penalties if you exceed, as shown in rules below.
http://mundialpescasub2008cmas.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/convocatoria_reglamento_final_english.pdf

Bag limits were introduced after the disaster of the Cuba Worlds (I don't remember the year): too many fish were caught, big scandal and protests by enviro's, many national federations urged the world CMAS assembly to ban spearfishing comps. Since then, bag limits were established (normally 10 fish for each group of species and maximum 2 groupers). Not to be the smartass, just to help clarify.

[Gamble]

last time i checked, u need a lesson in respect. I bet you would not have that pair of loose lips if we where face to face..... there is alot of tuff guys on the net.


You call it loose lips,, I call it facts and trust me I have no problem saying it to your face.:rolleyes:

As I already stated, Harolf is known to be an extremely talented freediver and shooter,, it's sad but he's also known as a cheat. Every time he places well in a tourney all his peers will questions if he cheated...... again.

[PrimeTime]

Not to be argumentative in any way, but it's no more as it was during Bill Ernst's times: now there are actually strict bag limits per species and penalties if you exceed, as shown in rules below.
http://mundialpescasub2008cmas.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/convocatoria_reglamento_final_english.pdf

Bag limits were introduced after the disaster of the Cuba Worlds (I don't remember the year): too many fish were caught, big scandal and protests by enviro's, many national federations urged the world CMAS assembly to ban spearfishing comps. Since then, bag limits were established (normally 10 fish for each group of species and maximum 2 groupers). Not to be the smartass, just to help clarify.


No problem dude. I saw some requirements many years ago and was stunned at what they wanted from the hosting country. The first thing that stuck out was no bag limits on lots of fish. I'm glad that they changed it for the better.:thumps:

Thanks for the clarification.

[Gamble]

Regardless of what any of you think, especially those who have never even participated in a spearboard tournament, he placed 10. He didnt cheat in venezuela, this is conclusive, a guy got disqualified because strung a fish up on his belt to reload and shoot another fish, i think a more serious offense would have easy to catch. Fact is he is great, no matter what happens in any other tournament ever he is still the tenth best spearfishermen in the world in 2008. Spetton, miami, cuba, florida, bahamas, none of that matters........ because this one was in venezuela, and it wasnt for a trophy, or a prize, but PRIDE. Funny, alot of people say that they dont want him representing the US, but without him the US would have been the bottom of the barrel.PERIOD. It is unfortunate the he must contend such envy. i suggest alot of people do alot of growing up, and moving on. As a spearfisherman, and that is what we are all here for, we have alot to learn from him, and hopefully retain it for the next time around. I am thankful that this years team was mostly composed of cuban-refugees, cuban-americans, americans now none the less, who love this sport and this country so much that they have sacrificed enough to fund themselves a trip to put the US as high as they can among the rest of the world......... something all of us are not willing and able to do with the way things are of late...... so its great that all of you are excersing you rights to speak, instead of just excercising so maybe you could fish good too!!!!!

anyways regardless of what harolf did, or didnt do, there is a bunch of good young talent that will be representing the US, JUSTIN ALLEN, AND dan silva? i believe his name is dan silva.....

either way these to guys i have met personally, and i am impressed! with talent and class to spare these to guys need to be supported, they are our best chance at being the best country of spearos..... if you dont believe me ask anyone from MASS, or Cali.

-adelito

But his team still got smoked by team Red Tide, G.R. Tarr, RZ and Sasa at states.

[bgbill]

But his team still got smoked by team Red Tide, G.R. Tarr, RZ and Sasa at states.

Thats because they didn't let him shoot in the bahamas before the tournament opened, if you guys weren't hatin' on the cubans like that, he would kick all of your asses.:D

[Gamble]

I'm Cuban... should I kick my own ass?:lol:

[bgbill]

I'm Cuban... should I kick my own ass?:lol:

It wouldn't be that hard :lol:

[rigdvr]

Man, I was really hopin to get my hate on in here but everyone else beat me to it:) Yall need to lay off Joe the Plumber and Harolf the Cheater!

[bgbill]

Man, I was really hopin to get my hate on in here but everyone else beat me to it:) Yall need to lay off Joe the Plumber and Harolf the Cheater!

