which course? CMAS, FII or AIDA?

[Captain_HX]

Hi DB,

I looking into booking a free diving course here in Cyprus for September but I haven't decided yet by which agency.

Here in Cyprus courses are offered by CMAS, AIDA and FII so i have to choose one of these agencies. My question is what are the differences between these courses? I'm interested about skills taught in these courses and certification limitations.

During my scuba diving training I always choosed the instructor and not the agency. If I see that there are no major differences between courses I will do the same for free diving.

Regards
Elias
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[frozen duck]

I was very happy with my AIDA course,but others may be just fine too?

I think you should think about competing, if you are looking forward to attending some comps,which will be the organisation thats arranging them?

I hope someone with more knowledge will answer.

 

[Captain_HX]

Hi frozen duck and thanx for the reply

I'm not really into competing. I'm more interested in underwater photography/videography.

AFAIK most free diving events that take place here are organised and governed by AIDA and local spearfishing organisations.

So maybe AIDA is the way to go?

Regards
Elias
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[Rik]

Like you wrote yourself, it is the instructor who defines the course, not the organisation. If your interests are with underwater photography and videography, I would go for the freediving instructor that has experience in this specific field of diving. An experienced instructor should be able to help you to reach your personal goals.

 

[Captain_HX]

Thanks Rik

This was my thought when I wrote that in scuba I choose the instructor and not the organisation.

But before I book a course I would like to know if there are any differences between the courses of these three organisations. In the scuba industry the certifying organisations have agreed on the training standards. Is this the case with freediving?

I found out from a friend that CMAS one star freediver is limited by his certification card to dive to 10m and that with FII you are limited to 20m. Is this correct? What is the max depth for AIDA entry level course? I also heard that to get CMAS certified you must achieve 1min in static and 25m in dynamics. Do other agencies have similar requirements?

I'm new to this and I'm trying to get as much info I can before getting certified.

Sorry for my ignorance.

Regards
Elias
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[BennyB]

Hi Elias,

I'm not sure of the requirements of any CMAS courses. The AIDA 2 star course has some minimum requirements to pass the course (although even if you meet the written criteria for minimum depth, time and length you can get failed by the instructor if they feel you are not up to it in terms of being able to demonstrate that you've learnt the skills taught) - Constant Weight depth is minimum 16m, Dynamic length is 40m and 2min static.

AIDA, and perhaps other organisations have maximum limits on how deep or long you can perform on the course itself (eg. AIDA 2 star you cannot dive deeper than 20m) - this is because of safety reasons and to a certain extent liability reasons too.

However, as far as I know the activity of freediving is not regulated, in that you can only dive to a certain depth if you have a particular certification. It would be both impossible and impractical to police such a thing.

Whichever course you choose (assuming reputable), a course is an important investment to the new freediver, it will stop bad habits from the start, it will teach you the right education from the beginning, it will also hopefully save your life and, just as importantly, it will help you save someone else's life.

Cheers,
Ben

ps. Choose AIDA

 

[Captain_HX]

Hi BennyB and thanks for the info and advice.

It seams that not many here know about CMAS or FII?

Regards
Elias
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[Rik]

Hi,

I am an AIDA instructor, so I might be biased. I don't know the current curriculum of FII, I did know that CMAS has an standard program, which might be extended by CMAS national affiliates. So, what the CMAS instructor offers is more reliable then asking for the general CMAS standards.

Nevertheless, I do believe that depth, length of time requirements are a bit overrated as a tool to evaluate a course quality, or predict its usefulness.

It is not hard to do a 2 minute breath-hold, but it can be hard to do a technical sound 2 minute breath-hold. The experience in teaching technique might be different from each instructor, independent of the organisation.

Best guess is to send the instructor you want to approach an e-mail, explain your goal and background, and ask them if they can help you, what they would offer and let them tell to you their experience.

