Do I Need To Do a Freediving Course?

Freediving is a very easy sport to get into. Many freedivers and spearfishers get
into the sport by learning from friends and family, but this can carry serious
risks if they’re not learning from a qualified instructor. Freediving appears to be
relatively simple, but there is a lot of information on safety, physiology, and
technique to learn and it is easy to get wrong.

We recommend that everyone who wants to freedive should do a recognized course with
a qualified instructor from an insured agency. Despite the relative lack of
equipment, there is much to learn when freediving, especially concerning safety,
techniques and being aware of the risks – getting it wrong can be fatal. A badly
trained freediver risks suffering anything from ear, sinus and lung barotraumas, to
blacking out and subsequently drowning, not to mention decompression sickness.
Split shot of two free divers training in sea with buoy
Split shot of two freedivers training in sea with buoy

We’re not trying to scare you or dissuade you from giving our wonderful sport a go,
though, but it’s crucial that you safely learn to freedive with a qualified and
insured instructor.

Many highly-experienced freedivers and spearfishers who have not completed a course
find that they are often doing things that are dangerous and inefficient. On
completion of a course, they find that their ability skyrockets, as well as their
confidence, knowing that they are finally doing things right – and safely.

On a freediving course you will learn many things:

Equipment – how to choose the right freediving equipment for your physique and
ability
Depth and pressure – how physics affects your diving and your body under the
water
Equalization – the different methods and how to overcome equalization issues
Breathing – how to breathe before and after a freedive
Buddying – how to buddy efficiently and effectively
Rescue skills – including self-rescue and rescuing a buddy
Stretching – the most effective stretches and relaxation techniques for
freediving
Risk awareness – Managing and planning a dive session
Weather – including tides and currents
The underwater environment – what marine life to look out for and, equally,
avoid
Pool training – static and dynamic
Open water training – free immersion and constant weight
Buoyancy control – improving hydrodynamics and efficiency

There are also specialist freediving courses where you can learn how to compete, be
a competition safety diver, be a freediving judge, use a monofin, how to
selectively fish, and take photos underwater among many other skills.

Your instructor will have taken several freediving courses themselves, culminating
in an instructor course lasting at least seven days. They will have had to perform
difficult rescues and dives and be experienced in dealing with all kinds of
scenarios.

There is nothing like learning from an experienced instructor and they will be
fully insured, representing a dive center or agency, and carry first aid and oxygen
with them in the extremely unlikely event of an incident.
If you do not have any equalization issues and are confident in the water, it may
seem easy for you to progress deeper without instruction after your first course.
However, as you go deeper, there are additional risks associated with increased
depth. Without taking a relevant course, it’s more likely you will suffer an
accident, most commonly a lung barotrauma.
Who Offers Courses

Most agencies offer three levels of courses, with a non-compulsory pool-based basic
level. Some agencies are small and run solely by volunteers, while others are
international businesses that employ people from all over the world. We’ve gathered
a list of some of the most popular:

AIDA (Association Internationale D’Apnee)

Founded in France in 1992, this is an international organization run by
volunteers that set course standards, ratifies world records, trains judges and
organizes competitions.
APNEA ACADEMY
Founded in Italy in 1995 by world champion freediver Umberto Pelizarri and
Renzo Mazzarri, a world champion spearfisher, Apnea Academy sets course standards.
Apnea Total
Based in Koh Tao, Thailand, this training center has its own training system
and due to its exotic location has certified a large number of freedivers.
CMAS
CMAS is an international organization with branches in countries throughout the
world. They set course standards and ratify world records.
Freediving Instructors International (FII)
Freediving Instructors International was founded by multiple world record
freediver and pioneer in freediving education, Martin Stepanek, and is the only
freediving education curriculum in the world accepted at a collegiate level.
IANTD
An international technical diving agency that started a freediving program in
2000, it does not currently offer freediving on its website but still maintains
freediving instructors worldwide.
Performance Freediving International (PFI)
Performance Freediving International is a freediving training agency founded in
2000 by Kirk Krack. Krack coached world champion freedivers, Mandy-Rae Cruickshank
and Martin Stepanek. PFI teaches freediving clinics around the world and is
involved in both team and athlete development.
Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
PADI is best known for being the largest provider of Scuba courses in the
world, in 2015 they launched their Freediver programs that take you from complete
beginner all the way up to Instructor level should you wish.
SSI Freediving
Founded in 1970, SSI is one of the largest international diving organizations
teaching courses ranging from swimming to freediving to tech diving.
RAID
This is an international organization for setting course standards, organizing
competitions and ratifying world records.

RELATED: You can find your next Freediving course at FreedivingCourses.com

Whilst there is no official equivalency table for the qualifications offered by

these agencies, we’ve tried to give you an idea of how they equate to one another: