Coming Up for Air
For the South Florida Freedivers, it was a day spent underwater, fishing with spear gun or sling, trying to collect as many fish in their coolers as possible within the rules of the competition. When the day was over, there would be not one winner but many.
US pro spearfisher Harolf Dean brought the most fish back to the docks with 46.75 pounds, thus giving him a win in the professional category. In the gun category, the winner was Adrian Medero with 37 pounds, and in the sling category the winner was Joe Fernandez with 15 pounds. But there were teams playing too – the first place team in the gun category was Triton with a 36.38 pound average per individual team member, and in the sling category the first place winners were aptly named The Slingers with an average of 7.75 pounds per team member. To see full list of results, as well as a blow-by-blow of the day, check out Saturday's live blog.
If the results make anything clear it's that you can catch more fish with a spear gun than with a sling. So why even bother using a sling? For the sport of it, of course. Some argue that having to get closer to the fish in order to make the catch adds to the challenge. If you go strictly by the numbers, you can definitely see that choice of weapon is a huge factor in what a spearfisherman (or woman) brings home.
If you didn't win (or enter) this year, there's always next year. And next year, the freedivers are promising a bigger and better tournament. (We thought this one was already pretty great.) So if you're new to the sport (or just curious) check it out – the physical stamina and mental coolness required make this a sport one that could truly change your life.
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