Aquathlon Aquathlon (also known as underwater wrestling) is an underwater sport where two competitors wearing masks and fins wrestle underwater in an attempt to remove a ribbon from each other's ankle band in order to win the bout. The "combat" takes place in a 5-metre (16 ft) square ring within a swimming pool, and is made up of three 30-second rounds, with a fourth round played in the event of a tie. The sport originated during the 1980s in the former
USSR (now
Russia) and was first played at international level in 1993. It was recognised by
Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) in 2008.
Finswimming Finswimming is an underwater sport consisting of four techniques involving swimming with the use of
fins either on the water's surface using a snorkel using either
monofins or bifins (i.e. one fin for each foot) or
underwater with monofin either by holding one's breathe or underwater using
open circuit scuba diving equipment. Events exist over distances similar to
swimming competitions for both
swimming pool and
open water venues. Competition at world and continental level is organised by CMAS. The sport's first world championship was held in 1976. It also has been featured at the
World Games as a trend sport since 1981 and was demonstrated at the
2013 Summer Universiade in July 2013.
Freediving Competitive freediving is currently governed by two world associations:
AIDA International (International Association for Development of Apnea) and CMAS. Most types of competitive freediving have in common that it is an individual sport based on the best individual achievement. An exception to this rule is the bi-annual World Championship for Teams, held by AIDA, where the combined score of the team members makes up the team's total points. There are currently nine disciplines used by official governing bodies and a dozen disciplines that are only practiced locally. In this article, the recognized disciplines of AIDA and CMAS will be described. All disciplines can be done by both men and women and, while done outdoors, no differences in the environment between records are recognized any longer. The disciplines of AIDA can be done both in competition and as a record attempt, with the exception of Variable Weight and No limits, which are both done solely as record attempts.
Skandalopetra Skandalopetra diving is freediving using a stone weight at the end of a rope to the surface. It dates from
ancient Greece, when it was used by
sponge fishermen, and has been re-discovered in recent years as a competitive
freediving discipline.
Sport diving Sport Diving is an underwater sport that uses recreational open circuit scuba diving equipment and consists of a set of individual and team events conducted in a swimming pool that test the competitors’ competency in recreational scuba diving technique. The sport was developed in Spain during the late 1990s and is currently played mainly in Europe. It is known as Plongée Sportive in French and as Buceo De Competición in Spanish.
Underwater football Underwater football is a two-team underwater sport that shares common elements with underwater hockey and underwater rugby. As with both of those games, it is played in a swimming pool with snorkelling equipment (mask, snorkel, and fins).
Underwater hockey Underwater hockey (UWH; also called Octopush and Water Hockey locally) is a globally played limited-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal by propelling it with a stick. It originated in
England in 1954 when the founder of the newly formed
Southsea Sub-Aqua Club invented the game as a means of keeping the club's members interested and active over the cold winter months when open-water diving lost its appeal. Underwater hockey was first played as a world championship in Canada in 1980 after a false start brought about by international politics in 1979. CMAS is the world governing body for this sport.
Underwater ice hockey Underwater ice hockey (also called sub-aqua ice hockey) is a minor
extreme sport that is a variant of ice hockey. It is played upside-down underneath frozen pools or ponds. Participants wear diving masks, fins and wetsuits and use the underside of the frozen surface as the playing area for a floating puck. Competitors do not utilize any breathing apparatuses, but instead surface for air every 30 seconds.
Underwater orienteering Underwater orienteering is an underwater sport that uses recreational open circuit scuba diving equipment and consists of a set of individual and team events conducted in both sheltered and open water that test the competitors’ competency in underwater navigation. The competition is principally concerned with the effectiveness of navigation technique used by competitors to swim an underwater course following a route marked on a map prepared by the competition organisers, a compass and a counter meter to measure the distance covered. The sport was developed in the USSR during the late 1950s and is currently played mainly in Europe. It is known as Orientation Sub in French and as La Orientación Subacuática in Spanish. Historically, the sport has also been known as Technical Disciplines.
Underwater photography Underwater photography is a scuba-based underwater sport governed by CMAS where teams of competitors using digital underwater camera systems all dive at the same saltwater ocean sites at the same time over a two-day period. The submitted digital images are then assessed and ranked by a jury using a maximum of five photographic categories as well as an overall score. The sport was developed prior to 1985 as a photographic film-based event and is currently mainly practised in non-English speaking countries.
Underwater rugby Underwater rugby (UWR) is an underwater sport whose play involves two teams seeking to gain control of a slightly negatively buoyant ball (filled with saltwater) and passing it into a heavy metal bucket serving as the opponents’ goal at the bottom of a
swimming pool. It originated from within the physical fitness training regime existing in
German diving clubs during the early 1960s and has little in common with
rugby football except for the name. It was recognised by CMAS in 1978 and was first played as a
world championship in 1980.
Underwater target shooting Underwater target shooting is an underwater sport that tests a competitors’ ability to accurately use a speargun via a set of individual and team events conducted in a swimming pool using free diving or Apnoea technique. The sport was developed in France during the early 1980s and is currently practised mainly in Europe. It is known as Tir sur cible subaquatique in French and as Tiro al Blanco Subacuático in Spanish.
Underwater video Underwater video is a scuba-based underwater sport governed by CMAS where teams of competitors using digital underwater video systems all dive at the same saltwater ocean sites at the same time over a two-day period. The submitted digital video are then assessed and ranked by a jury. ==Governance==