I am a Plumber, can't you tell by my Avatar??

[rigdvr]

impressive crack action there for sure. I just figured you were hatin on fatties like you do blacks and gays though:)

[bgbill]

impressive crack action there for sure. I just figured you were hatin on fatties like you do blacks and gays though:)

I like blacks, here is a sign I put up on one of my construction site's.

http://http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/bgbill/IMG_6048.jpg

[bgbill]

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/bgbill/IMG_6048.jpg

[rigdvr]

my bad...

[josedesucre]

If you look at the winning fish over the years of the worlds you will see a bunch of very small fish.
- That is true, but not anymore, as Spaghetti already said. This year there were minimum weight limits per fish (two kilos, or one, depending on the species) and negative points were assesed for taking underweigth fish. That's how another Cuban representing the USA, Miguel "Mojarra" Guinebert ended up almost at the bottom of the table, with negative points. And nobody disputes the fact that Mojarra is a very good spearo.

[Adelito]

But his team still got smoked by team Red Tide, G.R. Tarr, RZ and Sasa at states.

G.R. Tarr, Sasa should try their hand at nationals competitions........ i heard of them through people who's opinions i hold in very high regard...... i enjoy watching their videos..... and i have learned alot from their proffesional skills..... they are players in the major leauges of spearfishing no doubt!!!
BUT..... that competition was in thier backyard..... i would be more impressed if they didnt win.......i dont know about smoked...... either way it would be a privelege to fish with any of them...... what people dont understand about me is that when someone is good, to me, he is good regardless of whatever BS is in the mix.....

I just wish people would limit their confrontations to that which is in question...... spearfishing....... i would hate to kick someones a$$ because they cant fish that good:thumps:

[Dave Edlund]

There have been World Championships since the 1950's and I have only been involved with them in recent years, but the reason the U.S. has not hosted a Worlds is mainly the organizational requirements of hosting. Also, a lesser issue has been financial reasons I believe. Typically, you need to provide 4 boats per team on tournament day (one per diver plus one for the coach) and more boats are required for officials. I bet there were 90-100 boats required for this years Worlds. Where are we going to get that many boats in the U.S.? Plus this events like a mini-Olympics with fireworks, parades. Where are we going to find people to run such an event in the U.S.? Also, we do not have any kind of governmental financial support for a World Spearfishing event. In other hosting countries, governmental financial support is part of the deal.

You can not compare Harolf's top 10 finish to Americans in the 1950's and 1960's who placed higher in my humble opinion. The reason is that in the old days, I was told that divers from Spain and Italy did not scout 3 months straight as they do today. So you could come for 2 weeks and possibly finish in the top 2 divers and Americans such as John Ernst and Terry Lenz did.

If we did host a Worlds in the U.S., we would win it. We really do have the talent. You can say a lot of great things about the European divers, but they would eat crow or maybe U.S. turkey in the U.S. I have to admit I am biased. :)

We were unfortunate that 2 of our three divers were sick during the Worlds competition this year. Mojarra, a super talented dive capable of hanging shoulder to shoulder with any top European diver was sick as a dog. Mike Hickey was sick too. Those are the breaks.

In recent years rules have changed that have moderated the total fish catch numbers. When I was at the Chile Worlds in 2004, I bet the average diver caught 5-6 fish per day. Some caught more than 15 and others caught 0. When the guns go off, the fish seem to go running! Also, some fish species are excluded from World events when their populations are threathened and we saw that in 2004 when the Chilean equivalent of the California Sheephead was not an eligible fish.

Just a few thoughts..

[Gamble]

G.R. Tarr, Sasa should try their hand at nationals competitions........ i heard of them through people who's opinions i hold in very high regard...... i enjoy watching their videos..... and i have learned alot from their proffesional skills..... they are players in the major leauges of spearfishing no doubt!!!
BUT..... that competition was in thier backyard..... i would be more impressed if they didnt win.......i dont know about smoked...... either way it would be a privelege to fish with any of them...... what people dont understand about me is that when someone is good, to me, he is good regardless of whatever BS is in the mix.....

