INTRODUCTION
　
Apnea, means breath holding or breatless in Latin. You may not familiar with this term. But in Europe, apnea is common as a generic term for underwater sports which accompanying the breath holding, i.e. deep free-diving, underwater target-shooting, spear fishing, underwater-hockey, underwater photograph, etc.

ウンベルト・ペリッツァーリThe most famous apnea sport is deep free diving, which was theme of the movie " Le Grand Blue". The great French diver Jaques Mayol reached to -102m in 1978 by Absolute Apnea ( No Limits ), now the record is grown to -137m which was built by French, Loic LEFERME in June 5th, 1999.
ジャンルッカ・ジェノーニNobody may not complain if I say Umberto Pelizzari is the King of deep free diving in this era. Everybody respects his great foot prints, although his records in Variable Weight Apnea and Absolute Apnea was broken by his team mate Gianluca Genoni, -122m and Loic LEFERME, -137m respectively.
　
エンゾ・マイオルカ アプネア・アカデミー
　
ジャック・マイヨールNow Umberto pushing him so hard not only for record breaking but also the penetration of free-diving. His diving team and APNEA ACCADEMY making a lot of follower of him. It could be said that Enzo Myolca and Jaques Mayol are great explores and Umberto is the missionary man of free-diving.

Japan Apnea Society was born in January 1998. A proposal from Umberto to Hayakawa, publisher of Umberto's autobiography, APNEA - The man melting in the sea -, was the beginning. Umbertosaid that " Japan is surrounded by the beautiful sea and also have a history of Ama, free-diving fishermen. Please spread the free-diving in your country and participate to the 2nd World cup in Sardenia-------"
ワールドカップThere are no association for free-divers in Japan. Many breath hold divers don't know the appropriate way to do it or how to learn it. We think that is why so many breath hold divers face the accident and sometime lose their precious life while they dive alone.

No knowledge, no friend, dive alone-----what a terrible situation it is! Our objective is to make the safe and good environments for free-divers in Japan and increase the people who really loves sea and nature.