World Meet Guidelines

Hosting Nation shall have a web site or link that includes all information for their event, logistics, boats, kayaks, accommodations, local rental cars, airports, dive shops and registration, up, working and complete 1 year prior to their event. Hosts will make every effort to work with different nations to support their entry into the WFSC.

Hosts will provide lead for the competitors weight belts, where needed.

Where possible an activities director should be appointed to develop a program to help support family members wanting to tour and enjoy the region.

This event is designed for breath hold, free-diving only with the use of muscle powered spears. Free shaft will only be allowed where conditions safely allow. No under water powered devices are allowed at anytime for scouting or the meet.

Hosting Nation shall offer 4 divisions, with 2 persons per team. The divisions shall include Masters, Mens, Women’s, Mixed doubles. The mixed doubles team can be a man and woman, or a man and a Junior <18 or a woman and a Junior.

Hosting Nation shall be allowed 4 teams per division, the next years hosting Nation shall be allowed 3 and all other Nations are allowed 2 teams per division. These events can be run from boats, shore, kayaks, or a ship.

Travel time shall be allowed ( before and after the even) based on the average speed of the vessels to reach the furriest point of the event area. The organizer is not responsible for obtaining boats or Kayaks for every team , however the region needs to have a reasonable inventory of boats or kayaks available to competitors.

Scouting shall be limited to no more then 10 days during a period of 4 months before the event. Honor system.

The meets should be at least 2 days long with a minimum of 6 hours of diving time per day. Travel time and means of transportation shall be determined by hosting Nation. Please try to always keep it as fair for everyone as possible.

The need for individual boat judges shall be left to the hosting country.

Awards ceremony to be held the day after the events.

Entree fees are due in 30 days before the event and must include signed waivers, personal biography, and great individual digital picture.

Alternates may be designated for each team or country. No alternate will be allowed to replace a team member after the start of the competition, for any one day.

A safety boat and first aid station will be planned for every event.

These rules are designed to keep everyone safe and keep the event fair.

If you can’t operate within the rules please consider a different event.

Nothing takes the fun out of diving, even in competitions, faster then those who choose to break the rules. These events are designed to build our sport, so if you’re the competitive type that feels the need to push and test every rule, this is not the event for you.

Any of these infractions may be grounds for disqualification, of an individual, a team, or the complete country.

No poor sportsmanship.

This event is freediving only. No SCUBA use at any time.

Muscle powered spears only.

No under water propulsion devices are allowed at anytime.

Competitors will keep their catch separated in well marked containers. Fish need to be landed by each individual diver and fish may not be shared or traded.

There is NO chumming allowed at anytime.

Fish must be shot the day of the event during the hours of the event only.

All local, state, national rules must be followed as well as any rules implemented for the event.

Each diver shall dive with a bouy or float boat with dive flag. Lots here use float boats now.

In boat based meets both divers will be aboard a single boat and the captain/ driver of the boat, must be able to see both divers at all times.

Electronics: lights, watches, GPS are all legal to use. Fish finders are not legal to use during the days of the event. These regulations will changes regionally.

There is no spearfishing allowed 30 days before the event in the event area.

No loaded guns out of the water at anytime.

All competitors shall answer to a roll call before the start of the meet, and check in at the end of the meets to confirm their safe return.

Competitors meeting is mandatory and there will be a roll call and introduction for each competitor.

All events will start and end with the use of a horn or signal devise.

Time shall be kept on a GPS- cell phone time devise.

You may not leave the diving boundaries except in the case of an emergency.

Don’t leave before the start horn or come back late.

Each diver shall carry a legal fishing license for days they plan to hunt.

A mandatory meeting shall be held at least 2 days before the event.

No major rules should be changed at this time, just reviewed or clarified

All rules and fish should be reviewed at this meeting.

Waiver’s, citizenship / residency, and fishing license will be checked at this meeting. Each team will have an appointed captain responsible for their team and their paper work. Captain needs to be able to translate all meeting materials to their team. Captain is also responsible to make sure that all members of their team are at all meetings and understand all rules.

Each Captain will introduce each of their divers.

There will be a first aid station or safety boat and program in place and it will be reviewed at this meeting.

The Captain of each country may be called upon to vote at protests.

Points per weight and points per fish is the International standard, but where necessary the point system may be changed to best fit the location and species and quantities taken.

Fish removal shall be handled in a positive manner so as not to appear that any fish are wasted. During the weigh-ins every score should be announced and posted for all to see. A redundant system of fish counters, score keepers, Judges … need to be appointed to double check all details of every score. A video system should be recording the full weigh in system in-case mistakes are made. Certified scales shall be used for consistency.

A large easy to read score board shall be posted to keep everyone updated.

Competitors need to sign that there catch was counted and scored correctly. This is a competitors last chance to correct errors. Final scores shall be posted on the web site asap and a final score sheet shall be printed and handed out to all competitor at the awards night.

No fish shall leave the weigh in area until all fish are weighted in, from all competitors. Any scores that end up as ties (the same # of points) will be broken by most fish or biggest fish taken.

These are minimums that should be considered when giving out awards.

Mens division: top 5-10 individuals, Top 3-5 teams, Largest fish 1-3 awards

Masters & Women’s division ( based on attendance) top 5 individuals, 3-5 teams, largest fish 1-3 awards.

Mixed doubles, ( based on attendance) top 5 juniors, and top 3-5 teams.

*Men and women diving in the mixed doubles division qualify to place in the over all mens and women individual awards

Please make a special effort to develop unique trophies that represent the region, and are easy to travel home with.

We are in need of a perpetual trophy for the winners of each WFSC.

All protests need to be turned in to the head weigh master with in 1 hour of the last fish being weighed or sooner. Protest needs to be in writing and include a $100 deposit, refundable only if protest is won.

Protest committee shall be drawn from 5 different countries, that are not involved in the protest. The Captains for each of these countries shall vote. They shall hear both sides of the protest and cast 1 vote each to disqualify the individual or team or not. It will take 4 out of 5 votes to enact a disqualification. All decisions are final. Weigh master or Hosting chairperson shall mediate over this process asap.

Teams that continue to show poor sportsmen conduct may, by the same voting system be refused the diving opportunity for the next event.

This is not limited to just a single diver or team, but may apply to all the teams in their country.

Each country shall determine its own system for selecting its top divers for the 3 divisions. If no system is in place, the hosting country can review resumes for the most qualified divers from each country.

In the USA the top individual divers from each division, with the highest percentage points from the past 2 Freshwater Nationals shall be allowed to pick there team mates. Teams must commit to and pay for the entry fees in full for the next WFSC event 6 months prior to the event or loose there opportunity.

As no guidelines or rules will be perfect for all the different conditions and fish around the world, changes will need to be made.

These guidelines are designed to be flexible to make for the most fun, fair, unique and competitive competitions in the world. Where the guidelines need to flexible this is permissible. Where the guidelines need to be changed this will need to happen in writing and introduced at the next event immediately after the competitors meeting.

The WFSC committee is composed of directors of RMSA, and USOA, and past and present world team divers from around the world. Their input built this event and guidelines. To be a member of this committee please submit a resume at the next events competitors meeting.