I just wish people would limit their confrontations to that which is in question...... spearfishing....... i would hate to kick someones a$$ because they cant fish that good:thumps:

Don't leave out Ritchy Zacker. He's part of team Red Tide and won Nationals a couple years ago in Harolf's back yard. Fortunately I do get to shoot with these guys and have learned a lot.

[SpearMax]

We were unfortunate that 2 of our three divers were sick during the Worlds competition this year. Mojarra, a super talented dive capable of hanging shoulder to shoulder with any top European diver was sick as a dog. Mike Hickey was sick too. Those are the breaks.


Ah....that explains it. Thanks Dave!

[FishDie]

dumba$$

That's funny, everyone on here that has posted regarding this portion of the thread has agreed with my views. I guess since I've been the most vocal about it that means I'm the dumb@ss huh? Please continue with your ignorance.

Regardless of what any of you think, especially those who have never even participated in a spearboard tournament, he placed 10. He didnt cheat in venezuela, this is conclusive, a guy got disqualified because strung a fish up on his belt to reload and shoot another fish, i think a more serious offense would have easy to catch. Fact is he is great, no matter what happens in any other tournament ever he is still the tenth best spearfishermen in the world in 2008. Spetton, miami, cuba, florida, bahamas, none of that matters........ because this one was in venezuela, and it wasnt for a trophy, or a prize, but PRIDE. Funny, alot of people say that they dont want him representing the US, but without him the US would have been the bottom of the barrel.PERIOD. It is unfortunate the he must contend such envy. i suggest alot of people do alot of growing up, and moving on. As a spearfisherman, and that is what we are all here for, we have alot to learn from him, and hopefully retain it for the next time around. I am thankful that this years team was mostly composed of cuban-refugees, cuban-americans, americans now none the less, who love this sport and this country so much that they have sacrificed enough to fund themselves a trip to put the US as high as they can among the rest of the world......... something all of us are not willing and able to do with the way things are of late...... so its great that all of you are excersing you rights to speak, instead of just excercising so maybe you could fish good too!!!!!

anyways regardless of what harolf did, or didnt do, there is a bunch of good young talent that will be representing the US, JUSTIN ALLEN, AND dan silva? i believe his name is dan silva.....

either way these to guys i have met personally, and i am impressed! with talent and class to spare these to guys need to be supported, they are our best chance at being the best country of spearos..... if you dont believe me ask anyone from MASS, or Cali.

-adelito

I've participated in Spearboard, twice actually. It was a good tournament, maybe it'll rebound in the future. This isn't about the tournament though, my gripes are about a man who currently represents the United States in spearfishing and he was caught and disqualified for cheating in a spearfishing tournament. In my opinion he has no right to represent the United States (or any other country for that matter) because of the fact that he was caught cheating. Period. No one is claiming he cheated in Venezula; yet there are a lot of people who feel he should have never been given the opportunity to shoot there regardless of his super-human abilities and talent. Pride, funny you should bring that up. Pride is knowing you didn't take any shortcuts or circumvent the process in order to achieve something great. Unfortunately for Harolf and his decisions in Spearboard, his pride will always be questioned.
No envy for a cheater, regardless of ones talent. Maybe if you took your head out of his @ss you might understand that point. I would rather have the US end up at the bottom of the barrel then to be represented by someone who is a known cheater.

Many could learn from his abilities, but no respectable spearfisherman wants to learn how to cheat.

I think I can put some light to your questions here FishDie.

In order for Harolf to be removed from the US team the other team members and captain would have to get together and vote him off the team. I know that this years team went through two team captains before settling on their third captain. One was a highly respected west coast freediver and former national champion and the other was a world record breath and depth holder for many years.

The US will never host a world championship because of what the CMAS rules want. The biggest rule that they allow and want that will never fly in the US is unlimited quanties on all species of fish. There is a reason that Bill Ernst has the record of 240 fish shot for two days of competetion and pretty much fair game on everything. If you look at the winning fish over the years of the worlds you will see a bunch of very small fish.

As for your last question. The world is a very political place dude.

