AIDA International


Association Internationale pour le Développement de l'Apnée 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

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 and three separate dynamic apnea disciplines. Dynamic With Fins which is done with monofins usually but bifins are also allowed, Dynamic With Bifins which uses bifins, and Dynamic Without Fins does not allow fins to be used and divers usually use breast strokes and wall-kicks for propulsions.
DisciplineGenderNameNationalityResultDate
Static Apnea MaleStéphane Mifsud11:352009-06-08
Static Apnea FemaleHeike Schwerdtner09:222025-05-04
Dynamic With Fins MaleMing Jin 319m2025-11-09
Dynamic With Fins FemaleZsófia Törőcsik280m2025-7-02
Dynamic Without Fins MaleMateusz Malina250m2022-05-01
Dynamic Without Fins FemaleJulia Kozerska213m2023-06-13
Dynamic With Bifins MaleGuillaume Bourdila298m2025-06-28
Dynamic With Bifins FemaleZsófia Törőcsik259m2025-06-28

Sea Disciplines

DisciplineGenderNameNationalityResultDate
Constant Weight MaleAlexey Molchanov136m2023-09-29
Constant Weight FemaleAlessia Zecchini123m2023-05-24
Constant Weight Without Fins MalePetar Klovar103m2025-05-26
Constant Weight Without Fins FemaleKateryna Sadurska86m2025-11-23
Constant Weight With Bifins MaleAlexey Molchanov527m2025-12-01
Constant Weight With Bifins FemaleAlenka Artnik111m2023-07-30
Free Immersion MalePetar Klovar135m2023-09-27
Free Immersion FemaleSanda Delija103m2025-05-04
Variable Weight MaleAlexey Molchanov156m2023-03-28
Variable Weight FemaleNanja Van Den Broek130m2015-10-18
No Limit MaleHerbert Nitsch214m2007-06-09
No Limit FemaleTanya Streeter160m2002-08-17