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The
International Underwater Spearfishing
Association (IUSA) was formed in 1950 to promote
spearfishing and to assist in scientific and
spearfishing competitive efforts. As part of
this task, the IUSA became the certifying body
and custodian of the spearfishing world records.
The IUSA has certified several hundred records
for a variety of fish from large bluewater
species to smaller fish. Through several decades
of existence, the IUSA has seen diver's skill
and technology change from the Hawaiian slings
of the Pinder Brothers to the high-tech
equipment and super-powered spearguns of today's
freedivers.
In keeping with the need for change, and through
the voluntary efforts of divers and other
individuals who wish to see freediving and
spearfishing reach it's highest possible
standards of excellence, the IUSA has recently
undergone changes to reflect the changes
occurring in the freediving community.
INTERNATIONAL UNDERWATER SPEARFISHING
ASSOCIATION MISSION
The mission of the International Underwater
Spearfishing Association is to promote ethical,
safe and sportsmanlike spearfishing practices,
to encourage and support a sense of
environmental responsibility among divers, to
establish uniform regulations for the
compilation of world spearfishing records, to
provide basic spearfishing guidelines for use in
other spearfishing activities, and to
participate in educational and scientific
programs.
Towards these ends, the International Underwater
Spearfishing Association will:
(a) Promote the highest ethical standards of
sportsmanship for spearfishing world wide;
(b) Maintain on-going dialogue with spearfishers
all over the world, and consider the
international community in its decision making
processes;
(c) Work with the scientific community,
fisheries management organizations, fish and
game departments world wide, together with
spearfishing clubs around the world, to increase
our knowledge of the environment, as well as to
educate and encourage environmental
responsibility among divers and the public;
(d) Accept applications for new world records,
carefully evaluate each applicant fairly based
upon uniform standards, and award applicants who
have proven beyond doubt that they have followed
these standards and indeed have achieved a new
world record;
(e) Carefully maintain these spearfishing world
records and make them available to the public
through the Internet, dive publications, and
other media;
(f) Select the annual Underwater Spearfishing
Athlete of the Year.
To fulfill the stated mission of the IUSA, the
Board of Directors has been increased to give a
broader, fresher, more updated view of the
freediver's world. The current board members are
listed in the
board page.
The Board was selected to bring a much stronger
representation of today's freedivers and
spearfishers. Patterned somewhat after the
International Game Fish Association, the IUSA
hopes to establish international representatives
as well as create a general membership to help
further freediving and spearfishing.
As part of the reorganization, the Board of
Directors had to address the problem of
establishing a new list of world record species
along with more current rules by which a world
record fish is to be taken. The IUSA is
extremely proud of the past efforts of divers
which have resulted in world records and is
dedicated to protecting those records already
established. Due to the changing technology and
the subsequent changing of the rules, the IUSA
has constructed a system by which all future and
past world record holders will benefit.
The old rules governing spearfishing world
records ended at midnight PST on December 31,
1996. Spearfishing world records established
under these rules are designated as 20th Century
records and will stand forever. The new
spearfishing world record rules took effect at
12:01 PST on January 1, 1997. World records
established under these new rules are designated
as 21st Century records and are the records
which divers can attempt to attain.. Also with
the new rules is a list of fish which are
ineligible for consideration as world records.
It is hoped that the IUSA will motivate
freedivers to participate not only in a world
record attempt, but also in
the selective and honorable sport of
spearfishing |
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