Imagine that, someone kicking you off a team for actions they themselves participated in. In essence that would be admitting guilt. I wonder why those highly respected individuals distanced themselves from this year's team? I bet it had nothing to do with the actions of Harolf and others at Spearboard Open. Maybe since Adelito is so well connected, respected, and greased up he could ask those two guys to post their reasons for leaving the team.

Thanks for answering my questions :beer:

Gamble
Don't leave out Ritchy Zacker. He's part of team Red Tide and won Nationals a couple years ago in Harolf's back yard. Fortunately I do get to shoot with these guys and have learned a lot.

Oh c'mon, next you'll be telling us how you stole a pair of GR's speedos thinking you'd shoot better when wearing them. :D

[jfjf]

I would rather have the US end up at the bottom of the barrel then to be represented by someone who is a known cheater. D

Pretty much sums up my feelings as well, I don't feel pride in his score, I feel embarassment that the USA organization did not have enough integrity to ban "Harolf-the-Cheater" for at least a year.

[settingsteel]

You can not compare Harolf's top 10 finish to Americans in the 1950's and 1960's who placed higher in my humble opinion. The reason is that in the old days, I was told that divers from Spain and Italy did not scout 3 months straight as they do today. So you could come for 2 weeks and possibly finish in the top 2 divers and Americans such as John Ernst and Terry Lenz did.
I agree
We were unfortunate that 2 of our three divers were sick during the Worlds competition this year. Mojarra, a super talented dive capable of hanging shoulder to shoulder with any top European diver was sick as a dog. Mike Hickey was sick too. Those are the breaks.
That explains alot, I can't imagine if these 2 guys were at their best what the outcome could have been. I know not Mike personally, but know Mojarra is a fish killin machine, coupled with Harolfs high placing, Team USA could have ranked much higher in the Worlds.
...

Dave I would think that in such a contest their would be "replacement", "backups" whatever you wanna call them incase is diver is unable to hunt?

As for the African that was a sad incident, I heard they went through quite a bit to get to the Worlds, sadly they were not heard out.

[Adelito]

There have been World Championships since the 1950's and I have only been involved with them in recent years, but the reason the U.S. has not hosted a Worlds is mainly the organizational requirements of hosting. Also, a lesser issue has been financial reasons I believe. Typically, you need to provide 4 boats per team on tournament day (one per diver plus one for the coach) and more boats are required for officials. I bet there were 90-100 boats required for this years Worlds. Where are we going to get that many boats in the U.S.? Plus this events like a mini-Olympics with fireworks, parades. Where are we going to find people to run such an event in the U.S.? Also, we do not have any kind of governmental financial support for a World Spearfishing event. In other hosting countries, governmental financial support is part of the deal.

You can not compare Harolf's top 10 finish to Americans in the 1950's and 1960's who placed higher in my humble opinion. The reason is that in the old days, I was told that divers from Spain and Italy did not scout 3 months straight as they do today. So you could come for 2 weeks and possibly finish in the top 2 divers and Americans such as John Ernst and Terry Lenz did.

If we did host a Worlds in the U.S., we would win it. We really do have the talent. You can say a lot of great things about the European divers, but they would eat crow or maybe U.S. turkey in the U.S. I have to admit I am biased. :)

We were unfortunate that 2 of our three divers were sick during the Worlds competition this year. Mojarra, a super talented dive capable of hanging shoulder to shoulder with any top European diver was sick as a dog. Mike Hickey was sick too. Those are the breaks.

In recent years rules have changed that have moderated the total fish catch numbers. When I was at the Chile Worlds in 2004, I bet the average diver caught 5-6 fish per day. Some caught more than 15 and others caught 0. When the guns go off, the fish seem to go running! Also, some fish species are excluded from World events when their populations are threathened and we saw that in 2004 when the Chilean equivalent of the California Sheephead was not an eligible fish.

Just a few thoughts..

hey i wouldnt mind the mass freedivers hosting and organizing the worlds, and having one huge world kayak tournament!!!!

