Association Internationale pour le Développement de l'Apnée (AIDA) (English: International Association for the Development of Apnea) is a worldwide rule- and record-keeping body for competitive breath holding events, also known as freediving. It sets standards for safety, comparability of Official World Record attempts and freedive education. AIDA International is the parent organization for national clubs of the same name. AIDA World Championships are periodically held.
History AIDA was founded on November 2, 1992, in Nice, France, by Frenchmen Roland Specker, Loïc Leferme and Claude Chapuis, with Specker as its first president. The AIDA Competitions started to take form in 1993. National clubs begin to form over all Europe in 1994–1995. AIDA became AIDA International in 1999. In 1999 Sébastien Nagel, of Switzerland, replaced Roland Specker as the president. Bill Strömberg, of Sweden, replaced Sébastien Nagel as president in 2005. Kimmo Lahtinen, of Finland, replaced Bill Strömberg as president in December 2009. Carla Sue Hanson, of the USA, replaced Kimmo Lahtinen as president in 2016. Alexandru Russu, of Romania, replaced Carla Sue Hanson as president in 2020. Saša Jeremić, of Serbia, replaced Alexandru Russu as president in 2024.
AIDA World Championships
History of AIDA World Championships:
Team 1996: First AIDA Team World Championship in Nice, France, for national teams 1998: Second AIDA Team World Championship, Sardinia, Italy 2001: Third AIDA Team World Championship, Ibiza, Spain 2004: Fourth AIDA Team World Championship, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 2006: Fifth AIDA Team World Championship, Hurghada, Egypt 2008: Sixth AIDA Team World Championship, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt 2010: Seventh AIDA Team World Championship, Okinawa, Japan 2012: Eighth AIDA Team World Championship, Nice, France 2014: Ninth AIDA Team World Championship, Cagliari, Italy 2016: Tenth AIDA Team World Championship, Kalamata, Greece
Individual 2005: AIDA Individual World Championship, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France 2007: AIDA Individual World Championship, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt 2009: AIDA Individual World Championship, Dean's Blue Hole, Bahamas 2011: AIDA Individual World Championship, Kalamata, Greece 2013: AIDA Depth World Championship, Kalamata, Greece 2013: AIDA Pool World Championship, Belgrade, Serbia 2015: AIDA Depth World Championship, Limassol, Cyprus 2015: AIDA Pool World Championship, Belgrade, Serbia 2016: AIDA Pool World Championship, Turku, Finland 2017: AIDA Depth World Championship, Roatan, Honduras 2018: AIDA Pool World Championship, Belgrade, Serbia 2019: AIDA Depth World Championship, Villefranche sur Mer, France 2021: AIDA Depth World Championship, Limassol, Cyprus 2022: AIDA Pool World Championship, Burgas, Bulgaria 2022: AIDA Depth World Championship, Roatan, Honduras 2023: AIDA Pool World Championship, Jeju, South Korea 2023: AIDA Depth World Championship, Limassol, Cyprus 2024: AIDA Freediving World Championship, Kaunas, Lithuania 2025: AIDA Pool World Championship, Wakayama, Japan 2025: AIDA Depth World Championship, Limassol, Cyprus
Qualifications and certifications
AIDA has a star system for grading its freediving certifications:
Freedive certifications AIDA 1 Star Freediver, 8m CWT, 1'15" STA, 25m DYN. AIDA 2 Star Freediver, 12m CWT, 2' STA, 40m DYN. AIDA 3 Star Freediver, 24m CWT, 2'45" STA, 55m DYN. AIDA 4 Star Freediver, 32m CWT, 3'30" STA, 70m DYN.
Speciality certifications Pool Competition Safety Freediver. Depth Competition Safety Freediver. Advanced Depth Competition Safety Freediver. Monofin Freediver. Advanced Monofin Freediver. Master Monofin Freediver. AIDA youth bronze dolphin. AIDA youth silver dolphin. AIDA youth gold dolphin.
AIDA has 3 levels of Instructor qualifications and certifications:
Instructor certifications AIDA Instructor, can teach up to 3 Star Freediver. AIDA Master Instructor, can teach up to 4 Star Freediver. AIDA Instructor Trainer, can teach all levels, and instructors.
Records
AIDA recognized world records as of February 02, 2026.
Pool Disciplines
The AIDA recognized pool disciplines are static apnea (STA) and three separate dynamic apnea disciplines. Dynamic With Fins (DYN) which is done with monofins usually but bifins are also allowed, Dynamic With Bifins (DYNB) which uses bifins, and Dynamic Without Fins (DNF) does not allow fins to be used and divers usually use breast strokes and wall-kicks for propulsions.
DisciplineGenderNameNationalityResultDateStatic Apnea (STA)MaleStéphane Mifsud11:352009-06-08Static Apnea (STA)FemaleHeike Schwerdtner09:222025-05-04Dynamic With Fins (DYN)MaleMing Jin (William Joy)319m2025-11-09Dynamic With Fins (DYN)FemaleZsófia Törőcsik280m2025-7-02Dynamic Without Fins (DNF)MaleMateusz Malina250m2022-05-01Dynamic Without Fins (DNF)FemaleJulia Kozerska213m2023-06-13Dynamic With Bifins (DYNB)MaleGuillaume Bourdila298m2025-06-28Dynamic With Bifins (DYNB)FemaleZsófia Törőcsik259m2025-06-28
Sea Disciplines
DisciplineGenderNameNationalityResultDateConstant Weight (CWT)MaleAlexey Molchanov136m2023-09-29Constant Weight (CWT)FemaleAlessia Zecchini123m2023-05-24Constant Weight Without Fins (CNF)MalePetar Klovar103m2025-05-26Constant Weight Without Fins (CNF)FemaleKateryna Sadurska86m2025-11-23Constant Weight With Bifins (CWTB)MaleAlexey Molchanov127m2025-12-01Constant Weight With Bifins (CWTB)FemaleAlenka Artnik111m2023-07-30Free Immersion (FIM)MalePetar Klovar135m2023-09-27Free Immersion (FIM)FemaleSanda Delija103m2025-05-04Variable Weight (VWT)MaleAlexey Molchanov156m2023-03-28Variable Weight (VWT)FemaleNanja Van Den Broek130m2015-10-18No Limit (NLT) (no longer recognized)MaleHerbert Nitsch214m2007-06-09No Limit (NLT) (no longer recognized)FemaleTanya Streeter160m2002-08-17
See also
References
External links