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how many freedivers and spearos are there in the world?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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longhare

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Dec 31, 2010
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I don't live near any oceans, but my buddy and I found out about freediving not too long ago and started training by ourselves. We always thought it was an unpopular sport because we didn't know anybody else around here that did it. Last week I took a trip to the Carribean and saw two spearos on different occasions and was pleasantly surprised. Is there a survey or something on the total number of freedivers and spearos in the world? I'm guessing it's much more popular in warm areas by the ocean?
 
You would need to define a freediver or a spearo. Who exactly is a freediver? Anyone who sometimes dives or snorkels without a tank? Or someone who does it regularly? Or just someone with a qualification degree from one of the freediving federations or schools? Or someone who is a member of a freediving federation? Or just someone who participates in freediving competitions?

There will be likely tens of millions of people who sometimes freedive or snorkel, and the more you restrict the category with the above mentioned criteria, the less of them will remain. So for example, worldwide there are roughly five thousands of registered freedivers with competition participations. The number of freedivers organized in clubs will be about five to ten times higher. I'd tell that the number of people who freedive or snorkel recreationally regularly could be around another ten times higher. And it will be similar with spearfishing.
 
Well there are 27000 members on this forum alone & most will at least have some interest in free diving!
 
Well there are 27000 members on this forum alone & most will at least have some interest in free diving!
Well, this number is not very reliable, since the forum registration rules are too loose, and it not only allows a single member having multiple accounts (which I know is often the case), but a huge number of registrees are just spammers and spam bots, in fact (fortunately they are usually banned by our moderators as soon as they attempt to spam us). Besides it, although DB is a very popular freediving forum, there are also many members not having any interest in freediving. And then, there are also many DB members who registered without really being any divers or freedivers at all. The member bases of freediving and spearfishing federations, competition databases, or the apnea.cz member base requiring a very strict entry test, are much more reliable source of data. And that's where my estimates came from.
 
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Crikey mate! I am sure you are factually right but, it was just a light hearted comment intending to suggest there are a lot of folk interested in free diving!
 
No worry my friend, I was just trying to explain that better than basing the estimates on a huge number of crooks willing to spam anyone, there are also other sources of data, which may be a bit more precise. But in fact the numbers roughly correlate, so there is no problem at all. Still, the main factor remains the definition of a "freediver" or a "spearfisher" which can change the numbers by many orders.
 
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Crikey mate! I am sure you are factually right but, it was just a light hearted comment intending to suggest there are a lot of folk interested in free diving!

leave it to Trux to get all gloomy and techinical on us rofl

i think that you could safely guess 1/4 of a million people at minimum considering that many folks may not be a DB but it is a great place to start....

kp
 
Crikey mate! I am sure you are factually right but, it was just a light hearted comment intending to suggest there are a lot of folk interested in free diving!

Can't go to toilet nowadays without someone trying to regulate it. rofl

the apnea.cz member base requiring a very strict entry test

So strict that not many people bother at all. rofl
 
So strict that not many people bother at all.
That's not a problem at all. There is no obligation to register for most of the content available on the website. It is only needed for security reasons for the training program and exercise database. People who do not care, will find many other alternatives (both at apnea.cz as elsewhere on the web). The purpose of Apnea.cz is not to hunt the biggest possible number of members, but to serve freedivers quality content, while having the safety on mind as much as possible. Still, three thousands of people who did pass the test, prove that freedivers do bother to register. So I do not think you are quite right. Those who do not bother about safety and theory, are not really welcome, unless they are willing to learn or admit they need it. :)
 
Just a joke mate. Did not want to hurt your ego.
I am sure it is the best site - in the world (in Jeremy Clarckson's accent). rofl
 
I am sorry the test frustrated you so much, but as I told, you have plenty of other alternatives :)
 
Nice to see some friendly banter amongst our respected members - happy new year every body :friday :)
 
Hey Trux
Since this came up last time I tried taking the test on my iPhone it didn't work, couldn't scroll past the first page. Been a while and might have been fixed since then but thought i'd let you know.
I'm also pretty sure there are large numbers of freedivers/spearos in the world who are not on the internet etc :)
Posted via Mobile Device
 
Since this came up last time I tried taking the test on my iPhone it didn't work, couldn't scroll past the first page. Been a while and might have been fixed since then but thought i'd let you know.
Nobody reported this problem, so I cannot confirm whether it works or not, but I plan adding a light version of the layout for mobile devices, so hope it will help in such cases.

I'm also pretty sure there are large numbers of freedivers/spearos in the world who are not on the internet etc :)
That's sure, and that's why the total estimates are much higher than the online numbers. However, the estimates are based on the numbers of competitors - and they are pretty exact, regardless if the competitor uses Internet or not. Numbers of organized non-competitors, and recreational freedivers are then derived from those numbers, based on ratios from online statistics, and from memberships of freediving federations.
 
Maybe a dozen or so worldwide. Most of what you read here is fantasy from guys and girls stuck behind a desk. An alternative to video games. Dive safe.
 
I'm definitely an 'armchair freediver' lol
Posted via Mobile Device
 
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