 

[Captain_HX]

I got in contact with a local instrator who is both AIDA and CMAS and he told me that the courses are more or less the same. He can provide training under both organisations and i choosed AIDA.

The other thing he pointed out is that with my backroung in scuba and sperfishing (few years ago) i can proceed directly to be certified as AIDA 2 star freediver. My course will start in September when the istructor returns from some freediving event in greece.

Thanks to all for the info/advice

Regards
Elias

ps. now i have to get ready for my upcoming course ))

 

[flamencoguru]

FII is the only truly standardized freediving education/agency in the world. Meaning it has set standards for all of its instructors. They are not to deviate from this. This provides consistency in the education and you will receive the same information in the same flow, no matter what instructor will teach it to you. Of course, these is always a difference in personality of the instructors but the information is always the same anywhere in the world.

No other agency provides that.

I know this thread is old but FII is really gaining ground and building a reputation because of this.

I also noticed that no other agency, except for PFI, puts an emphasis on safety. This is the absolutely most important thing in every FII course. It is engrained in its curriculum.

Freediving Instructors International, FII : Free Diving Training : Freediving Classes : Freediving Courses

 

[Simos]

FII is the only truly standardized freediving education/agency in the world. Meaning it has set standards for all of its instructors. They are not to deviate from this. This provides consistency in the education and you will receive the same information in the same flow, no matter what instructor will teach it to you. Of course, these is always a difference in personality of the instructors but the information is always the same anywhere in the world.

No other agency provides that.

I know this thread is old but FII is really gaining ground and building a reputation because of this.

I also noticed that no other agency, except for PFI, puts an emphasis on safety. This is the absolutely most important thing in every FII course. It is engrained in its curriculum.

Freediving Instructors International, FII : Free Diving Training : Freediving Classes : Freediving Courses

I have a feeling you are a bit biased I really don't feel strongly for any organisation, I did my courses with AIDA and I can't say there was a lack of emphasis on safety. How did you conclude that no other agency puts an emphasis on safety?

It's one thing saying that agency X puts a lot of emphasis on safety and another thing saying that others don't - if you do say this I think it's only fair to at least explain why.

I'd be (genuinely) interested to know if this is the case so that I understand what the gaps in what I've been taught are and try to fill them in another way...

 

[flamencoguru]

I have a feeling you are a bit biased I really don't feel strongly for any organisation, I did my courses with AIDA and I can't say there was a lack of emphasis on safety. How did you conclude that no other agency puts an emphasis on safety?

It's one thing saying that agency X puts a lot of emphasis on safety and another thing saying that others don't - if you do say this I think it's only fair to at least explain why.

I'd be (genuinely) interested to know if this is the case so that I understand what the gaps in what I've been taught are and try to fill them in another way...

Hello Simos,

Yes, perhaps you are right about being bias (I will not deny that). I came to my conclusion vía other European freedivers who have taken and are instructors from other agencies. All that I've talked to have said that the FII classes put a "true" emphasis on safety, meaning it is the meat and potatoes of the course. Again, this is what they have told me. It must mean something.

Also, they were extremely pleased at the structure, ability to digest the materials and focus on recreational freediving, which is the vast majority of freediving. This is where FII has the advantage with the standardized system.

I'm sure you can learn to be a good freediver with any agency, I just feel that FII really has dialed it in.

 

[esom]

FII is the only truly standardized freediving education/agency in the world.
...
I know this thread is old but FII is really gaining ground and building a reputation because of this.

i hope so much it´ll keep being the only one!
...and the rest of the agencys put their emphathis onto the individuality of their members, which is by the way a very smart, having in mind that students are individualities too, and the same species through and through anyway.

standarisation in free diving as a value in itself ... speachless


Edit: i refer only onto the quoted post. and have not checked FII website or further outlines of the agency

 

[Kars]

On safety.

In my experience only safety techniques can be taught.
True safety is due to the quality of character of the individual.