title: Underwater diving

text: Compressor diving is a rudimentary method of surface-supplied diving used in some tropical regions such as the Philippines and the Caribbean. The divers swim with a half mask and fins and are supplied with air from an industrial low-pressure air compressor on the boat through plastic tubes. There is no reduction valve; the diver holds the hose end in his mouth with no demand valve or mouthpiece and allows excess air to spill out between the lips.


title: Underwater diving

text: Submersibles and rigid atmospheric diving suits (ADS) enable diving to be carried out in a dry environment at normal atmospheric pressure. An ADS is a small one-person articulated submersible which resembles a suit of armour, with elaborate joints to allow bending, while maintaining an internal pressure of one atmosphere. An ADS can be used for dives of up to about for many hours. It eliminates the majority of physiological dangers associated with deep diving – the occupant does not need to decompress, there is no need for special gas mixtures, and there is no danger of nitrogen narcosis – at the expense of higher cost, complex logistics and loss of dexterity.


title: Underwater diving

text: Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) can carry out some functions of divers. They can be deployed at greater depths and in more dangerous environments. An AUV is a robot which travels underwater without requiring real-time input from an operator. AUVs constitute part of a larger group of unmanned undersea systems, a classification that includes non-autonomous ROVs, which are controlled and powered from the surface by an operator/pilot via an umbilical or using remote control. In military applications AUVs are often referred to as unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs).


title: Underwater diving

text: People may dive for various reasons, both personal and professional. While a newly qualified recreational diver may dive purely for the experience of diving, most divers have some additional reason for being underwater. Recreational diving is purely for enjoyment and has several specialisations and technical disciplines to provide more scope for varied activities for which specialist training can be offered, such as cave diving, wreck diving, ice diving and deep diving. Several underwater sports are available for exercise and competition.


title: Underwater diving

text: There are various aspects of professional diving that range from part-time work to lifelong careers. Professionals in the recreational diving industry include instructor trainers, diving instructors, assistant instructors, divemasters, dive guides, and scuba technicians. A scuba diving tourism industry has developed to service recreational diving in regions with popular dive sites. Commercial diving is industry related and includes engineering tasks such as in hydrocarbon exploration, offshore construction, dam maintenance and harbour works. Commercial divers may also be employed to perform tasks related to marine activities, such as naval diving, ships husbandry, marine salvage or aquaculture.


title: Underwater diving

text: Other specialist areas of diving include military diving, with a long history of military frogmen in various roles. They can perform roles including direct combat, reconnaissance, infiltration behind enemy lines, placing mines, bomb disposal or engineering operations.


title: Underwater diving

text: In civilian operations, police diving units perform search and rescue operations, and recover evidence. In some cases diver rescue teams may also be part of a fire department, paramedical service, sea rescue or lifeguard unit, and this may be classed as public safety diving. There are also professional media divers such as underwater photographers and videographers, who record the underwater world, and scientific divers in fields of study which involve the underwater environment, including marine biologists, geologists, hydrologists, oceanographers, speleologists and underwater archaeologists.


title: Underwater diving

text: The choice between scuba and surface-supplied diving equipment is based on both legal and logistical constraints. Where the diver requires mobility and a large range of movement, scuba is usually the choice if safety and legal constraints allow. Higher risk work, particularly commercial diving, may be restricted to surface-supplied equipment by legislation and codes of practice.


title: Underwater diving

text: Freediving as a widespread means of hunting and gathering, both for food and other valuable resources such as pearls and coral, dates from before 4500 BCE. By classical Greek and Roman times commercial diving applications such as sponge diving and marine salvage were established. Military diving goes back at least as far as the Peloponnesian War, with recreational and sporting applications being a recent development. Technological development in ambient pressure diving started with stone weights (skandalopetra) for fast descent, with rope assist for ascent. The diving bell is one of the earliest types of equipment for underwater work and exploration. Its use was first described by Aristotle in the 4th century BCE. In the 16th and 17th centuries CE, diving bells became more useful when a renewable supply of air could be provided to the diver at depth, and progressed to surface-supplied diving helmets – in effect miniature diving bells covering the diver's head and supplied with compressed air by manually operated pumps – which were improved by attaching a waterproof suit to the helmet. In the early 19th century these became the standard diving dress, which made a far wider range of marine civil engineering and salvage projects practicable.


title: Underwater diving

text: Limitations in mobility of the surface-supplied systems encouraged the development of both open circuit and closed circuit scuba in the 20th century, which allow the diver a much greater autonomy. These became popular during the Second World War for clandestine military operations, and post-war for scientific, search and rescue, media diving, recreational and technical diving. The heavy free-flow surface-supplied copper helmets evolved into lightweight demand helmets, which are more economical with breathing gas, important for deeper dives using expensive helium based breathing mixtures. Saturation diving reduced the risks of decomression sickness for deep and long exposures.


title: Underwater diving

text: An alternative approach was the development of the ADS or armoured suit, which isolates the diver from the pressure at depth, at the cost of mechanical complexity and limited dexterity. The technology first became practicable in the middle 20th century. Isolation of the diver from the environment was taken further by the development of remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV or ROUV) in the late 20th century, where the operator controls the ROV from the surface, and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), which dispense with an operator altogether. All of these modes are still in use and each has a range of applications where it has advantages over the others, though diving bells have largely been relegated to a means of transport for surface-supplied divers. In some cases combinations are particularly effective, such as the simultaneous use of surface orientated or saturation surface-supplied diving equipment and work or observation class remotely operated vehicles.


title: Underwater diving

text: By the late 19th century, as salvage operations became deeper and longer, an unexplained malady began afflicting the divers; they would suffer breathing difficulties, dizziness, joint pain and paralysis, sometimes leading to death. The problem was already well known among workers building tunnels and bridge footings operating under pressure in caissons and was initially called "caisson disease"; it was later renamed "the bends" because the joint pain typically caused the sufferer to stoop. Early reports of the disease had been made at the time of Charles Pasley's salvage operation, but scientists were still ignorant of its causes.


title: Underwater diving

text: French physiologist Paul Bert was the first to understand it as decompression sickness (DCS). His work, "La Pression barométrique" (1878), was a comprehensive investigation into the physiological effects of air pressure, both above and below the normal. He determined that inhaling pressurised air caused nitrogen to dissolve into the bloodstream; rapid depressurisation would then release the nitrogen into its gaseous state, forming bubbles that could block the blood circulation and potentially cause paralysis or death. Central nervous system oxygen toxicity was also first described in this publication and is sometimes referred to as the "Paul Bert effect".


title: Underwater diving

text: John Scott Haldane designed a decompression chamber in 1907, and he produced the first decompression tables for the Royal Navy in 1908 after extensive experiments with animals and human subjects. These tables established a method of decompression in stages – it remains the basis for decompression methods to this day. Following Haldane's recommendation, the maximum safe operating depth for divers was extended to .


title: Underwater diving

text: The US Navy continued research into decompression, and in 1915 the first Bureau of Construction and Repair decompression tables were developed by French and Stilson. Experimental dives were conducted in the 1930s, forming the basis for the 1937 US Navy air decompression tables. Surface decompression and oxygen use were also researched in the 1930s. The US Navy 1957 tables were developed to correct problems found in the 1937 tables.


title: Underwater diving

text: In 1965 Hugh LeMessurier and Brian Andrew Hills published their paper, "A thermodynamic approach arising from a study on Torres Strait diving techniques", which suggested that decompression following schedules based on conventional models results in asymptomatic bubble formation which must then be re-dissolved at the decompression stops before it can be eliminated. This is slower than allowing the gas to be eliminated while it is still in solution, and indicates the importance of minimising bubble phase gas for efficient decompression.


title: Underwater diving

text: M.P. Spencer showed that Doppler ultrasonic methods can detect venous bubbles in asymptomatic divers, and Dr Andrew Pilmanis showed that safety stops reduced bubble formation. In 1981 D.E. Yount described the Varying Permeability Model, proposing a mechanism of bubble formation. Several other bubble models followed. The pathophysiology of decompression sickness is not yet fully understood, but decompression practice has reached a stage where the risk is fairly low, and most incidents are successfully treated by therapeutic recompression and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Mixed breathing gases are used to reduce the effects of the hyperbaric environment on ambient pressure divers.


title: Underwater diving

text: Efficient decompression requires the diver to ascend fast enough to establish as high a decompression gradient, in as many tissues as safely possible, without provoking the development of symptomatic bubbles. This is facilitated by the highest acceptably safe oxygen partial pressure in the breathing gas, and avoiding gas changes that could cause counterdiffusion bubble formation or growth. The development of schedules that are both safe and efficient has been complicated by the large number of variables and uncertainties, including personal variation in response under varying environmental conditions and workload.


title: Underwater diving

text: The diving environment is limited by accessibility and risk, but includes water and occasionally other liquids. Most underwater diving is done in the shallower coastal parts of the oceans, and inland bodies of fresh water, including lakes, dams, quarries, rivers, springs, flooded caves, reservoirs, tanks, swimming pools, and canals, but may also be done in large bore ducting and sewers, power station cooling systems, cargo and ballast tanks of ships, and liquid-filled industrial equipment. The environment may affect gear configuration: for instance, freshwater is less dense than saltwater, so less added weight is needed to achieve diver neutral buoyancy in freshwater dives. Water temperature, visibility and movement also affect the diver and the dive plan. Diving in liquids other than water may present special problems due to density, viscosity and chemical compatibility of diving equipment, as well as possible environmental hazards to the diving team.


