Freediving for kids

[Randy Quimpo]

Takes to the deep like a duck....

Here's a shot of my daughter, aged 11, and my kid brother. Yep, these kids sure take to freediving.

Funny thing is that it took me a while to get my daughter used to the idea of swimming - she was afraid of encountering a shark or a whale - and THIS WAS WHILE SWIMMING IN A POOL!

Then I took her with me while I was snorkeling and now she's trying to do what her crazy dad is doing.

FWIW

Randy

 

[jvoets]

I would have loved being taught the proper techniques when I was a kid.

Got my first mask when I was something like 6 or 7 years old with a snorkel too, but did not find out how to empty it until I was 12 and somebody showed me. My technique then was to lift my head from the water and let the water run out.

Only found out how to empty a mask under water a year later.
All this didn't stop me from having a lot of fun in the water, although my ears started to hurt when I got down to the bottom of the pool.

So it was a big surprise for me, around my 19th birthday, that something like equalizing your ears existed. If this person wouldn't have told me I would still be fooling around in shallow water.

In my opinion, teaching children the proper techniques and rules under water could make a big difference. I don' t think it should have a competitive edge though.