[Adelito]

Don't leave out Ritchy Zacker. He's part of team Red Tide and won Nationals a couple years ago in Harolf's back yard. Fortunately I do get to shoot with these guys and have learned a lot.

another i guy i hear that i hear is a Dr. of the ocean is Ritchy Zacker.......and he and his team did do very well....... I have met and hung out with Ryan....... and he is another guy to keep your eye on in cali in '09........If you head just alittle more south then you might hit his backyard......that team also had an amazing captain too though..... jason wetmore...... if you have ever gone diving with him.......you realize that he has spots that produce fish from 2ft-200ft...... none the less a great performance

[Adelito]

That's funny, everyone on here that has posted regarding this portion of the thread has agreed with my views. I guess since I've been the most vocal about it that means I'm the dumb@ss huh? Please continue with your ignorance.



I've participated in Spearboard, twice actually. It was a good tournament, maybe it'll rebound in the future. This isn't about the tournament though, my gripes are about a man who currently represents the United States in spearfishing and he was caught and disqualified for cheating in a spearfishing tournament. In my opinion he has no right to represent the United States (or any other country for that matter) because of the fact that he was caught cheating. Period. No one is claiming he cheated in Venezula; yet there are a lot of people who feel he should have never been given the opportunity to shoot there regardless of his super-human abilities and talent. Pride, funny you should bring that up. Pride is knowing you didn't take any shortcuts or circumvent the process in order to achieve something great. Unfortunately for Harolf and his decisions in Spearboard, his pride will always be questioned.
No envy for a cheater, regardless of ones talent. Maybe if you took your head out of his @ss you might understand that point. I would rather have the US end up at the bottom of the barrel then to be represented by someone who is a known cheater.

Many could learn from his abilities, but no respectable spearfisherman wants to learn how to cheat.



Imagine that, someone kicking you off a team for actions they themselves participated in. In essence that would be admitting guilt. I wonder why those highly respected individuals distanced themselves from this year's team? I bet it had nothing to do with the actions of Harolf and others at Spearboard Open. Maybe since Adelito is so well connected, respected, and greased up he could ask those two guys to post their reasons for leaving the team.

Thanks for answering my questions :beer:

Gamble


Oh c'mon, next you'll be telling us how you stole a pair of GR's speedos thinking you'd shoot better when wearing them. :D

ignorance huh?

In terms of the musical chairs with the captains i am sure that there are plenty of obvious reseasons we can give...... the economy, time off requirement, and really the amount of work that is required....

They still landed on a good guy though.... he has placed in the worlds as a competitor..... and can fix almost anything gun, wetsuit, boat, car....and speaks a couple of languages too i believe.....english, spanish, greek......

really the only reason that I get to speak to all these guys, and they are willing to talk to me is because i am not a threat to anyone.... i just like fishing......and i dont take it past that...... i dont get myself caught up in the he said then he said stuff..... i also admire talent, AND I REALIZE THAT IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW IT ALL WHEN IT COMES TO FISHING, YOU DONT KNOW SH!t.......so i try and learn..... and fortunately everyone has been willing to teach me......including harolf actually..... I actually get alot of information and motivation from alittle known of veteran...... CERO Leonard.......look him up if you care too

[Adelito]

That's funny, everyone on here that has posted regarding this portion of the thread has agreed with my views. I guess since I've been the most vocal about it that means I'm the dumb@ss huh? Please continue with your ignorance.



I've participated in Spearboard, twice actually. It was a good tournament, maybe it'll rebound in the future. This isn't about the tournament though, my gripes are about a man who currently represents the United States in spearfishing and he was caught and disqualified for cheating in a spearfishing tournament. In my opinion he has no right to represent the United States (or any other country for that matter) because of the fact that he was caught cheating. Period. No one is claiming he cheated in Venezula; yet there are a lot of people who feel he should have never been given the opportunity to shoot there regardless of his super-human abilities and talent. Pride, funny you should bring that up. Pride is knowing you didn't take any shortcuts or circumvent the process in order to achieve something great. Unfortunately for Harolf and his decisions in Spearboard, his pride will always be questioned.
No envy for a cheater, regardless of ones talent. Maybe if you took your head out of his @ss you might understand that point. I would rather have the US end up at the bottom of the barrel then to be represented by someone who is a known cheater.

Many could learn from his abilities, but no respectable spearfisherman wants to learn how to cheat.