title: Underwater diving

text: Benign conditions, sometimes also referred to as , are environments of low risk, where it is extremely unlikely or impossible for the diver to get lost or entrapped, or be exposed to hazards other than the basic underwater environment. These conditions are suitable for initial training in the critical survival skills, and include swimming pools, training tanks, aquarium tanks and some shallow and protected shoreline areas.


title: Underwater diving

text: Open water is unrestricted water such as a sea, lake or flooded quarry, where the diver has unobstructed direct vertical access to the surface of the water in contact with the atmosphere. Open-water diving implies that if a problem arises, the diver can directly ascend vertically to the atmosphere to breathe air. Wall diving is done along a near vertical face. Blue-water diving is done in good visibility in where the bottom is out of sight of the diver and there may be no fixed visual reference. Black-water diving is mid-water diving at night, particularly on a moonless night.


title: Underwater diving

text: An overhead or penetration diving environment is where the diver enters a space from which there is no direct, purely vertical ascent to the safety of breathable atmosphere at the surface. Cave diving, wreck diving, ice diving and diving inside or under other natural or artificial underwater structures or enclosures are examples. The restriction on direct ascent increases the risk of diving under an overhead, and this is usually addressed by adaptations of procedures and use of equipment such as redundant breathing gas sources and guide lines to indicate the route to the exit.


title: Underwater diving

text: Night diving can allow the diver to experience a different underwater environment, because many marine animals are nocturnal. Altitude diving, for example in mountain lakes, requires modifications to the decompression schedule because of the reduced atmospheric pressure.


title: Underwater diving

text: The recreational diving depth limit set by the EN 14153-2 / ISO 24801-2 level 2 "Autonomous Diver " standard is . The recommended depth limit for more extensively trained recreational divers ranges from for PADI divers, (this is the depth at which nitrogen narcosis symptoms generally begin to be noticeable in adults), to specified by Recreational Scuba Training Council, for divers of the British Sub-Aqua Club and Sub-Aqua Association breathing air, and for teams of 2 to 3 French Level 3 recreational divers, breathing air.


title: Underwater diving

text: For technical divers, the recommended maximum depths are greater on the understanding that they will use less narcotic gas mixtures. is the maximum depth authorised for divers who have completed Trimix Diver certification with IANTD or Advanced Trimix Diver certification with TDI. is the world record depth on scuba (2014). Commercial divers using saturation techniques and heliox breathing gases routinely exceed , but they are also limited by physiological constraints. Comex Hydra 8 experimental dives reached a record open water depth of in 1988. Atmospheric pressure diving suits are mainly constrained by the technology of the articulation seals, and a US Navy diver has dived to in one.


title: Underwater diving

text: The common term for a place at which one may dive is a dive site. As a general rule, professional diving is done where the work needs to be done, and recreational diving is done where conditions are suitable. There are many recorded and publicised recreational dive sites which are known for their convenience, points of interest, and frequently favourable conditions. Diver training facilities for both professional and recreational divers generally use a small range of dive sites which are familiar and convenient, and where conditions are predictable and the environmental risk is relatively low.


title: Underwater diving

text: Due to the inherent risks of the environment and the necessity to operate the equipment correctly, both under normal conditions and during incidents where failure to respond appropriately and quickly can have fatal consequences, standard procedures are used in preparation of the equipment, preparation to dive, during the dive if all goes according to plan, after the dive, and in the event of a reasonably foreseeable contingency. The standard procedures are not necessarily the only course of action that will have a satisfactory outcome, but they are generally procedures which have been found by experiment and experience to work well and reliably when applied in response to the given circumstances. All formal diver training is based on the learning of standard skills and procedures, and in many cases the over-learning of critical skills until the procedures can be performed without hesitation even when distracting circumstances exist. Where reasonably practicable, checklists may be used to ensure that preparatory procedures are carried out in the correct sequence and that no steps are inadvertently omitted.


title: Underwater diving

text: Some procedures are common to all manned modes of diving, but most are specific to the mode of diving and many are specific to the equipment in use. Diving procedures are those which are directly relevant to diving safety and efficiency, but do not include task specific skills. Standard procedures are particularly helpful where communication is by hand or rope signal – the hand and line signals are examples of standard procedures themselves – as the communicating parties have a better idea of what the other is likely to do in response. Where voice communication is available, standardised communications protocol reduces the time needed to convey necessary information and the error rate in transmission.


title: Underwater diving

text: Diving procedures generally involve the correct application of the appropriate diving skills in response to the current circumstances, and range from selecting and testing equipment to suit the diver and the dive plan, to the rescue of oneself or another diver in a life-threatening emergency. In many cases, what might be a life-threatening emergency to an untrained or inadequately skilled diver, is a mere annoyance and minor distraction to a skilled diver who applies the correct procedure without hesitation. Professional diving operations tend to adhere more rigidly to standard operating procedures than recreational divers, who are not legally or contractually obliged to follow them, but the prevalence of diving accidents is known to be strongly correlated to human error, which is more common in divers with less training and experience. The Doing It Right philosophy of technical diving is strongly supportive of common standard procedures for all members of a dive team, and prescribes the procedures and equipment configuration which may affect procedures to the members of their organisations.


title: Underwater diving

text: The terms "diving skills" and "diving procedures" are largely interchangeable, but a procedure may require the ordered application of several skills, and is a broader term. A procedure may also conditionally branch or require repeated applications of a skill, depending on circumstances. Diver training is structured around the learning and practice of standard procedures until the diver is assessed as competent to apply them reliably in reasonably foreseeable circumstances, and the certification issued limits the diver to environments and equipment that are compatible with their training and assessed skill levels. The teaching and assessment of diving skills and procedures is often restricted to registered instructors, who have been assessed as competent to teach and assess those skills by the certification or registration agency, who take the responsibility of declaring the diver competent against their assessment criteria. The teaching and assessment of other task oriented skills does not generally require a diving instructor.


title: Underwater diving

text: There is considerable difference in the diving procedures of professional divers, where a diving team with formally appointed members in specific roles and with recognised competence is required by law, and recreational diving, where in most jurisdictions the diver is not constrained by specific laws, and in many cases is not required to provide any evidence of competence.


title: Underwater diving

text: Underwater diver training is normally given by a qualified instructor who is a member of one of many diver training agencies or is registered with a government agency. Basic diver training entails the learning of skills required for the safe conduct of activities in an underwater environment, and includes procedures and skills for the use of diving equipment, safety, emergency self-help and rescue procedures, dive planning, and use of dive tables. Diving hand signals are used to communicate underwater. Professional divers will also learn other methods of communication.


title: Underwater diving

text: An entry level diver must learn the techniques of breathing underwater through a demand regulator, including clearing it of water and recovering it if dislodged from the mouth, and clearing the mask if it is flooded. These are critical survival skills, and if not competent the diver is at a high risk of drowning. A related skill is sharing breathing gas with another diver, both as the donor and the recipient. This is usually done with a secondary demand valve carried for this purpose. Technical and professional divers will also learn how to use a backup gas supply carried in an independent scuba set, known as the emergency gas supply or bailout cylinder.


title: Underwater diving

text: To avoid injury during descent, divers must be competent at equalising the ears, sinuses and mask; they must also learn not to hold their breath while ascending, to avoid barotrauma of the lungs. The speed of ascent must be controlled to avoid decompression sickness, which requires buoyancy control skills. Good buoyancy control and trim also allow the diver to manoeuvre and move about safely, comfortably and efficiently, using swimfins for propulsion.


title: Underwater diving

text: Some knowledge of physiology and the physics of diving is considered necessary by most diver certification agencies, as the diving environment is alien and relatively hostile to humans. The physics and physiology knowledge required is fairly basic, and helps the diver to understand the effects of the diving environment so that informed acceptance of the associated risks is possible. The physics mostly relates to gases under pressure, buoyancy, heat loss, and light underwater. The physiology relates the physics to the effects on the human body, to provide a basic understanding of the causes and risks of barotrauma, decompression sickness, gas toxicity, hypothermia, drowning and sensory variations. More advanced training often involves first aid and rescue skills, skills related to specialised diving equipment, and underwater work skills. Further training is required to develop the skills necessary for diving in a wider range of environments, with specialised equipment, and to become competent to perform a variety of underwater tasks.


title: Underwater diving

text: The medical aspects of diving and hyperbaric exposure include examination of divers to establish medical fitness to dive, diagnosis and treatment of diving disorders, treatment by recompression and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, toxic effects of gases in a hyperbaric environment, and treatment of injuries incurred while diving which are not directly associated with depth or pressure.


title: Underwater diving

text: Medical fitness to dive is the medical and physical suitability of a diver to function safely in the underwater environment using underwater diving equipment and procedures. As a general principle, fitness to dive is dependent on the absence of conditions which would constitute an unacceptable risk for the diver, and for professional divers, to any member of the diving team. General physical fitness requirements are also often specified by a certifying agency, and are usually related to ability to swim and perform the activities that are associated with the relevant type of diving. The general hazards of diving are much the same for recreational divers and professional divers, but the risks vary with the diving procedures used. These risks are reduced by appropriate skills and equipment. Medical fitness to dive generally implies that the diver has no known medical conditions that limit the ability to do the job or jeopardise the safety of the diver or the team, that might get worse as an consequence of diving, or unacceptably predispose the diver to diving or occupational illness.


