PADI freediving courses - is it a joke???

[x_yeti]

Ok, my title is a bit of a cheeky reference to the old SSI thread

As several people predicted, the other scuba agencies are rolling out their freediving courses, the latest being PADI:

Freitauchen bei PADI

Freitauchen bei PADI: Österreichische Tauchlehrer entwickeln Apnoe-Ku

http://www.umex.at/Tauchen/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=247

http://www.umex.at/Tauchen/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=248

It looks like PADI have come in with lower prices and less course content (look at the course duration) in order to compete with SSI. Even though I'm cringing as I type this, I believe that this will benefit freediving as a whole if it gets more people into the sport.

P.S. if you don't understand German, here are the google translate versions:

Google Translate

Google Translate

Google Translate

Google Translate

 

[Lobo Marino]

If i understood correctly the google translation,this is not a padi freediving programm ,but another padi "distinctive specialty".
individual Padi instructors can write the standards for their own Padi specialty and be granted the right to teach it individually after padi rewiewed the standards.
If a padi course director has a "distinctive specialty" ,he can teach and sell it to another instructor ,but more comveniently a padi instrucor may as well write his own and apply directly to padi for it
I've met people who did such a freediving course in Cyprus too ,and i believe a few padi instructors have been conducting their own freediving specialty for a few years now.
There are rumours that padi are working on a real freediving programm ,i dunno how true that is ,but it would not be surprising ,SSI being their biggest competition at the moment in the scuba industry.

 

[shrek]

Well here comes the competition. It was only a matter of time

 

[Lobo Marino]

Well here comes the competition. It was only a matter of time

not exactly ,this is not a real padi freediving programm ,this type of padi "freediving distinctive specialties" exist for many years,and are designed for one single instructor to teach it.Padi does not really promote it.
look at this old thread about the subject :

http://forums.deeperblue.com/freedi...oking-padi-destingtive-specialty-outline.html