Media Monitoring Article 1

A timely reminder to all spearfishers. Follow these simple rules and you will enjoy your diving – for life.

ONE: Dive with a buddy, and practice “one up one down” diving. This means watching your buddy dive down (and) return safely to the surface. You must make eye contact, as a blackout can occur up to 15 seconds after ascent.

TWO: Dive well within your limits. Do not push yourself, no fish is worth your life. Equally as important – if you are diving with someone not as adept as you are, you must dive within their comfortable limits. That way if you have misadventure then they are able to dive down to assist you.

THREE: Dive with a rig cord and float with flag visibly attached. Reels have their place, but not in dirty water, rough conditions, open water or strong currents.

Please familiarise yourself with the USFA and AUF safety rules on the web or better still pick yourself up a copy of ‘The Guide to Spearfishing in New South Wales’ available at all good dive stores.

 

Link to A4 poster.

 

Media Monitoring Article 2

Shallow water blackout is a loss of consciousness caused by cerebral hypoxia towards the end of a breath-hold dive in water typically shallower than five metres (16 feet), when the swimmer does not necessarily experience an urgent need to breathe and has no other obvious medical condition that might have caused it. It can be caused by taking several very deep breaths, or hyperventilating, just before a dive. Victims are often established practitioners of breath-hold diving, are fit, strong swimmers, and have not experienced problems before.

Samba is a loss of motor control. It is a partial loss of physical or mental integrity and generally occurs up to 15 seconds after reaching the surface, normally during your first breath after a dive. It happens due to not having enough oxygen in your brain.

Video coming soon!