Imagine that, someone kicking you off a team for actions they themselves participated in. In essence that would be admitting guilt. I wonder why those highly respected individuals distanced themselves from this year's team? I bet it had nothing to do with the actions of Harolf and others at Spearboard Open. Maybe since Adelito is so well connected, respected, and greased up he could ask those two guys to post their reasons for leaving the team.

Thanks for answering my questions :beer:

Gamble


Oh c'mon, next you'll be telling us how you stole a pair of GR's speedos thinking you'd shoot better when wearing them. :D


i think when someone continues to win year, after year, its almost a natural reaction for them to conclude to cheating...... alot of interesting things happened in the spearboard......but what ever did.....or didnt happen is pointless to discuss now..... and i think in bad judgement for legal reasons.......but there was a whole lot going on in that tournament...... i was a little disgruntled also over some guy who had been drinking a litttle bit, and was getting into peoples faces, and making fun of peoples fish, specifically the snapper...... when he approached me, we had an intense exchange of looks that lasted a couple of hours...... Not something i enjoyed.....

[FishDie]

ignorance huh?

In terms of the musical chairs with the captains i am sure that there are plenty of obvious reseasons we can give...... the economy, time off requirement, and really the amount of work that is required....

They still landed on a good guy though.... he has placed in the worlds as a competitor..... and can fix almost anything gun, wetsuit, boat, car....and speaks a couple of languages too i believe.....english, spanish, greek......

really the only reason that I get to speak to all these guys, and they are willing to talk to me is because i am not a threat to anyone.... i just like fishing......and i dont take it past that...... i dont get myself caught up in the he said then he said stuff..... i also admire talent, AND I REALIZE THAT IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW IT ALL WHEN IT COMES TO FISHING, YOU DONT KNOW SH!t.......so i try and learn..... and fortunately everyone has been willing to teach me......including harolf actually..... I actually get alot of information and motivation from alittle known of veteran...... CERO Leonard.......look him up if you care too

There is a common theme throughout each and everyone of your posts, YOU. Who cares that you get little smooches from Harolf, Cero, and guys on the US Team. THIS ISN'T ABOUT THAT OR YOU.

This is simply about a Harolf Dean, a US Spearfishing Team member who was caught cheating in a local tournament and was disqualified. On those grounds, many feel that he shouldn't have been able to shoot and represent the US in Worlds. Period.

How you read that and started your name dropping chest beating is beyond me.

[Adelito]

But you know what fishdie, i take the dumdass thing back.....at least you can debate,and argue without being an a-hole like somepeople ...... saying they where going to do this, or that..... and they took way far from the topic...... dont you remember the thread "what happened to harolf dean?'' I dont think anyone, including myself wanted it to get the way it did...... I was still in defense mode.....

[jfjf]

......but there was a whole lot going on in that tournament...... i was a little disgruntled also over some guy who had been drinking a litttle bit, and was getting into peoples faces, and making fun of peoples fish, specifically the snapper...... when he approached me, we had an intense exchange of looks that lasted a couple of hours...... Not something i enjoyed.....

Intense exchange of looks for hours.....WTF are you talking about? How is THAT related to anything? ....

Are you challenging Gamble to "an intense exchange of looks"... :confused::confused:

[Adelito]

There is a common theme throughout each and everyone of your posts, YOU. Who cares that you get little smooches from Harolf, Cero, and guys on the US Team. THIS ISN'T ABOUT THAT OR YOU.

This is simply about a Harolf Dean, a US Spearfishing Team member who was caught cheating in a local tournament and was disqualified. On those grounds, many feel that he shouldn't have been able to shoot and represent the US in Worlds. Period.

How you read that and started your name dropping chest beating is beyond me.

it was an answer to one of your comments...... While this isnt about me, it also doesnt validate everything you say either.......or anyone else for that matter....... of all the people that post, almost none where at the spearboard that day...... and even less knew who the hell was harolf.....then began the mega speculation game...... and above all else spearboard tournaments have no affiliation with the nationals, worlds, or even the usoa. they dont determine anything other than what prize you get for what fish you caught.

[Adelito]

Intense exchange of looks for hours.....WTF are you talking about? How is THAT related to anything? ....

