Aida courses, where to start?

[greendiver]

Hi guys,
I would like to do a AIDAfreediving course.
I am a fulltime ScubaInstructor and a fanatic freediver(spearfishing) aswell.
I see that, just as there is in the organization I work for, there is a ladder.
However, I would like to jump in at a higher level, since the requirements from the first levels are alraedy met.
How does it work?

 

[BennyB]

Hi Greendiver,

Like most things in life, you have to start at the bottom. You can start at the AIDA 2* level and you must complete this before doing the 3*, and the 3* must be completed before the 4* course.

Many people (myself included) read the course minima (eg. 2min static, 40m dynamic and 16m constant weight) and think they should start at the course that their physical abilities match up to (eg. I can already dive to 32m so I should start at the AIDA 4* course). This is not true as there are many other skills learnt that are needed for the next course, as well as information that is so important. As an example I was already competing and diving well beyond the AIDA course minima, however I learnt plenty of new things on the courses as well. And I think the safety stuff you learn is so much more important too as it's rare that someone actually trains the safety element.

It's a little frustrating, and the courses are expensive (but believe me there aren't many rich AIDA Instructors out there) but the stuff you learn is so much more important than just ticking the boxes of how deep/long/far you can dive.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[greendiver]

Thanks for your reply,
Yeps, I thouht so, and I also see your point regarding the other aspects.