How necesary are freediving courses?

[Bill McIntyre]

It occurs to me that we may be talking about two different things- pure free diving and free dive spearfishing. Since the object of competitive free diving is pushing your limits, perhaps a course makes sense. Or maybe a course should be required before the diver is allowed to compete.

I'm just a free dive spear fisherman. I get no points for longer dives or longer distances. I can dive well within my limits. All my young buddies on my boat may have much longer bottom times, but no one is keeping score. We're all just trying to shoot a fish. They'll probably get more fish because they have longer bottom times, but there is not a direct correlation. I might well be safer if I took a course, but I don't want to be required to do so.

I have a bad habit of looking at thread titles without noticing which forum the thread is in. Since this is in the Beginning Freediving forum, I probably should have stayed out of it.

 

[esom]

New thread is well deserved. Maybe i come up with stuff in the next weeks. I find your questions difficult to answer quickly and well. The answers could easily look like campaining against a campain, a sensitive answer will take me some time.

 

[esom]

I disagree Bill, "what is it that we are talking about?" should be open to discussion and obviously knows no experts or beginners, just discussion on par with each other.

i would add to your two groups, spearfishermen and boundary apneadiviers a third which is for sure by far bigger than the other two together, namely freedivers.

 

[cdavis]

Looking forward to it, esom.

Bill, you are exactly the kind of diver that should be involved in this kind of discussion. Anyway, spearos are still, probably, the majority of divers.

Connor

 

[Stephan Whelan]

It occurs to me that we may be talking about two different things- pure free diving and free dive spearfishing. Since the object of competitive free diving is pushing your limits, perhaps a course makes sense. Or maybe a course should be required before the diver is allowed to compete.

I'm just a free dive spear fisherman. I get no points for longer dives or longer distances. I can dive well within my limits. All my young buddies on my boat may have much longer bottom times, but no one is keeping score. We're all just trying to shoot a fish. They'll probably get more fish because they have longer bottom times, but there is not a direct correlation. I might well be safer if I took a course, but I don't want to be required to do so.

I have a bad habit of looking at thread titles without noticing which forum the thread is in. Since this is in the Beginning Freediving forum, I probably should have stayed out of it.

I personally think anyone who is breath-hold diving should take formal instruction - especially if you are a spearo. A lot of spearos have bad habits that could put them in danger whilst diving. I know several instructors who specialise in teaching freediving to spearos as a means of being a better diver but also improve their safety. Ted Harty @ImmersionFD is one such person...