WHAT ARE THE FIVE REASONS WHY PEOPLE FREEDIVE by Rodrigues Timóteo (Freedive PADI Instructor)

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Freediving appeals to different people for different reasons, but there are five general ones you hear often:

 

Relaxation and Peace
Being under water holding your breath and be "weightless" is a great stress reducer. It helps people relax and be "in the moment ." Many Freedivers say that the "free" in "freediving" doesn't just mean free of gear, but free from the outside world. 

 

Simple
Because it involves less gear, it's easier to have gear with you and there's less involved with going freediving than other watersports. This often makes freediving more spontaneous and accessible than other watersports, including a Scuba diving.

 

Close to nature
Freedivers move quietly and quickly through the underwater world, much like they belong there. You can get much closer to many shy organisms than you can by most other means, including conventional scuba.

 

Challenge and competition
For some, freediving is about the challeng - internal competition in which you try to improve your own performance, and/or external competition with other Freedivers. It is one of the few forms of competitive diving. 

 

Journey into yourself
All forms of freediving require you to learn about yourself, your body and how you think. It is a process of keeping fit and growing- a journey - that continues as long as you freedive. For most freedivers, this is a primary - or at least important - reason for freediving, regardless of what else attracts them to the sport.

 

Who should take this course?

Freediving is about inward power, discipline and control. If you’ve always wanted to enter the underwater world quietly, on your own terms, staying as long as your breath allows, then freediving is for you. Taking the PADI Freediver course is your first step toward discovering why freediving is becoming a popular way to explore beneath the waves.

To enroll in a PADI Freediver course you must be at least 15 years old. You need adequate swimming skills and need to be in good physical health. No prior experience with snorkeling, skin diving or freediving is required.

Younger than 15? 12 year olds and older can enroll in the PADI Basic Freediver course and eight year olds and older can enroll in the PADI Skin Diver course.

 

 

What will you learn?

The PADI Freediver course consists of three main phases:

• Knowledge development about freediving principles through independent study with the PADI Freediver Touch™ (or your instructor may conduct class sessions).

• Confined water session to learn breathhold techniques as well as static and dynamic apnea. Goal – static apnea of 90 seconds and dynamic apnea of 25 metres/80 feet.

• Open water sessions to practice free immersion and constant weight freedives, plus proper buddy procedures. Goal – constant weight freedive of 10 metres/30 feet.

 

How can you start learning now?

Contact your local PADI Freediver Center or PADI Freediver Instructor and get the PADI Freediver Touch tablet app. The Touch is an interactive study tool that gives you the background information you need to freedive safely and allows you to learn at your own pace. Your PADI Freediver Instructor will check on your progress and make sure you understand important freediving information.

Good news – the PADI Freediver Touch also includes all learning materials for the PADI Advanced Freediver and Master Freediver courses.

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What freediving gear will you use?

In the PADI Freediver course, you learn to use a mask, snorkel and fins, and may also use a wetsuit and weight belt. Using gear designed specifically for freediving is best, however, in this course, you may be able to use snorkeling equipment you already own.

Check with DIVERSITYScuba about the gear you’ll use during this course and get advice about everything you need from your PADI Freediver Instructor.