10. September 2024
In
Corporate
We at CF group are very honored to have such an inspiring speaker as Eva André, a professional apnea athlete who is 100% dedicated to her passion. To better introduce her to you, we have conducted an interview with her. Find out more about this incredible athlete and why we share so many common values.
Eva, can you tell us a little more about your professional career? How did your passion for water come about?
I grew up in Nice and the sea has always been part of my landscape. From an early age, my father took me to the swimming pool to teach me how to swim. I did sports swimming, then synchronized swimming… Between these things and afternoons by the sea, you could say that water has always been at the heart of my free time and well-being. In 2017, when I finished my training in the preparatory class, I discovered freediving for myself. After two difficult years of studying, I finally reconnected with the sport, the sea and the water. It was a real love at first sight! I quickly realized that not only did I find this sport incredible, but I was also pretty good at it. I continued to train alongside my studies and after graduating in 2021, I decided to turn professional as an athlete.
Did you have a swimming pool at home when you were younger? How did apnea enter your life?
Yes, absolutely! In addition to the municipal pool where I learned to swim (and dance!), I had a swimming pool at my parents’ house where I spent every summer. Not only was it a healthy physical activity, but it also shaped my water agility and helped build the apneist I am today.
What is your goal and what expectations do you have of the partnership with CF?
My sporting goal is to reach great depths. My professional goal is to put my image, my expertise and my experience in deep diving at the service of committed companies. With CF, we share a passion for water. I have met enthusiastic and passionate teams whose day-to-day management echoes my competitive experience. I really feel like I am making a connection, proving that water and swimming pools create vocations, and thus fighting with them against the “pool bashing” that this industry is subjected to. I sense in them a vocation that goes beyond the swimming pool, that of well-being through water and the sustainable swimming pool. I am very happy to be part of this.
You are committed to saving the oceans and the environment in general. It is often said that swimming pools are at odds with respect for the planet. Can you explain why you think this is not a contradiction, but rather a complement?
It is clear that the successive droughts of recent summers are causing problems for the swimming pool industry, which may appear as unnecessary water consumption. First of all, swimming pools are becoming more and more efficient in terms of saving water and energy. In absolute terms, once a pool is filled, it uses very little. Secondly, I have the impression that this “pool bashing” is distracting attention from the real issues. As someone who has studied these issues, excessive meat consumption is now the most important lever we need to address if we want to reduce our water footprint. Furthermore, swimming pools are places of life that bring people of all social classes together, encourage physical activity and contribute to well-being. How many doctors every year encourage their patients to do water sports to solve back or joint problems… People love water, they need it! You only have to look at the crowds in municipal swimming pools… I think these are parameters that need to be taken into account in the sustainable society we are building.