title: Underwater diving

text: Depending on the circumstances, fitness to dive may be established by a signed statement by the diver that he or she does not suffer from any of the disqualifying conditions and is able to manage the ordinary physical requirements of diving, by a detailed medical examination by a physician registered as a medical examiner of divers following a prescribed procedural checklist, attested by a legal document of fitness to dive issued by the medical examiner and recorded on a national database, or by alternatives between these extremes.


title: Underwater diving

text: Psychological fitness to dive is not normally evaluated before recreational or commercial diver training, but can influence the safety and success of a diving career.


title: Underwater diving

text: Diving medicine is the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of conditions caused by exposing divers to the underwater environment. It includes the effects of pressure on gas filled spaces in and in contact with the body, and of partial pressures of breathing gas components, the diagnosis and treatment of conditions caused by marine hazards and how fitness to dive and the side effects of drugs used to treat other conditions affects a diver's safety. Hyperbaric medicine is another field associated with diving, since recompression in a hyperbaric chamber with hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the definitive treatment for two of the most important diving-related illnesses, decompression sickness and arterial gas embolism.


title: Underwater diving

text: Diving medicine deals with medical research on issues of diving, the prevention of diving disorders, treatment of diving accident injuries and diving fitness. The field includes the effect on the human body of breathing gases and their contaminants under high pressure, and the relationship between the state of physical and psychological health of the diver and safety. In diving accidents it is common for multiple disorders to occur together and interact with each other, both causatively and as complications. Diving medicine is a branch of occupational medicine and sports medicine, and first aid and recognition of symptoms of diving disorders are important parts of diver education.


title: Underwater diving

text: Risk is a combination of hazard, vulnerability and likelihood of occurrence, which can be the probability of a specific undesirable consequence of a hazard, or the combined probability of undesirable consequences of all the hazards of an activity.


title: Underwater diving

text: The presence of a combination of several hazards simultaneously is common in diving, and the effect is generally increased risk to the diver, particularly where the occurrence of an incident due to one hazard triggers other hazards with a resulting cascade of incidents. Many diving fatalities are the result of a cascade of incidents overwhelming the diver, who should be able to manage any single reasonably foreseeable incident and its probable direct consequences.


title: Underwater diving

text: Commercial diving operations may expose the diver to more and sometimes greater hazards than recreational diving, but the associated occupational health and safety legislation is less tolerant of risk than recreational, particularly technical divers, may be prepared to accept. Commercial diving operations are also constrained by the physical realities of the operating environment, and expensive engineering solutions are often necessary to control risk. A formal hazard identification and risk assessment is a standard and required part of the planning for a commercial diving operation, and this is also the case for offshore diving operations. The occupation is inherently hazardous, and great effort and expense are routinely incurred to keep the risk within an acceptable range. The standard methods of reducing risk are followed where possible.


title: Underwater diving

text: Statistics on injuries related to commercial diving are normally collected by national regulators. In the UK the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the overview of about 5,000 commercial divers; in Norway the corresponding authority is the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA), which has maintained the DSYS database since 1985, gathering statistics on over 50,000 diver-hours of commercial activity per year. The risks of dying during recreational, scientific or commercial diving are small, and for scuba diving, deaths are usually associated with poor gas management, poor buoyancy control, equipment misuse, entrapment, rough water conditions and pre-existing health problems. Some fatalities are inevitable and caused by unforeseeable situations escalating out of control, but the majority of diving fatalities can be attributed to human error on the part of the victim. During 2006 to 2015 there were an estimated 306 million recreational dives made by US residents and 563 recreational diving deaths from this population. The fatality rate was 1.8 per million recreational dives, and 47 deaths for every 1000 emergency department presentations for scuba injuries.


title: Underwater diving

text: Scuba diving fatalities have a major financial impact by way of lost income, lost business, insurance premium increases and high litigation costs. Equipment failure is rare in open circuit scuba, and when the cause of death is recorded as drowning, it is usually the consequence of an uncontrollable series of events in which drowning is the endpoint because it occurred in water, while the initial cause remains unknown. Where the triggering event is known, it is most commonly a shortage of breathing gas, followed by buoyancy problems. Air embolism is also frequently cited as a cause of death, often as a consequence of other factors leading to an uncontrolled and badly managed ascent, occasionally aggravated by medical conditions. About a quarter of diving fatalities are associated with cardiac events, mostly in older divers. There is a fairly large body of data on diving fatalities, but in many cases the data are poor due to the standard of investigation and reporting. This hinders research which could improve diver safety.


title: Underwater diving

text: Artisanal fishermen and gatherers of marine organisms in less developed countries may expose themselves to relatively high risk using diving equipment if they do not understand the physiological hazards, particularly if they use inadequate equipment.


title: Underwater diving

text: Divers operate in an environment for which the human body is not well suited. They face special physical and health risks when they go underwater or use high pressure breathing gas. The consequences of diving incidents range from merely annoying to rapidly fatal, and the result often depends on the equipment, skill, response and fitness of the diver and diving team. The hazards include the aquatic environment, the use of breathing equipment in an underwater environment, exposure to a pressurised environment and pressure changes, particularly pressure changes during descent and ascent, and breathing gases at high ambient pressure. Diving equipment other than breathing apparatus is usually reliable, but has been known to fail, and loss of buoyancy control or thermal protection can be a major burden which may lead to more serious problems. There are also hazards of the specific diving environment, which include strong water movement and local pressure differentials, and hazards related to access to and egress from the water, which vary from place to place, and may also vary with time. Hazards inherent in the diver include pre-existing physiological and psychological conditions and the personal behaviour and competence of the individual. For those pursuing other activities while diving, there are additional hazards of task loading, of the dive task and of special equipment associated with the task.


title: Underwater diving

text: The major factors influencing diving safety are the environment, the diving equipment and the performance of the diver and the dive team. The underwater environment is alien, both physically and psychologically stressful, and usually not amenable to control, though divers can be selective of the conditions in which they are willing to dive. The other factors must be controlled to mitigate the overall stress on the diver and allow the dive to be completed in acceptable safety. The equipment is critical to diver safety for life support, but is generally reliable, controllable and predictable in its performance.


title: Underwater diving

text: Human factors are the physical or cognitive properties of individuals, or social behaviour specific to humans, which influence functioning of technological systems as well as human-environment equilibrium. Human error is inevitable and everyone makes mistakes at some time, and the consequences of these errors are varied and depend on many factors. Most errors are minor and do not cause harm, but in a high risk environment, such as in diving, errors are more likely to have catastrophic consequences. Examples of human error leading to accidents are available in vast numbers, as it is the direct cause of 60% to 80% of all accidents. Human error and panic are considered to be the leading causes of diving accidents and fatalities. A study by William P. Morgan indicates that over half of all divers in the survey had experienced panic underwater at some time during their diving career, and these findings were independently corroborated by a survey that suggested 65% of recreational divers have panicked under water. Panic frequently leads to errors in a diver's judgement or performance, and may result in an accident. The safety of underwater diving operations can be improved by reducing the frequency of human error and the consequences when it does occur.


title: Underwater diving

text: Only 4.46% of the recreational diving fatalities in a 1997 study were attributable to a single contributory cause. The remaining fatalities probably arose as a result of a progressive sequence of events involving two or more procedural errors or equipment failures, and since procedural errors are generally avoidable by a well-trained, intelligent and alert diver, working in an organised structure, and not under excessive stress, it was concluded that the low accident rate in professional scuba diving is due to this factor. The study also concluded that it would be impossible to eliminate all minor contraindications of scuba diving, as this would result in overwhelming bureaucracy and bring all diving to a halt.


title: Underwater diving

text: Human factors in diving equipment design is the influence of the interaction between the diver and the equipment on the design of the equipment on which the diver relies to stay alive and in reasonable comfort, and to perform the planned tasks during a dive. The design of the equipment can strongly influence its effectiveness in performing the desired functions. Divers vary considerably in anthropometric dimensions, physical strength, joint flexibility, and other physiological characteristics within the range of acceptable fitness to dive. Diving equipment should allow as full a range of function as reasonably practicable, and should be matched to the diver, the environment, and the task. Diving support equipment is usually shared by a wide range of divers, and must work for them all.


title: Underwater diving

text: The most difficult stages of a dive for recreational divers are out of water activities and transitions between water and the surface site such as carrying equipment on shore, exiting from water to boat and shore, surface swimming, and dressing into the equipment. Safety and reliability, adjustability to fit the individual, performance, and simplicity were rated the most important features for diving equipment by recreational divers. The professional diver is supported by a surface team, who are available to assist with the out-of-water activities to the extent necessary to reduce the risk associated with them to a level acceptable in terms of the governing regulations and codes of practice.


title: Underwater diving

text: Risk management of diving operations involves the usual measures of engineering controls, administrative controls and procedures, and personal protective equipment, including hazard identification and risk assessment (HIRA), protective equipment, medical screening, training and standardised procedures. Professional divers are generally legally obliged to carry out and formally record these measures, and though recreational divers are not legally required to do many of them, competent recreational divers, and particularly technical divers, generally perform them informally but routinely, and they are an important part of technical diver training. For example, a medical statement or examination for fitness, pre-dive site assessment and briefing, safety drills, thermal protection, equipment redundancy, alternative air source, buddy checks, buddy or team diving procedures, dive planning, use of dive computers to monitor and record the dive profile and decompression status, underwater hand signals, and carrying first aid and oxygen administration equipment are all routinely part of technical diving.


title: Underwater diving

text: Inshore and inland commercial and military diving is regulated by legislation in many countries. Responsibility of the employer, client and diving personnel is specified in these cases; offshore commercial diving may take place in international waters, and is often done following the guidelines of a voluntary membership organisation such as the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), which publishes codes of accepted best practice which their member organisations are expected to follow.


title: Underwater diving

text: Recreational diver training and dive leading are industry regulated in some countries, and only directly regulated by government in a subset of them. In the UK, HSE legislation includes recreational diver training and dive leading for reward; in the US and South Africa industry regulation is accepted, though non-specific health and safety legislation still applies. In Israel recreational diving activities are regulated by the Recreational Diving Act, 1979.


title: Underwater diving

text: The legal responsibility for recreational diving service providers is usually limited as far as possible by waivers which they require the customer to sign before engaging in any diving activity. The extent of duty of care of recreational buddy divers is unclear and has been the subject of considerable litigation. It is probable that it varies between jurisdictions. In spite of this lack of clarity, buddy diving is recommended by recreational diver training agencies as safer than solo diving, and some service providers insist that customers dive in buddy pairs.


title: Underwater diving

text: Scuba diving tourism is the industry based on servicing the requirements of recreational divers at destinations other than where they live. It includes aspects of training, equipment sales, rental and service, guided experiences and environmental tourism.


title: Underwater diving

text: Motivations to travel for scuba diving are complex and may vary considerably during the diver's development and experience. Participation can vary from once off to multiple dedicated trips per year over several decades. The popular destinations fall into several groups, including tropical reefs, shipwrecks and cave systems, each frequented by its own group of enthusiasts, with some overlap. Customer satisfaction is largely dependent on the quality of services provided, and personal communication has a strong influence on the popularity of specific service providers in a region.


title: Underwater diving

text: Professional diving includes a wide range of applications, of varying economic impact. All of them are in support of specific sectors of industry, commerce, defence, or public service, and their economic impacts are closely related to their importance to the relevant sector, and their effects on the diving equipment manufacturing and support industries. The importance of diving to the scientific community is not well recorded, but analysis of publications shows that diving supports scientific research largely through efficient and targeted sampling.


title: Underwater diving

text: Most modes of diving are equipment intensive, and much of the equipment is either life-support or specialised equipment for the application. This has led to a manufacturing industry in support of both recreational and professional diving, where developments in one mode often find applications in another. In terms of total numbers of divers, the recreational diving industry has a far larger market, but the costs of equipment and relatively large manning requirements of professional diving make that market substantial in its own right. The international Diving Equipment and Marketing Association, (DEMA), exists to promote the scuba diving and snorkeling industry.


title: Underwater diving

text: The number of active scuba divers is not recorded systematically, but has been estimated on occasions with varying levels of confidence. One of the problems is the lack of a generally accepted definition of what constitutes an active scuba diver. The situation for freedivers and snorkelers is even less clear, as most freedivers have no qualification registered anywhere.


title: Underwater diving

text: The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) estimate from 2.5 to 3.5 million active scuba divers in the US and up to 6 million worldwide, about 11 million snorkelers in the US, and about 20 million snorkelers worldwide. The Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) reported 2,351,000 casual participants, and 823,000 core participants in 2019, also in the US. Divers Alert Network (DAN), reported 2019 membership numbers worldwide: DAN US/Canada, 274,708; DAN Europe, 123,680; DAN Japan, 18,137; DAN World Asia Pacific, 12,163; DAN World Latin America/Brazil, 8,008; DAN South Africa, 5,894.


title: Underwater diving

text: The active US scuba diving population could be fewer than 1,000,000, possibly as low as 500,000, depending on the definition of "active". Numbers outside the US are less clear. This may be compared with PADI worldwide statistics for 2021, in which they claim to have issued more than 28 million diver certifications since 1967.


title: Underwater diving

text: Entry of non-divers through certification courses also provides an indicator of numbers, though there is no record of whether a diver remains active after certification unless further training is registered. Three training and certification agencies – Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), Scuba Diving International (SDI), and Scuba Schools International (SSI) reported a combined average of 22,325 entry-level certifications per quarter. Estimating the number of active scuba instructors in the US and internationally is also difficult. Over 300 individual certifying agencies train and certify divers, dive leaders, and instructors, but there are also an unknown number of instructors who are registered with more than one agency. PADI reported 137,000 professional members (instructors and divemasters) worldwide in 2019. On the assumption that PADI represents 70% of the market share, the number of instructors globally may be about 195,000.


title: Underwater diving

text: The American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) reports 4,500 divers at 150 organisational member scientific diving programmes (2020), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 3,380 commercial divers in the US (2018). The number of active public safety divers in the US is also uncertain, but estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 in 2019.


title: Underwater diving

text: The environmental impact of recreational diving is the effects of diving tourism on the marine environment. Usually these are considered to be adverse effects, and include damage to reef organisms by incompetent and ignorant divers, but there may also be positive effects as the environment is recognised by the local communities to be worth more in good condition than degraded by inappropriate use, which encourages conservation efforts. During the 20th century recreational scuba diving was considered to have generally low environmental impact, and was consequently one of the activities permitted in most marine protected areas. Since the 1970s diving has changed from an elite activity to a more accessible recreation, marketed to a very wide demographic. To some extent better equipment has been substituted for more rigorous training, and the reduction in perceived risk has shortened minimum training requirements by several training agencies. Training has concentrated on an acceptable risk to the diver, and paid less attention to the environment. The increase in the popularity of diving and in tourist access to sensitive ecological systems has led to the recognition that the activity can have significant environmental consequences.


title: Underwater diving

text: Recreational scuba diving has grown in popularity during the 21st century, as is shown by the number of certifications issued worldwide, which has increased to about 23 million by 2016 at about one million per year. Scuba diving tourism is a growth industry, and it is necessary to consider environmental sustainability, as the expanding impact of divers can adversely affect the marine environment in several ways, and the impact also depends on the specific environment. Tropical coral reefs are more easily damaged by poor diving skills than some temperate reefs, where the environment is more robust due to rougher sea conditions and fewer fragile, slow-growing organisms. The same pleasant sea conditions that allow development of relatively delicate and highly diverse ecologies also attract the greatest number of tourists, including divers who dive infrequently, exclusively on vacation and never fully develop the skills to dive in an environmentally friendly way. Low impact diving training has been shown to be effective in reducing diver contact.


title: Underwater diving

text: The ecological impact of commercial diving is a small part of the impact of the specific industry supported by the diving operations, as commercial diving is not done in isolation. In most cases the impact of diving operations is insignificant in comparison with the overall project, and environmental impact assessments may be required before the project is authorised for some classes of project. Underwater ships husbandry may be an exception to this general tendency, and specific precautions to limit ecological impact may be required. Several of these operations will release some quantity of harmful material into the water, particularly hull cleaning operations which will release antifouling toxins. Alien biofouling organisms may also be released during this process. Other forms of professional diving, such as scientific and archaeological dives, are planned to minimise impact, which may be a condition for the application for a permit,


