sponsors 4th Dutch Apnea Open

The crew of Immersion freedive academy and shop would like to introduce our sponsors to you, without them it would have been impossible to create an event of this size. All our sponsors are related to freediving, all in their own specific way. We thank all of them for supporting our competition and creating a sportive environment for our athletes and crew.

LOTEC BV; Lotec® is our main sponsor and supports us in many ways so we can offer you the best possible event. First Lotec® is the designer and creater of the water purification system of the pool where this big event takes place (national swimstadium 'de Tongelreep') and therefore directly responsible for the unprecedented comfort for athletes, judges, volunteers and public. Lotec® is also the employer where Pim works as mechanical engineer developing systems for public and private pools, aquaria, zoo's, etc...besides developing new ideas for future. This innovative company is extremely active in creating and developing new ideas for the future. We especially would like to thank Rob Bronckers and Toon Loots, managing directors of Lotec®.

Lotec®, est. 1867, is a family owned company with it's activities in engineering, designing and installation of water treatment systems, attractions and servicing of community and leisure parc pools. This extensive experience has led to several revolutionary concepts. Some examples are the Lotec® Filtration System, SurfRider, RocketPlunge, Special Products and wave generating equipment. Lotec® has 2 branches in the Netherlands and Belgium.

REALITY CONNECTION; At Lotec® it's common sense to look ahead without loosing contact with reality. We are constantly working towards a higher level of quality. Lotec® build it's reputation with this policy and it's experience of over a hundred years. This experience is constantly used throughout the different departments within our company. The interdepartmental cooperation guarantees perfect end products. Our R&D department constantly designs, studies and implements new attractions for leisure parks and community pools. Since 1982 Lotec® produces, exports & installs wave generating equipment world wide.

FILTRATION SYSTEM; The water treatment system is the heart of every pool. In accordance with the Lotec® philosophy the concrete filter system is still the most efficient solution. The piping requests a high level of know-how during the engineering and installation stage. Lotec® specializes in these disciplines....we do not sit still and future systems are already in development. Skimmers are developed and manufactured in house, so are the inlets, strainers and other technical elements of the Lotec® pool.

SAFETY FIRST; Grilles are designed in such a way that suction is impossible. In combination with low pump rates and electronic safety control of these pumps. Lotec® created in it's 50 years of experience in the field of installation of water treatment systems for swimming pools several systems of recycling and efficient use of water, energy and chemicals. Add the open and flat organizational structure and you will get an ideal partner for building your swimming pool.

ATTRACTIONS; Just 1 out of many water attractions we developed over the years is the SurfRider an active recreation for young and old. The combination of wild-water and surf make the SurfRider a unique water experience. For the first time ever, upright indoor surfing is possible in any swimming pool with FlowSurf, JumpSurf and LoopSurf. Surfing on real brakers, water-skiing and whirlpool spinning will attract a completely new group of water-sports fans to your pool or attraction park. Based on years of study of water behavior and surface technology, these exciting attractions offer endless water fun. The Lotec® SurfRider is even used in Belgium for the indoor training of the national waterski-team.

SEA-DOO / STALLION; SEADOO® is one of our sponsors providing room for reaching our goal to support Coral Reef Care as much as possible. Contacted already in the beginning of the planning SEADOO® supported us by donating a SEADOO® SEASCOOTER™ GTI for the lottery.

By far the most versatile water propellers for swimming, snorkeling AND recreational and professional diving; the SEADOO® SEASCOOTER™ is designed and engineered to withstand any type of environment and offers maximum fun at any occasion. Lightweight portability (including battery), ease of use and an affordable price makes SEA-DOO® the choice for a great day of fun in pool, lake and sea.

Spend more time exploring new dive sites or wrecks at speeds up to 5km/h or 3.5mph, or let your kids just cruise around the corals or pool at their own comfort speed. The SEADOO® SEASCOOTER™ allows its riders to save energy, control air consumption under water and enabling diver, swimmer or snorkeler to see much more spots and have long lasting fun during their water propeller adventure.