Are you challenging Gamble to "an intense exchange of looks"... :confused::confused:

no.... the guy and kept looking at each other like boxers before the fight, you could cut the tension, he saide something stupid, and then shot back right at him......it could have let to a fight, and both of us getting arrested...... not a good situation......thankfully he was with his wife, and i was with my girlfriend, so we had a little distraction

[Adelito]

It was relevant because people where getting into each others faces left and right...... i even saw alittle food line incident...... pretty funny......now

[FishDie]

Intense exchange of looks for hours.....WTF are you talking about? How is THAT related to anything? ....

Are you challenging Gamble to "an intense exchange of looks"... :confused::confused:

:lol::lol:

Adelito,

I remember the entire deal.

I'm not attempting to validate anything, and for the record I wasn't the first to bring this issue to the forefront of this thread. Harolf was mentioned and someone brought up the Spearboard Open stuff and what happened then. You're right, SBO has nothing to do with Nationals, Worlds, or USOA. But it does have a lot to do with integrity, or the lack of it by the members and team captain for not removing Harolf from the team in response to his actions at the SBO.

[FishDie]

another i guy i hear that i hear is a Dr. of the ocean is Ritchy Zacker.......and he and his team did do very well....... I have met and hung out with Ryan....... and he is another guy to keep your eye on in cali in '09........If you head just alittle more south then you might hit his backyard......that team also had an amazing captain too though..... jason wetmore...... if you have ever gone diving with him.......you realize that he has spots that produce fish from 2ft-200ft...... none the less a great performance

You can take what you've heard about Ritchie Zacker and just throw it right out the window. That guy couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Now Wetmore, he's a fish destroyer. Have you ever seen one of his trip report sketches?

I mean look at him, he's a mad man!

[Tyler Durden]

The Great One Ritchie Zacker would not be pleased to know his name is being misspelled here!!

[Marco]

C'mon guys! Stop it!

Lets talk about the Championships...

Did you know that Juan Fuentes did not show a valid fish during the second day? It looks weird?

Does anyone knows what happened? :confused:

[jfjf]

no.... the guy and kept looking at each other like boxers before the fight, you could cut the tension, he saide something stupid, and then shot back right at him......it could have let to a fight, and both of us getting arrested...... not a good situation......thankfully he was with his wife, and i was with my girlfriend, so we had a little distraction

Sounds intense, did it go down something like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5ALIL7T764

[Gamble]

Intense exchange of looks for hours.....WTF are you talking about? How is THAT related to anything? ....

Are you challenging Gamble to "an intense exchange of looks"... :confused::confused:



:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Adelito]

Sounds intense, did it go down something like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5ALIL7T764

DUDE YOU JUST MADE MY WHOLE F#CKING DAY.....THANKS:beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer: :beer::beer::beer:

[Adelito]

I just watched that thing again...... i am emailing it to all my friends

[Adelito]

You can take what you've heard about Ritchie Zacker and just throw it right out the window. That guy couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Now Wetmore, he's a fish destroyer. Have you ever seen one of his trip report sketches?

I mean look at him, he's a mad man!



I dont have any clue as to how you got this picture...... BUT I LOVE YOU

[spaghetti]

in the old days, I was told that divers from Spain and Italy did not scout 3 months straight as they do today. If we did host a Worlds in the U.S., we would win it. ..
I've found out that the spanish Jose Kerejeta, the winner and newly world champion, has done more than scouting for 3 months: he's been living at Isla Margarita for 2 years. He moved to live there and found himself a business on the island as a self employed fisherman. You can't say he lacks determination...:cowboy:

And while we're at it, the bad news about the new world champion Kerejeta is that yesterday, during a recreational dive, he's been overrun by a boat and hit on the head by the keel. He made it alive and kicking but with a 8 points suture stitching in his head: blood follows glory this time :eek:

[Marco]

I've found out that the spanish Jose Kerejeta, the winner and newly world champion, has done more than scouting for 3 months: he's been living at Isla Margarita for 2 years. He moved to live there and found himself a business on the island as a self employed fisherman.

Hi paesà!