title: Neuberger Berman

text: Neuberger Berman Group LLC is a private, independent, employee-owned investment management firm. The firm manages equities, fixed income, private equity and hedge fund portfolios for global institutional investors, advisors and high-net-worth individuals.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: Founded in 1939, Neuberger Berman is a privately held asset management firm, which is 100% owned by its employees. It serves pension plans, charitable organizations, sovereign wealth funds and other institutions, as well as high-net-worth individuals and mutual fund investors, both directly and through financial intermediaries and other partners. The firm has a broad range of investment capabilities, which have enabled it to win numerous public strategic partnership mandates with both leading institutional pension plans and major financial institutions. For its private clients, Neuberger Berman also provides financial planning, fiduciary services, and trust services. Known as a firm of investors, the firm has maintained a 97% retention rate among its senior investment teams since 2009, and has been recognized for its distinctive firm culture.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: In July 2003, shortly after the retired Mr. Neuberger's 100th birthday, the company announced that it was in merger discussions with Lehman Brothers. These discussions ultimately resulted in the firm's acquisition by Lehman on October 31, 2003, for approximately $2.63 billion in cash and securities, or approximately 26 times earnings. That transaction closed in October 2003 and from that time, until 2008, Neuberger Berman served as one of the asset management arms of Lehman Brothers’ Investment Management Division. In that same year, Lehman acquired fixed income manager Lincoln Capital Fixed Income Management and private equity manager Crossroads Group.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: On September 15, 2008, virtually unprecedented volatility in global securities markets resulted in Lehman Brothers’ collapse and bankruptcy filing. Neuberger Berman continued to operate, notwithstanding Lehman's bankruptcy and sought opportunities to spin itself off from its parent. On September 29, 2008, Lehman agreed to sell its asset management businesses, including Neuberger Berman, to a pair of private-equity firms, Bain Capital Partners and Hellman & Friedman. The transaction was expected to close in early 2009; however, a competing bid was entered by the firm's management, who ultimately prevailed in a bankruptcy auction held on December 3, topping the deal with Bain and Hellman.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: The firm spun itself off in May 2009, in a transaction recognized by Fund Industry Intelligence as Deal of the Year. Lehman Brothers' creditors initially retained a 49% common equity interest in the firm and an $875 million preferred equity stake, with a coupon that climbed to 12% over three years. The preferred equity position was fully repaid in 2012. The new entity, including Neuberger, Lincoln Capital, and Crossroads, was named Neuberger Berman Group LLC. Under employee control, Larry Zicklin rejoined the firm as a member of the Board of Directors. Lehman Brothers creditors have received over $1.5 billion from the employees of Neuberger Berman, dwarfing the proceeds paid by Barclays and Nomura for businesses representing 90% of Lehman Brothers employees.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: Since its reemergence as an independent firm, Neuberger Berman has enjoyed a period of sustained growth. The firm increased its assets under management 14% per year from 2010 to 2014, reaching $250 billion, which placed the firm at the top of its peer group by asset growth. The firm currently employs approximately 2,000 people, and has expanded beyond its traditional equity focus into the growing areas of emerging markets debt, high-yield bonds, liquid alternatives and private equity, among other strategies. During this period the firm expanded its global presence, adding coverage offices in key Asia-Pacific markets and elsewhere to be closer to a growing overseas client base.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: The end of 2014 marked Neuberger Berman's return to full employee ownership, highlighting the firm's independence and clearing the path for future growth. Employee ownership has been recognized by industry leaders as a key factor in the success of asset management firms, and Neuberger Berman's position as an employee-owned firm is cited as a reason for its high talent retention rate. In recognition of its culture, Neuberger Berman won the top rank in its category on "Pensions & Investments"' 2016 Best Places to Work in Money Management survey, and had been named to the Best Places list in 2013, 2014, and 2015.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: In September 2017, Neuberger Berman bought Toronto's Breton Hill Capital for US$2 billion in assets under management.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: In October 2016, the firm moved its global headquarters to 1290 Avenue of the Americas in midtown Manhattan.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: In addition, the firm has approximately 28 other offices in key countries around the world. Regional headquarters are in Hong Kong, London and Tokyo, and has additional primary portfolio management centers in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Milan, The Hague and Singapore.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: Former headquarters in New York City include 605 Third Avenue, 522 Fifth Avenue and, originally, The Biltmore Hotel.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: Collectively, Neuberger Berman's philanthropic efforts are called NB Impacts. NB Impacts includes both employee community service and the grant-making actions of the Neuberger Berman Foundation. The Neuberger Berman Foundation offers grants focusing on at-risk children, youth educational programs, and economic sustainability.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: Neuberger Berman conducts an annual week-long program in the spring called “Celebration with Service,” which holds community service events in the cities where the firm has offices. For its 75th anniversary year in 2014, the firm's “Celebration with Service” supported 75 volunteer projects worldwide. Since 2012, NB Impacts has deployed more than 4,500 volunteers to work with over 5,000 youth and 800 senior citizens, and also includes approximately 2,000 volunteer hours spent on improving parks and community spaces. Through the years, some of the programs Neuberger Berman has been involved in are: The Y, Homes for Heroes, Per Scholas, C-CAP, New York City Service, and Habitat for Humanity.


title: Neuberger Berman

text: Contemporary art in the workplace has been part of Neuberger Berman's corporate culture since 1939, when collector Roy Neuberger co-founded the investment firm. In 1990 the firm began developing its own art collection. The firm's corporate art collection was absorbed into the Lehman Brothers collection but Neuberger Berman repurchased, many of them when the collection was sold at auction in 2010. Today, the Neuberger Berman Collection supports the work of contemporary artists, displaying their work in the firm's hallways, reception areas and meeting rooms.


title: Jeff Nichols

text: Jeff Nichols (born December 7, 1978) is an American film director and screenwriter from Little Rock, Arkansas. He studied filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Nichols is most known for his films "Take Shelter" (2011), "Mud" (2012), and "Loving" (2016), which have been critically acclaimed.


title: Jeff Nichols

text: Nichols studied filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He wrote his first screenplay, "Shotgun Stories", with actor Michael Shannon in mind to play the lead, and contacted the actor through a former teacher. The film was shot on a budget of only $250,000, and released in 2007.


title: Jeff Nichols

text: Later, Nichols moved into larger independent productions with 2011's "Take Shelter", also starring Shannon, and 2012's "Mud", starring Matthew McConaughey, which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. In 2012, Nichols acted as President of the Jury of the 7th Rome Film Festival.


title: Jeff Nichols

text: His 2016 sci-fi drama film "Midnight Special" competed for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. The same year, he directed the drama "Loving", a film about the landmark U.S. civil rights court case "Loving v. Virginia", which was nominated for numerous awards, including a Golden Globe nomination for lead actor Joel Edgerton and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for lead actress Ruth Negga.


title: Jeff Nichols

text: So far, all films directed by Nichols have featured Michael Shannon either in a leading ("Shotgun Stories", "Take Shelter", "Midnight Special") or supporting capacity ("Mud", "Loving").


title: Jeff Nichols

text: In 2018 he directed the short film, “"Long Way Back Home"", inspired by a song of the same name that was written by his brother Ben and released by the country punk band, Lucero. It stars Michael Shannon, who searches the streets and backroads of Memphis for his two younger brothers, played by Garrett Hedlund and Scoot McNairy.


title: Jeff Nichols

text: Nichols is currently writing and directing "Yankee Comandante", adapted from David Grann's New Yorker article about Che Guevara and William Alexander Morgan. Adam Driver will star in the film. Production is scheduled to start in 2021. In November 2020, it was announced he would be directing and writing the screenplay for "", which is set to release in 2023. In May 2021, it was announced he finished the script for the film. However, he departed the project in October 2021, to focus on a new science fiction project also in development at Paramount Pictures.


title: Jeff Nichols

text: In August 2022, it was announced that Nichols would be directing "The Bikeriders", a film inspired by the Danny Lyon book of the same name. It is to be produced by Sarah Green and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, through Tri-State, their company shared with Nichols. Fred Berger will be executive producer. The ensemble cast will feature Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman, Toby Wallace, Emory Cohen, Beau Knapp, Karl Glusman and Happy Anderson.


title: Jeff Nichols

text: Nichols was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and attended Little Rock Central High School. He is the brother of Lucero guitarist and singer Ben Nichols. He is influenced by Mark Twain.


title: Chalet

text: A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-supported eaves set at right angles to the front of the house.


title: Chalet

text: The term "chalet" comes from the Arpitan-speaking part of Switzerland and the French Savoy region, and originally referred to the hut of a herder. It was often embedded in the ground for the sake of temperature buffering.


title: Chalet

text: Many chalets in the European Alps were originally used as seasonal farms for dairy cattle, which would be brought up from the lowland pastures during the summer months. The herders would live in the chalet and make butter and cheese in order to preserve the milk produced. These products would then be taken, with the cattle, back to the low valleys before the onset of the alpine winter. The chalets would remain locked and unused during the winter months. Around many chalets there are small windowless huts called mazots which were used to lock away valuable items for this period.


title: Chalet

text: With the emergence of the Alpine travel business, chalets were transformed into holiday homes used by ski and hiking enthusiasts. Over the years, the term 'chalet' changed to be applied generally to holiday homes, whether built in a strictly Alpine style or not. In Quebec French, any summer or holiday dwelling, especially near a ski hill, is called a chalet whether or not it is built in the style of a Swiss chalet; English-speaking Quebecers have adopted the term as well.


title: Chalet

text: Nowadays, in North America and elsewhere in the world, the use of the word "chalet" can refer to more than just a mountain location. The term chalet is even used to describe resort-like homes or residential properties located by the beach. For example, in Lebanon a chalet usually refers to holiday homes at one of the six Lebanese ski resorts, but the term can also refer to a beach cabin at seaside resorts. In North American ski areas, the word chalet is also used to describe buildings that house cafeterias and other services provided to the tourist, even though they may not resemble a traditional Alpine chalet. In the United States, Alpine ski chalets are gaining popularity in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region during winter months. Most ski chalets are privately owned vacation homes that owners visit two to three times per year and rent out the remaining time. Owners of these ski chalets often hire property management companies to manage and rent their property.


title: Chalet

text: In the Levant, Egypt, and Kuwait and in the Italian region of Marche, chalets refer to beach houses, rather than mountainside homes, and built in any style of architecture.


title: Chalet

text: In Britain, the word "chalet" was used for basic sleeping accommodation at holiday camps built around the mid-20th century.


title: Anne Boleyn (TV series)

text: Anne Boleyn is a British three-part psychological thriller miniseries developed for Channel 5 starring Jodie Turner-Smith in the titular role. It was written by Eve Hedderwick Turner and directed by Lynsey Miller with historian Dan Jones as executive producer.


title: Anne Boleyn (TV series)

text: The series is set in Anne's final five months prior to her execution by beheading for treason in 1536.


title: Anne Boleyn (TV series)

text: Ben Frow of Channel 5 first mentioned the project at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in summer 2020. The three-part "convention-defying" series from Fable Pictures was officially announced in October 2020, with Eve Hedderwick Turner as writer and Lynsey Miller as director. Faye Ward and Hannah Farrell of Fable produced and historian Dan Jones executive produced. The series "sets out to examine Anne Boleyn's life through a feminist lens as she struggles to conceive a boy heir and pushback against the society she was born into."


title: Anne Boleyn (TV series)

text: In October 2020, it was announced with the series that Jodie Turner-Smith would star as Anne Boleyn with Paapa Essiedu, Amanda Burton, Thalissa Teixeira, Barry Ward, and Jamael Westman also set to feature. Mark Stanley joined the cast as Henry VIII in November.