The product variably feature the latest safety precautions such as automatic shut-off function, caged propeller, waterproof circuitry, water-leakage prevention system, low battery voltage warning and over-current protection for an undisturbed, safe adventurous ride. All units come with a rechargeable battery and charger.

contact: mail for further enquiries, web: www.seadooseascooter.com

BLUECONSULT; One of our latest sponsors is BlueConsult which is run by our good friend and multiple World recordholder and World Champion Stig Avall Severinsen from Denmark. Stig embraced our idea for developing more environmental awareness in our beautiful blue planet. Stig personally will be present to help promote our general cause and he will be donating 'environmentally friendly' prizes for the winners. What does that mean? We will not tell but you will be surprised...

BlueConsult is a consulting company specialized in high performance mental training, professional freediving, yoga and television productions.

Created in 2002, it is run by 4 times World Champion freediver Stig Avall Severinsen and a range of freelance consultants with expertise in medical science, sports psychology and business management. The hallmark of BlueConsult is perfection in every detail and optimization of available and unexplored resources. Whether you look to improve personal skills or rethink the concept of your entire company, BlueConsult is there to help every breath of the way.

Visit our new website at BlueConsult.biz and learn more about our lectures, courses and special events. You are always welcome to enjoy our beautiful galleries with photos and videos from around our big blue Planet.

contact: Stig Avall Severinsen, web: www.blueconsult.biz

ELIOS SUB; Elios-sub (Italy), our rock solid partner from the beginning also offered their help and donate a big prize for the lottery. This prize, of course, will be of the highest quality. The package Elios-sub donated is a Heiwa soft silver smooth skin 5mm wetsuit, a pair of socks and gloves and completed with an Elios-sub tracksuit.

ELIOS Sub was set up in 1977 in response to the persistent requests of the proprietor's friends and competition colleagues for a wetsuit like the ones he made for himself. Morosini's wetsuits, though home-made in the extreme (for economic reasons he used waste materials purchased from companies in the sector), had innovative features of cut and seam. These features you could not find in the usual wetsuits on the market and were later 'adopted' by many others.

So the name ELIOS Sub was established, and throughout its voyage to the present day it has always tried to be in the avant-garde, always selecting the best and most innovative materials and always trying to be the first to use them, continually refining anatomical cut and maniacally improving the article's seams and finishes, to the extent of becoming a reference point for many competitors, copied by many and a myth for a great many divers. This brief outline summarises the whole ELIOS Sub philosophy, a philosophy of the past which is reflected in that of the future. Continuous innovation, evolution, improvement and refinement of the comfort of the articles produced, to give divers, who are not only clients but friends, the best product at the lowest possible price. ELIOS Sub wishes all its usual and future clients good, comfortable and warm diving.

Elios technical lab makes available to all customers its many years experience in the field of neoprene manufacturing to help you solving any kind of problem with your old (or new) defective equipment, obtaining the best compromise between cost and results.

We can repair any kind of wet or dry-suit (this is not limited to Elios products, we repair any brand). We can replace zips, sew torn parts, make small or big modifications to enlarge or tighten standard size wet-suits, apply patches and reinforce fragile parts of the wet-suit. We can make repairs to wet-suits for surfing and swimming or to waders exclusively made of neoprene. As we have always done for our high quality products, we use only the best machines and glues available on the market for our repairs. Thus we can ensure an optimal and long-lasting manufacturing.

contact: Pim Vermeulen (Elios dealer), web: www.eliossub.com

LEADERFINS; As Immersion freedive academy and shop is exclusive dealer of Leaderfins (Estonia) in the Netherlands, it is obvious Leaderfins was willing to sponsor the competition. Donated by Leaderfins for the lottery is a HYPER monofin and monofin bag.

Our production team consists of active and former fin swimmers, who have experience in fins production more than 25 years. All our fins, whether it is for fin swimming, freediving, lifesaving, spear fishing, surf and/or underwater games, are professional and custom made.

Our company is international and has manufactories in different parts of Europe. We organized our work in such way that each stage of fins producing takes place where it is the most optimum. For our fins we use high quality fibreglass and hand-laminated multilayer mixture of resins and other chemicals, which are vacuum processed in special moulds. Fibreglass is the material tested for years in the highly resistant fins and monofins with widely and well-known results in international competences.

Proof lies in the results: National Championships, World Championships, and World Records, which have been accomplished by athletes using Leaderfins. We are one of the few companies who give manufactory guarantee for all products for a year. You can see us at almost all great championships.

contact: Pim Vermeulen (exclusive Leaderfins dealer for the Netherlands), web: www.leaderfins.com

POISSON-LUNE; Poisson-Lune (France) was happy to donate for a good cause. The work of Jerome Espla and his team is brilliant and totally in line with increasing our environmental awareness. One of his latest projects with William Winram, Pierre Frolla and Fred Buyle stunned many of us...and this with only small fractions that were released. Poisson-Lune donates several DVD's for the lottery.

'Technique and know-how with the service of the underwater image' Poisson-Lune Productions is a production company directed by Jerome Espla and specialized in the documentary sailor and submarine. Poisson-Lune is a structure of operation flexible adapting to the market needs.

We propose the technical services of catches of underwater sights on any video format: HDCAM, HDV, BETA NUM, DVCAM, BETA SP, XDCAM... Our range of material and in particular of tight boxes makes it possible to adapt to the requirements of all the productions. Poisson-Lune puts at also at disposal of the productions his stock-shot of underwater images. Our branches of industry extends on the documentary one, publicity, the fiction, the institutional and industrial film...

Our offices of productions are located in full heart of Cannes. Hexagon Video, where Jerome Espla is also the manager, divides the buildings and the knowledge to make. All the personnel intervening in water is obligatorily Classe I or II as the regulation of the Ministry of Labour imposes it. Our team is supplemented with journalists, producers, JRI or operators chiefs working regularly for national televisions.

Poisson-Lune has a logistics to intervene on all types of underwater projects. The semi-rigid one, while passing through the re-breathers with closed circuit, our team is equipped with material adapted to the various types of mediums and the various constraints with turning.

Just a small glimps of the work Poisson-Lune has realized since the beginning; Il nage avec les Requins (M6), Princes des Epaves (DVD), Voyage a 109 metres (DVD), Vu du Ciel (F2), Les Chemins de la Profondeur (Arte), Le sang de la Meduse (F3), Generation Chasse (F3), L'Entraide Animale (Canal +), L'Ile Interdite (F3), A Battuta (F3, Seasons), Les Hommes Poissons (F3, F5), Sanctuaires (F3), Les Nettoyeurs des Mers (TF1), Le dessous des Cartes (F3), and many more...

contact: Jerome Espla, web: www.poissonlune.fr, blog: www.poissonlune.over-blog.fr/

DUIKEN; Duiken has been contacted to make it possible to have a double ranking, Duiken sponsors the official DFA Dutch Freediving Championships 2008 that takes place during the weekend of the 4th Dutch Apnea Open. Duiken also sponsors the lottery for Coral Reef Care, since many years Duiken supports Coral Reef Care.

Duiken is the biggest independent diving magazine in the Netherlands and Belgium and is the full daughter of Tauchen the biggest independent diving magazine in Europe. Duiken is therefore the most widely read underwater sports magazine for the Netherlands and Flanders and is geared to the scuba diver and snorkelling enthusiast. It offers a perfect mixture of information as well as beautiful photoreports, making Duiken an inspiring magazine for every underwater sport fan. The team of editors comprises divers boasting years of diving experience, so it’s only natural that they write about their passion for the underwater world with great enthusiasm and knowledge. The diving hotspots featured are both exotic places as well as national spots. In addition to topical news, every month the magazine features articles on subjects such as biology, underwater photography, archaeology, wreck diving and diving equipment.

contact: mail, web: www.duiken.nl, tv: www.duiken.tv

OTHER PARTNERS; We also received support from several other parties creating this competition. This support ranges from O2-kits, safety divers, poolrent for training of safety divers, financial support, etc. We also take this opportunity to thank these partners for their support;

      - Jan en Tonnie van der Zwaard
      - Fonzies burgers, www.fonziesburgers.nl
      - Scubacity, www.scubacity.nl
      - Lutra onderwarter sport, www.lutra.info
      - Duikteam Geldrop, www.duikteamgeldrop.nl
      - national swimstadium ‘de Tongelreep’, www.tongelreep.nl
      - Performance Freediving, www.performancefreediving.com