I found out that's not true; Kerejeta is a fireman and it is not possible for him to stay away from his job for that long.

Take a look at the spanish forum www.pescasub.com for more info.

[spaghetti]

I'm surprised. The guys of team Italy spread the voice around...

[settingsteel]

Ahhh Spago those Italians are always Chismiando:lol:

[Marco]

I'm surprised. The guys of team Italy spread the voice around...

Yes, I noticed that and asked the spaniards. ;)

[SpearMax]

And while we're at it, the bad news about the new world champion Kerejeta is that yesterday, during a recreational dive, he's been overrun by a boat and hit on the head by the keel. He made it alive and kicking but with a 8 points suture stitching in his head: blood follows glory this time :eek:

Sorry to hear this, but is it really true? :scratch:

I would not take as Gospel what is said on any forum these days - English or Spanish or Italian or Swahili. :p

Fisherman or Fireman - that is the question! ;) :D

[SpanishSpear]

Hi paesà!

I found out that's not true; Kerejeta is a fireman and it is not possible for him to stay away from his job for that long.

Take a look at the spanish forum www.pescasub.com for more info.

Marco,
you are absolutely right!!!!! im from Spain and i personally know a couple of guys that dive with Joseba, he is in fact a fireman. Im not sure why anyone would spread those silly rumors, i guess some are just sore losers????
I can tell you one thing, these guys train like crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they really put in the time to be the best they can be in the water....... and BTW so do they Italians.... they are excellent divers too

[spaghetti]

Our Bruno De Silvestri (who got 9th place) is a fireman too. How come all these firemen are so good as watermen? ;-)

[SpearMax]

Our Bruno De Silvestri (who got 9th place) is a fireman too. How come all these firemen are so good as watermen? ;-)

Maybe alot of dead time at the firehouse to practice breath holds? :D

[Tedbudion]

There's no mistery for the victory formula = dedication + training + talent. But one must be realistic about judging talent. Also training and dedication means competing against strong opponents many times during a given year.

Just ask John and Bill Ernst (who was and are firemen, respectively) and Terry Maas how.

[Tedbudion]

How come all these firemen are so good as watermen?

They've lot of dayoffs to go diving and train in comparison to someone in an office 9-5 Mon-Fri. There are also a lot of professionals (MDs, DDAs), law enforcement people, commercial reps, civil servants, or professional spearos (legal or otherwise), and, last but not least, just plain bums too.

[jfjf]

They've lot of dayoffs to go diving and train in comparison to someone in an office 9-5 Mon-Fri. There are also a lot of professionals (MDs, DDAs), law enforcement people, commercial reps, civil servants, or professional spearos (legal or otherwise), and, last but not least, just plain bums too.

I thought professional spearos were not allowed to compete in that competition?

[Marco]

Everybody is allowed as far as is done freediving and following the Championship rules.

A nice Video about Kerejeta:

http://www.eitb.com/videos/detalle/25288/joseba-kerejeta-campea-n-mundial-de-pesca-submarina/

[Adelito]

watever he is fireman, waterman, fisherman......... this year he is the MAN!!!

[Tedbudion]

Everybody is allowed as far as is done freediving and following the Championship rules.

Yep, I know personally many top world spearfishers from the 70s to the early 90s. None of them--that I recall--worked 9-5 Mon-Fri in an office. And for what I've heard from Pedro Carbonell and his generation, nothing has changed.

[Marco]

Well, Carbonell is Beuchat sales representative....

[Tedbudion]

Carbonell is Beuchat sales representative....

As Massimo Scarpati was Mares', Claudio Ripa Cressi's and so on. But if you saw them visiting clients, trust me, sea conditions were bad that day...

[z1taz]

But if you saw them visiting clients, trust me, sea conditions were bad that day...
you mean VERY bad ..no ?ha ha!!

[joey_720]

The spaniards have been scouting the area for almost a year. Compared to other teams that only have a couple of weeks or month of scouting if there lucky.

i believe haro left like 2 weeks before the actual day of the contest, thats pretty bad ass how he placed so high with a week or 2 of scouting, sad that mojarra didnt place high up, must have had some bad days but everyone knows that he is a spearfishing god :thumps: