The results are in from an unprecedented number of votes in the 2012 awards. This year the winners were determined by an open vote on Facebook.  Some categories were very close with just a few votes separating first and second places. There were ten categories. All finalists will receive a beautiful certificate and the winner of each category will receive a generous prize provided by Suunto.

Best Male Freediver
WILLIAM TRUBRIDGE

Best Female Freediver
ILARIA BONIN

Best Male Newcomer
RÉMY DUBERN

Best Female Newcomer
TOMOKA FUKUDA

Best AIDA Instructor
KAROL MEYER

Best AIDA Judge
GRANT W. GRAVES

Best Safety Diver
DAAN VERHOEVEN

Best Athletic Sportsmanship
LIV PHILLIP

Best Coach
MARC LENOIR

Best AIDA Volunteer
CARLA HANSON

The Board had a meeting via Skype on 20 April.

The first order of business was to vote on the appointment of  Petar Bojovic and Panagiota Balanou as co-Judges Responsible. Due to the large number of judges and associated tasks; the workload will be shared. Carla will also assist, as needed, and fill–in until Petar is fully available to start after the AIDA Pool World Championships in June (Petar is one of the organizers of that competition). The implementation of the updated online Judge Database and standardization of judge course materials are priority projects.

The Board also voted to elect Grant Graves as President and Petar Bojovic as Vice-President of the Jury for the 2013 AIDA Pool World Championships. The other jury members (elected by the Assembly) are: Ute Gessmann, Robert King, Stavros Kastrinakis, and Ekaterina Romanova. Alternates are: Alex Karjuk, Jana Balounova and, Darja Sobutin.

The next topic of discussion was a vote to recommend that groups from Bulgaria and Indonesia as be accepted by the Assembly as new AIDA Observer Members; an Assembly vote on this matter is currently in progress.

The Board voted to resolve an ambiguity in the Judge IOP, using judge experience points calculated as indicated by the IOP, without use of the ambiguous term “times”; the term “times”—which is of unclear meaning, and if interpreted literally would lead to irrational results — will not be used in the calculation of Judge experience. Please note that there is a work group currently reviewing the Judge IOP, which will propose changes to reflect best practices and make the Judge IOP easier for judges and organizers to understand. Such proposed changes will be reviewed with the Assembly, and the Assembly will need to vote to approve them prior to their becoming effective.

The Board discussed the judge candidates for the variable weight world record attempt to take place in  Sharm el Sheikh, including judge candidates for that attempt, in May.

Antero stated that the updated competition rules should be ready to present to the Assembly for review by May 2013.

The Board has requested that either Antero or Robert will attend the meeting of the European Underwater Federation as representatives of AIDA International; Kimmo is not available on this date.

Jean-Pol provided a report on the status of the order for the rash guards and t-shirts for AIDA judges. The order  has been placed and we hope to have the new shirts available very soon.

On behalf of Aida Board

Carla Hanson
AIDA, secretary

A Board meeting was held via Skype on March 17,2013.

The first order of business was the approval vote of Jonathan Sunnex as an instructor trainer. Jonny is from New Zealand and will be offering courses there and in other locations around the world. He is known for helping many divers with equalization issues and deep dive technique.

The Board voted to allow athletes from observer member or non-AIDA member countries to compete at both world championships in 2013. This is contingent upon the athlete(s) paying the required fee, and providing proof of passport from the country for which they wish to compete.

Rob and Kimmo reviewed various financial matters with Aida and the financial statements through 2012.

Rob noted that the vote for judges for the 2013 AIDA Pool World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, closes today, and the votes would be tallied shortly. Antero provided a favorable report on his visit to Belgrade, to verify a satisfactory venue and logistical arrangements, etc.

Kimmo provided information on the status of the judge database update project, including judge points and judge cards. The Board voted to approve the manufacture and distribution of an AIDA Judge packet including ID card, AIDA judge cards (i.e. white, yellow, and red cards) with the AIDA logo, and a necklet, at a cost of approximately €12.50 per judge, and in aggregate not to exceed €3500; such judge packets will be available to all active AIDA judges in the near future. Kimmo and Rob also explained the current project for the renewal and streamlining of the Judge IOP.

Antero reviewed the AIDA Competition Rules revision project. The deadline for suggestions will end in two weeks. The Technical Committee will then draft new rules, and the document will be presented to the Assembly for review.

Kimmo reviewed the status of the AIDA Strategy project. This project will be addressing current issues and make plans for the long term vision of Aida International and the sport of freediving.

The Board reviewed an inquiry from an American television network regarding the possible broadcast of an AIDA world record attempt. The Board will work with the network regarding feasibility of its request. Although large scale publicity of this kind is highly desirable; safety considerations are primary and cannot be sacrificed under any circumstances.

The Board will be meeting in April. Please contact any member with any questions or topics for the discussion.

AIDA Board