title: Anne Boleyn (TV series)

text: Principal photography took place in Yorkshire over six weeks, finishing in December 2020. Filming locations included Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, Bolton Castle in Wensleydale, Bolton Abbey in Wharfedale, Oakwell Hall in Birstall, St Michael's Church in Emley, Harewood House in Harewood, and Ripley Castle in Ripley.


title: Anne Boleyn (TV series)

text: The first episode premiered in the UK on Channel 5 on 1 June 2021. Sony Pictures Television co-financed the project with Channel 5 and distributed the series internationally. The drama was released in the United States on AMC+ and on Crave in Canada.


title: Anne Boleyn (TV series)

text: Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 53% based on 17 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Though the show around her isn't quite up to snuff, there's no denying the pleasure of Jodie Turner-Smith's powerful turn as the one-and-only Anne Boleyn."


title: Anne Boleyn (TV series)

text: "The Guardian" and "The Independent" both gave the drama 3 stars out 5. Lucy Mangan of the former said the series "works" but criticised its "silly surplus of metaphors" and portrayal of Henry. Adam White of the latter found the show a "soapy romp" but that it made sense for the story being told. Turner-Smith's performance was widely praised. Beth Webb of "Empire" called the series a "showcase of Jodie Turner-Smith's resilience as a performer" and mentioned how the "small but well-assembled supporting cast elevates her performance".


title: Anne Boleyn (TV series)

text: There was some criticism of the color-blind casting, as some of the actors were Black and the characters portrayed were White, such as Boleyn herself. The "Radio Times" described this as "identity-conscious casting" and quoted the actor Mark Stanley: "It was all about this being the right person for the job, rather than what we as a society might perceive as the ‘right look’ for the job".


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich. Beginning as a territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), it went independent in 1986 in a bid to become a major national promotion, but was unsuccessful in its attempts and eventually went out of business in 1990. Rights to the pre-1989 WCCW tape library belong to WWE (the post-1988 rights are owned by International World Class Championship Wrestling) and select episodes from 1982 to 1988 are available on the WWE Network.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: World Class Championship Wrestling experienced tremendous success from 1981-1985, shattering attendance records and achieving global exposure through their syndicated television program. Bookers Ken Mantell, David Von Erich, Gary Hart, Bruiser Brody and Kevin Von Erich provided fans with hard hitting action centered on the popular Von Erich brothers and a cast of devious villains. Storylines during this time followed a consistent theme of friendship and betrayal, with many of the top villains being first presented as friends to the Von Erich Family, only to betray them months or even years later. Talent deals and exchanges helped WCCW bring in future stars such as Chris Adams, The Fabulous Freebirds, Jake Roberts, Mick Foley, a young Shawn Michaels, Gino Hernandez and Iceman King Parsons, and others.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: World Class Championship Wrestling was a member of the NWA and was originally known as Big Time Wrestling until 1982, when Adkisson decided that the name of his federation needed to be changed. Mickey Grant, who headed the production of its telecasts (known as Texas Championship Wrestling), suggested the name World Class. WCCW operated its enterprise in Dallas, Texas and held wrestling events at the Reunion Arena, and mostly at the famed Sportatorium, located just south of Downtown Dallas, which was also a well-known boxing and wrestling arena as well as the one-time home to the famous Big D Jamboree.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: WCCW was originally known as Big Time Wrestling and, until the late 1970s, was dominated by its owner, Fritz Von Erich. In 1966, Von Erich and Ed McLemore-owner of the Dallas Sportatorium- bought out the Dallas/Fort Worth Wrestling Office, breaking away from Houston Wrestling Office, which was managed by Paul Boesch. In 1969, Von Erich took sole control over the Office after McLemore died from a heart attack, and also gained ownership of the Dallas Sportatorium. Initially playing his longtime role of a snarling, goose-stepping Nazi monster heel and sometimes teaming with "brother" Waldo, Fritz turned babyface in late 1966 and began feuding with Gary Hart and his stable of wrestlers (which at this time included Karl Von Brauner, Al Costello and the masked Spoilers); the feud between Hart and Fritz (and his sons) would continue off and on for more than two decades. Fritz's other classic rivalries during this early period were with such stars as Johnny Valentine, Stan Stasiak, Professor Toru Tanaka, Lord Alfred Hayes, The Sheik, Bruiser Brody and The Great Kabuki. Babyface wrestlers playing secondary roles in the promotion at various times included Wahoo McDaniel, Pepper Gomez, Red Bastien, Jose Lothario and Lonnie "Moondog" Mayne. Many of these wrestlers were regular mainstays of the Grand Olympic Auditorium wrestling promotion in Los Angeles, who would compete in Dallas regularly, as did Fritz and several Texas-based wrestlers doing the same for Gene and Mike LeBell's promotion in L.A.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: As his sons began to launch wrestling careers of their own in the mid-to-late 1970s, Fritz gradually cut back on his in-ring appearances and concentrated on promoting, finally retiring from the ring altogether after a 1982 NWA American Title win over King Kong Bundy at Texas Stadium in Irving. By then, the promotion had switched to the World Class name and was centered on Fritz's sons, Kevin, David, Kerry, and later, Mike Von Erich.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: Developed and booked by manager and behind-the-scenes booker Gary Hart, World Class' most storied feud was the legendary and long-running battle between the Von Erichs and the Freebirds, which began on December 25, 1982 during an NWA World title match between Kerry Von Erich and champion Ric Flair at Reunion Arena in Dallas. After several of Flair's title defenses against Kerry ended in controversy with the champion retaining the belt by various illegal means (including an earlier match which involved a corrupt referee, Alfred Neely), the promotion had finally booked a rematch between the two in a steel cage to prevent any interference, and announced a write-in poll in which fans could vote for the wrestler they wanted to serve as special referee for the match. Freebird Michael Hayes, whose popularity in WCCW at that point was second only to the Von Erichs themselves, was selected to officiate, and his tag team partner Terry Gordy was at ringside to guard the cage door. However, when Kerry refused to pin Flair following unwanted interference on his behalf by Hayes, the Freebirds turned on Von Erich, with Gordy slamming the door on Kerry's head. Backup referee David Manning banished Hayes and Gordy to the dressing room, and the match ended shortly thereafter, with Flair retaining the title yet again as Manning stopped the match due to Kerry's inability to continue the match. Shortly after, Gary Hart left WCCW, due to money issues with Von Erich; the Freebirds wanted to follow suit, but Hart persuaded them to stay in WCCW. A year later, Gordy would have his head slammed by the cage door from Fritz Von Erich, in retaliation.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: The Freebird-Von Erich rivalry was one of the most violent feuds in modern-day wrestling history, and continued off-and-on for much of the decade; Parsons, Adams, "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin and members of Skandor Akbar's Devastation Inc. stable were also involved in the Freebird-Von Erich feud directly or indirectly during the course of the angle. The official last match between the Freebirds and the Von Erichs took place in April 1993 in Dallas.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: Buddy Roberts was involved in several conflicts in 1983 with "Iceman" King Parsons, including a match in which Roberts lost his hair in a "hair vs hair" match despite winning the match. Parsons, who lost the match, managed to grab the infamous "Freebird Hair Cream" (used as a plot device in earlier matches as a fictional hair remover) and rub the contents onto Roberts' head. This prompted Roberts to wear a wig and headgear to cover his bald head, whose hair grew back in a time span of six months.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: A secondary feud was born between Jimmy Garvin, who had spent much of 1983 feuding with David Von Erich, against England's Chris Adams. Adams faced Garvin for the first time on August 26, 1983 at the Dallas Sportatorium, both wrestling to a time-limit draw. Afterwards, both Garvin and Adams exchanged insults, calling each other a "coward", with Adams challenging Garvin to a title match on October 7, as Garvin was about to face David Von Erich (which proved to be the last-ever match between Garvin and Von Erich). The angle reached new heights on October 21 when Adams disguised himself as "The Masked Avenger" and faced Garvin. Playing possum, Adams surprised Garvin with some wrestling moves, and then as he threw Garvin to the ropes, Chris superkicked him, which stunned the Sportatorium crowd and announcer Bill Mercer who said '"a thrust kick...HEY that looks like...here it is; 1, 2, 3; a superkick". Afterwards, he unmasked to reveal himself as Chris Adams, which proved to be a turning point in Adams' tenure in World Class; elevating him from mid-card to main-event status. Sunshine, who used to be Garvin's valet, joined Adams' side two weeks later, and with Sunshine in his corner, Adams defeated Garvin for the American title on November 24 at Reunion Arena; the first of five NWA American/World Class heavyweight title reigns for the British star. Adams and Garvin traded the American title on numerous occasions, and engaged in mixed tag team matches involving Sunshine and Precious. It was said to be among the first mixed tag-team matches in modern wrestling history, and would pave the way for future mixed tag team matches, including one Adams promoted himself six years later involving two of his ex-wives (Jeanie Clark and Toni Adams) and his protégé Steve Austin.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: On February 10, 1984, at the height of the Von Erich-Freebird wars, David Von Erich died from an intestinal rupture caused by a stomach ailment just after arriving in Japan for a tour for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Although Ric Flair asserted in his autobiography that most people in wrestling believe David died of a drug overdose, with Bruiser Brody flushing pills down a hotel toilet before the police arrived, David's autopsy report indicated no drugs in his system and that his death was definitely caused by acute enteritis. His death was front-page news in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, triggering an area-wide outpouring of shock and grief among fans, and was the beginning of the Von Erichs' decline and fall (and WCCW's as well, although attendance levels would remain high for a time).


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: His death prompted a few changes in upcoming events. The February 10 non-televised card at the Dallas Sportatorium was to have Kamala, The Missing Link and Jimmy Garvin face Chris Adams and Kevin and Kerry Von Erich in the main event. Instead, Brian Adias and King Parsons took Kevin and Kerry's places, and the trio of Adams, Parsons and Adias defeated Kamala, Link and Garvin in an emotional match for all involved. The February 13 card, featured Marc Lowrance and David Manning in the ring alongside Sunshine, Adams, Parsons, Adias, Junkyard Dog, Chief Jules Strongbow, Jimmy Phillips, Bronko Lubich and Johnny Mantell as a ten-bell salute to honor David Von Erich was carried out. David's funeral took place two days later, and an estimated 5,000 people paid tribute to the fallen star; one of the largest funeral gatherings to take place in the Metroplex at the time.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: A March 3, 1984 telecast of "World Class Championship Wrestling" was dedicated exclusively to the life of David Von Erich, with wrestlers Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin, Harley Race, Chris Adams and Ric Flair paying tribute to the fallen hero. Bill Mercer and Mickey Grant also provided footage of David's earlier times as a high school basketball standout and had an interview with Fritz, Kevin and Kerry during the broadcast. The Von Erichs, who took David's death extremely hard, did not compete again until February 27, when they teamed with Adams to defeat Butch Reed, Jimmy Garvin, Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy. David had been seen by many in the NWA as potential World Championship material. According to Ric Flair, David had indeed been chosen by the NWA to become the World Heavyweight Champion and Flair also stated in his autobiography "To Be The Man" that had David lived, he would have had the potential to be a long-term NWA Champion.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: On May 6, 1984, as a tribute to his late brother, Kerry Von Erich finally defeated Ric Flair after a hard-fought 14-minute battle to win the title at the first annual "David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions" supercard held at Texas Stadium in Irving. However, because Kerry already had a reputation within the industry for being unreliable due to substance abuse, the NWA only allowed him a brief title reign; he lost the belt back to Flair in Yokosuka, Japan on May 24 (May 23 in the U.S.) in another hard-fought match. The match, which did not air on television initially, allowed World Class to use an angle in which Flair cheated in the match, and claimed the referee was a sumo official who did not understand the rules of pro wrestling. The match, which Flair won with a clean pinfall over Kerry, in fact was officiated by veteran All Japan Pro Wrestling referee Joe Higuchi, who found David Von Erich's body the previous February, and was also the one who alerted David Manning of his death.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: Afterwards, the Freebirds left World Class in the summer of 1984, and, except for a few appearances, did not return full-time until December 1985. Jimmy Garvin and Precious also departed WCCW during this time to join the AWA. An unusual three-way feud ensued during the summer of 1984 involving Killer Khan, originally brought in by the Freebirds in their quest to destroy the Von Erichs, fighting the Freebirds and Von Erichs after Khan was bought by General Skandor Akbar. During one match at the Sportatorium, Michael Hayes and Kevin Von Erich took turns attacking Khan, shoving each other away in the process.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: One of the top angles of the summer of 1984 was a mixed feud between Gino Hernandez and Nickla Roberts (aka Baby Doll, billed as "Andrea The Lady Giant") against Mike Von Erich and Stella Mae French. The angle reached new heights in the fall of 1984 when Sunshine, arriving on a helicopter at the Cotton Bowl, interfered in a match, allowing French to pin Roberts. This angle, which also involved Chris Adams, ended in 1985.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: With The Freebirds out of the picture, and attempting other angles that proved to be not as highly successful as the Freebirds-Von Erichs wars, World Class decided to turn Chris Adams heel and start a long and legendary war which lasted for over a year, and at the same time, drawing revenues that exceeded the Freebirds-Von Erichs angle. The new angle was developed by Ken Mantell, Gary Hart, Chris Adams and Fritz Von Erich, which was born out of a conversation between Adams and Hart, where Adams wanted to change his image and try his luck as a heel wrestler.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: Gary Hart, who left World Class in early-1983 due to a dispute with Fritz Von Erich over the booking of the Freebirds-Von Erich feud, returned to World Class in August to scout the babyface talent, including Adams, Iceman King Parsons, Brian Adias and others. Towards the end of the month, Adams, who had returned from his tenure in Los Angeles during the 1984 Summer Olympics, announced his alliance with Hart, which resulted in some friction between Adams and the babyfaces.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: On September 28, 1984, Adams was paired with Kevin Von Erich against Jake Roberts and Gino Hernandez, with Gary Hart and Stella Mae French in Adams and Von Erich's corner. As the match wound down, Hernandez had Adams in a high vertical suplex, with French tripping Hernandez, causing Adams to land on Gino; however he rolled over on top of Chris and pinned him. After the match, an enraged Adams began arguing with French, with Hart and Kevin coming in as peacemakers. Hart later abused Stella Mae, prompting Kevin to shove him to the corner of the heels' side of the ring. Out of nowhere, Adams blasted Kevin with a superkick, which prompted Hernandez and Roberts to throw French out of the ring and attack Kevin, while Adams and Hart walked away. The two-on-one gangup continued (which included Roberts' patented DDT) until Buck Zumhofe and David Manning ran in to chase Roberts and Hernandez away.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: The following Monday in Fort Worth on October 1, 1984; Adams was selected as the mystery partner in a six-man tag match for Hernandez and Roberts in a match against Kerry and Mike Von Erich, with Buck Zumhofe subbing for Kevin. As Adams gave Mike a backdrop from the canvas using his legs, Kevin stormed the ring and attacked Adams, resulting in a brawl between the former friends and tag partners until David Manning, Bronco Lubich, Rick Hazzard and Gary Hart separated the two.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: On October 27, Adams and Von Erich squared off at the Cotton Bowl, with Kevin winning the match, amid controversy when Adams lifted his shoulder at the count of one, but referee David Manning counted to three with Adams lifting his shoulder again, believing he was at the count of two. Afterwards, Kevin made a deal with Chris: leave Gary Hart and go on his own and all would be forgiven. Adams responded by attacking Kevin with a chair. Unintentionally, Adams hit Kevin in the head hard enough for the chair to break in half, causing Kevin some bleeding from the head and resulting in his hospitalization for a few days. The Adams-Von Erich feud had been set up in this way because Fritz Von Erich felt that too many fans were siding with Adams, and after the Cotton Bowl incident, Adams still heard cheers from some of the fans. A month later, Kevin returned the favor by smashing a chair into Adams' head after losing to him, and that resulted in Chris being helped out of the arena with a minor concussion and nearly losing his left eye when a piece of the wooden chair lodged onto his nose after the chair shot, very dangerously close to his eye. The wooden chair angle was quickly scrapped at Kevin and Chris' requests due to the legitimate injuries both wrestlers sustained. Adams eventually became World Class' biggest heel; yet at the same time, as the feud with the Von Erichs progressed, he began facing other heels, such as Ric Flair and members of Skandor Akbar's army.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: By 1985, Adams began tagging with Hernandez, forming the second and most successful version of The Dynamic Duo (Tully Blanchard and Hernandez formed the original version). Towards the end of the year, Adams and Hernandez used scissors (a gimmick that Brutus Beefcake would use later on in the WWF) to cut hair off opponents after each of their matches, and this resulted in a Cotton Bowl showdown in October 1985, in which Kevin and Kerry Von Erich defeated Adams and Hernandez in a losers-lose-hair match. Adams and Hernandez eventually broke up and began feuding, and faced each other in a January 1986 match where the loser would have his hair removed with Freebird Hair Cream (a gimmick used in a June 1983 match between Iceman Parsons and Freebird Buddy Roberts). Adams had the match won, but picked Hernandez up twice to dish out more punishment, and while he was arguing with the referee, Hernandez grabbed the hair cream and threw the contents in Adams' face, thus "blinding" him. Adams won the match by DQ as a result. However, by the time this angle aired on television a few days later, Hernandez was dead; his death, which was revealed by an autopsy to be the result of a cocaine overdose, ended any prospects of a hot feud between the former partners. The Scotland Yard questioned Adams regarding Hernandez's death, but no charges were ever filed against him. The original plan for the Adams-Hernandez feud was for Chris to return to face Hernandez at the Texas Stadium card after Adams' tour of Japan and visiting relatives in England, and stretch the feud out through much of 1986 which also involved mixed tag team matches.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: A brief yet high-profile angle between Chris Adams and Great Kabuki was played out during the summer of 1985 over which wrestler had the most lethal kick: Chris Adams and his superkick or Kabuki and his thrust kick. The angle was born in the spring of 1985 when manager Sunshine brought Kabuki in to battle Adams and Gino Hernandez. Both wrestlers displayed their martial arts talent in their matches, and during one singles match at the Dallas Sportatorium, half of the crowd was chanting for Adams, while the other half was chanting for Kabuki. Both Adams and Kabuki would have sporadic matches, both singles and tag team, through 1986.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: In 1985, World Class went on a major tour to the Middle East (including Israel). The tour, which ran from August 3 through August 7, was held mostly in Tel Aviv , and proved to be extremely successful, but was also the start of another episode for the Adkisson family, as it was during this tour that Mike Von Erich suffered a separated shoulder (in a tag team match with Kevin against Gino Hernandez and Chris Adams) that led to his near-fatal bout with toxic shock syndrome following surgery. In an ill-advised desperation move that would later infamously backfire, Fritz brought in Pacific Northwest Wrestling Champion, Ricky Vaughn, as "cousin" Lance Von Erich to fill the gap while Mike was recovering. Fritz billed Lance as the "son" of Waldo Von Erich, with whom Fritz tagged years earlier, but was not related to Fritz in any way. Vaughn made his WCCW debut at the 1985 Cotton Bowl event. To this day, it was considered to be the worst idea that Fritz came up with. The main participants on the Israel tour included Kevin and Mike Von Erich, Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez, Iceman King Parsons, Freebird Buddy Roberts, Scott Casey, Brian Adias, Rip Oliver, Kelly Kiniski and Johnny Mantell.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: On February 4, 1986, local authorities and friends of Gino Hernandez - now one of the company's major stars - discovered him dead in his apartment. In addition, the NWA President at the time, Jim Crockett, Jr., had also decided that he would no longer book the NWA World Champion at the time, Ric Flair, to wrestle in the state of Texas. World Class, still reeling over the death of Gino Hernandez, withdrew its membership from the NWA on February 18, 1986, became known as the World Class Wrestling Association, yet they retained the "World Class Championship Wrestling" name for its broadcasts and matches after the 1985 Cotton Bowl event were sanctioned by the World Class Wrestling Association. The NWA American Heavyweight Championship, which had been the promotion's top championship for nearly 20 years, was immediately renamed and declared it to be their "World" title and Rick Rude, the holder of the American Heavyweight Championship, was recognized as the promotion's first World champion. While there is no official means of granting a championship "World" title status in professional wrestling, "Pro Wrestling Illustrated" didn't recognize the championship's status as a "World" title as it had with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), NWA, and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) championships. It was rumored that the NWA didn't want to give Kerry the title back, and the NWA didn't recognize the faster pace of the sport. The new corporation also gained a deal with ESPN to air a weekly show on the network as well. As a result of the NWA withdrawal, the WCWA also introduced a title-change rule in which a champion could lose the belt on a disqualification or a countout, much to the dismay of heel wrestlers, who opt to DQ themselves to keep the championship (most notably Ric Flair). That rule had been in place during the 1984 NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Flair and Kerry Von Erich, and had been used sporadically before World Class seceded from the NWA, including its TV championship.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: The Freebirds-Von Erich war reignited in late 1985, with Hayes, Gordy and Roberts against Kevin, Kerry and Lance Von Erich; reborn following a surprise gang-up on Kevin and Kerry during a match in Fort Worth, with announcer Marc Lowrance exclaiming that "The Devil has emerged" when returning from the commercial break. John Tatum and Missy Hyatt entered the promotion, and started a feud with The Fantastics and Sunshine. Chris Adams returned in April to do two house shows, and in May received a huge ovation from the crowd at Texas Stadium in his first televised match since the "blinding" angle. Chris did begin an angle with Rick Rude; but not before becoming a full-fledged face. However, when the WCWA was formed Fritz von Erich refused to book his shows outside of Dallas. This move led to a disputes with Fritz von Erich and the company's head booker Ken Mantell, who soon left the WCWA to become the head booker for the newly formed Universal Wrestling Federation(UWF); Referee David Manning took Mantell's place. After Mantell's departure in May 1986, attendance for WCWA shows began to drop greatly; along with Mantell, the new UWF was able to lure away more WCWA talent as well.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: During a May 26, 1986 six-man tag match at Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth, Adams was paired with Lance and Kevin Von Erich against Rick Rude, Kabuki and the One Man Gang. It was the first time since September 30, 1984 that Adams (substituting for the injured Bruiser Brody) was partnered with a Von Erich in any tag team match, and there was still some tension between Kevin and Chris in the early-going, but that eventually changed as the match progressed. As the match wound down, the One Man Gang was about to launch a major assault on Kevin with a chain, as Kevin was recovering from a double clothesline by OMG and Rude. As referee Rick Hazzard was trying to separate Rude and Lance, Adams entered the ring and superkicked OMG, then rolled Kevin on top of him and alerted Hazzard of the winning pinfall. After the match, with Chris, Lance and Kevin standing in the center of the ring, Kevin extended his hand, and Chris shook it and the two embraced in the center of the ring, signaling the end of World Class Championship Wrestling's most storied feud. Adams also feuded with Tatum and Hyatt, with Sunshine once again managing Chris, and also began wrestling against Matt Borne and Buzz Sawyer.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: Chris evidently continued wrestling against Rude on several occasions, and in one match after a "Rude Awakening" neckbreaker, Chris "regained his eyesight." With the patch gone, Chris became the number one contender to Rude's World Class heavyweight title, and on July 4, 1986, he won it after a hard-fought and bloody battle at Reunion Arena in Dallas. Adams won with a small package when interference from Rude's manager Percy Pringle backfired. Over the course of the next three months, Chris defended the title almost every week, against challengers like Rude, Kabuki, One Man Gang, Blackjack Mulligan and others. In a non-title match at the Dallas Sportatorium, he lost to the Ultimate Warrior, who was then known as the Dingo Warrior. In that match, Adams used a piledriver on the Warrior, and somehow the force of the piledriver hit Adams' throat; which had been hit earlier due to interference by manager Percy Pringle during a pre-match altercation. Unable to continue, Adams allowed the Warrior to pin him following a flying elbow. Chris gave the Warrior a title shot, and narrowly defeated him. Adams also faced Abdullah the Butcher in some matches, all of which ended either in a countout or a DQ against Abdullah. Mulligan and Bruiser Brody were involved in a three-way feud during that time; while South African Steve Simpson joined World Class as an ally of Adams and the Von Erichs. Between July and September 1986, many of the top stars of World Class, including Adams, Parsons, Hyatt, John Tatum, and the Freebirds, defected to the Universal Wrestling Federation, following longtime WCCW booker Ken Mantell, who had resigned and joined the UWF after a falling-out with Fritz.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: World Class heavyweight champion Chris Adams was forced to relinquish his championship on September 17, 1986; one day after being convicted of misdemeanor assault from an incident on June 30, 1986 inflight between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Dallas. According to testimony and accounts from the "Dallas Morning News", Adams, who was under the influence, verbally assaulted a stewardess when he became belligerent when it was announced that liquor sales would no longer be available in flight. He then head-butted an American Airlines co-pilot before Kevin Von Erich restrained Adams. He left World Class shortly thereafter and joined Ken Mantell in the UWF, when it was told that Adams would lose the belt to Black Bart on September 19 at the Dallas Sportatorium, a decision that enraged Adams, then-booker Gary Hart and several other wrestlers. Adams was sentenced on October 25 to 90 days in jail and fined $500. He began his sentence on November 1, and was released on January 29, 1987. Kevin Von Erich later defeated Black Bart for the World Class heavyweight title at the Cotton Bowl, and held that belt for nearly a year.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: It was also at this point that Kerry Von Erich was involved in a motorcycle accident (June 4, 1986) and suffered injuries that later worsened when he attempted to return to the ring too soon (an attempt said by some observers to have taken place under heavy pressure from Fritz) and would finally necessitate the amputation of his right foot. As a result of this accident, the organization's attendance dropped greatly. WCCW's fortunes declined further in 1986–87 with the Texas oil businesses entering a recession and Mike Von Erich's health and substance abuse problems and eventual suicide. As a result of these multiple catastrophes, attendance in both Dallas and Fort Worth plummeted; according to some former WCCW wrestlers, many fans became disillusioned with the Von Erichs as the supposedly "clean-living" brothers' drug use became harder to cover up, and they frequently no-showed cards the promotion booked in smaller towns. Sportatorium cards, which at the beginning of the year before drew well over 4,000 had dropped to less than 1,000 within a time span of six months.


