freedive courses

[samdive]

I'm interested in how much it matters to people whether or not they get a piece of plastic at the end of a freedive course - and if so, who it should be from. If you were going to a beginner freediver course - which agency would you rather get a card from, or doesn't it matter - please choose below....

PADI
AIDA
Apnea Academy
Free
SSI
Other
Don't care as long as the instructor is good

 

[bite ya]

I think AIDA for me would be the biggest one but i think your right as long as i learnt how to do it and had a great instructor and the card was recongised for competitions i don't think anything else mattered.

If you was just doing the course to freedive recreationally i don't think anything matters other than how to do it safely. Different matter if you wanted to compete one day though?

 

[samdive]

Hi Chris

just to clarify - you don't (currently) normally need the card to compete - it's just me that asks for it at Saltfree -and I do accept equivalent qualifications - not just AIDA.

S

 

[yoda turtle]

I went for aida after asking advise on this forum.... the impression I got was that it didn't matter one way or another,
I chose aida because it was more accessable in english in many places in the world.
lastly I would say its all about the instructor.

 

[DivingDane]

my personal opinion is it should be a specialised Freediving body.

e.g.

- AIDA
- FDI
- Apnea acadamy etc

but not PADI or SSI etc (scuba diving acadamies) not because they havent got the right to but more because of the inexperience of the groups in our sport (for the moment).

i know in Aus SSI is currently doing freediving courses, but not sure how good they are in comparison to AIDA or FDI (the 2 leading courses in Aus) have heard a few things but will reserve my fianl judgement till i have spent some time with some divers who have been certified under them)

i think it is very important for a course to be held by a certified freediving instructor not any old "good" diver or scuba dive instructor who added 3 days of training to become a Freediving instructor.

DD

hmm that was a bit harsh but my opnion none the less.

 

[island_sands]

I'm interested in how much it matters to people whether or not they get a piece of plastic at the end of a freedive course - and if so, who it should be from. If you were going to a beginner freediver course - which agency would you rather get a card from, or doesn't it matter - please choose below....

PADI
AIDA
Apnea Academy
Free
SSI
Other
Don't care as long as the instructor is good

Don't care as long as the instructor is good.
If it was me, i wouldnt care as long as the course was thorough and the instructor was good. Freediving training agencies are not as well known as scuba diving training agencies. At least here in the UAE, learning to freedive is skill related and not brand related.

 

[DivingDane]

VERY true , freediving training agencies are not as well known as scuba agencies in most locations of the world including here, freedivings almost non existant only now starting to get a following. and brand makes no difference as such its all to do with the material being passed on.

i did a course a while back and paid good money and learnt absalutly nothing not to mention the links between Scuba and freediving being pushed on us were incorrect! now i paid good money for this apparently excellent course with an "experienced" diver only to find that if i had dived the way i was tought i was in danger of not coming back up again. i then enroled in a FDI class and my world was turned upside down as a result i became a better and safer diver! now i am almost certain that if i had taken the course with any one of the specialised freeediving schools i would have recieved the same treatment. however after talking and diving with some people who are Scuba instructors (whether it be PADI, SSI or any body else) and apparently know alot about freediving i wouldnt let them teach my girlfiend or close mates thats for sure.

Just because a Scuba Agency is better known doesnt mean it knows anything about freediving! if this changes and an experienced Instructor trainer starts writing courses for these companies and teaches the instructors then thats great but until then they should stick to teaching scuba.

our sport can be dangerous enough as is the last thing i want to see is people being taught incorrectly by agencies who dont have the experience, it will only lead to more accidents and a bad name for our sport.

For the record i am NOT an instructor and do not have any hidden agenda, i am just a certified freediver and PADI advanced diver nothing more who wants to see this sport grow safely.

DD

DD

 

[x_yeti]

I think it does matter for the instructor or school. Think of the piece of plastic as the most wonderful bit of marketing you could ever do. The student has completed your course and is proud of his/her achievement and will keep that award/certificate for a long time. They might even hang their certificate up in their office or home. When his/her mate asks which course they recommend 2 years after they completed the course and they can't remember the name of the school or course, all they have to do is look on their cherished piece of plastic for your name.

 

[bite ya]

I was unaware that you could compete without a card? Seems a bit strange or dangerous that anyone could enter without correct training. The qualification teaches freedivers the importance of safety and should be a "must have" to compete in my eyes, regardless of the governing body. I'm very proud that i did the course, i know it's only a bit of plastic but it annouces to me and others that i take the sport seriously and i will continue to do my courses all the way through and as far as i can go, this way one day i can teach and give something back to this sport i love so much. Still not sure aboout which governing body i prefer although AIDA was the first body i was introduced to.

 

[chrismar]

I was unaware that you could compete without a card? Seems a bit strange or dangerous that anyone could enter without correct training. The qualification teaches freedivers the importance of safety and should be a "must have" to compete in my eyes, regardless of the governing body. I'm very proud that i did the course, i know it's only a bit of plastic but it annouces to me and others that i take the sport seriously and i will continue to do my courses all the way through and as far as i can go, this way one day i can teach and give something back to this sport i love so much. Still not sure aboout which governing body i prefer although AIDA was the first body i was introduced to.

There are a few competitive freedivers here in NZ that have never done a course. I don't think Dave M has, for one. Should we ban him?

 

[jimy286]

I took the DB S.E.T.T course (BLUUDYY awesome)

I never thought the card was a big deal but there are a few deep lakes in the north east of the U.S that require it.

I like it if the cert is Recognized but Don't care as long as the instructor/ course/ value is good

 

[BennyB]

If you seek out a freedive course in Europe/Egypt you're probably 90% likely to do an AIDA course as nearly all the instructors are based in that region. Apnea Academy also has a strong following in Italy and Egypt.

North America, South East Asia and Oceania is very weak in terms of AIDA instruction, PFI/FII cover a lot of the Nth American market but SE Asia and Oceania are anyone's turf. Thailand has a mix of AIDA (seasonal) and FREE.

Here in Australia i've had potential students from interstate ask me about courses and then turn around and say they've found a nearby dive shop or scuba instructor who'll teach them. They don't really care whether it's AIDA, PADI, FDI, SSI, local freedive or spearfishing hero or scuba instructor, they just want to do a freedive course, and the average customer has no idea about the differences in course quality or the safety issues involved. They want to be able to do a course on a weekend and become a freediver. They don't want to muck around doing it over 2 weekends or on a Friday night as they all work Mon-Fri.

Ben

 

[sgnips]

hmmm... let me think.... maybe i'd choose Apnea Academy after all... but don't ask me why

apart from that, i see that for a beginner who approaches freediving for the very first time, it actually doesn't matter
later he/she realizes which are the issues a good course should teach you (IMO first of all safety, then respect, then again technique, and some other things) and decide to switch to a better agency