title: World Class Championship Wrestling

text: In an attempt to keep World Class hot, by means of running long-term angles, Brian Adias, who was billed as the childhood friend of the Von Erichs (which is legitimate, since Brian grew up with the Adkissons in Denton and also went to high school with Kerry), began a storyline with them by turning heel against Mike Von Erich during a match, then eventually began feuding with Kevin Von Erich later on. This angle, similar to the one used with Chris Adams in 1984, proved to be unsuccessful, and pairing Adias with Alberto Madril to form a newer version of "The Dynamic Duo" (and even going so far as using Adams and Hernandez's "Bad to the Bone" as their ring entrance music) made matters worse. Adias lacked the charisma and talent that Adams had during his feud with the Von Erichs, and Kevin and Mike dominated this feud from start to finish. There was one high mark in that feud, when Kevin passed out from concussion complications during an eight-man tag team match. That incident was worked into an angle in which Adias tried to end Von Erich's career by applying the Oriental Spike, a finisher made famous by Terry Gordy. Madril often drew the ire of the crowd by shouting in Spanish, sometimes using obscene language. The Los Angeles native eventually turned babyface and began feuding with Adias by 1987. Late in the year, the promotion briefly added another show to its lineup called Texas Championship Wrestling, which aired nationally on the now defunct cable network Tempo Television, filling a void left by the folding of USA All-Star Wrestling. The new show retained USA All-Star Wrestling's Steve Stack as its host and was taped at Gilley's Club in Pasadena, Texas, the site of its predecessor. The matches and interviews on Texas Championship Wrestling did not acknowledge the ongoing storylines taking place on the territory's other current television shows.