Can everyone make it to SDI intermediate free diver?

[sabbe]

Pretty close to a recent discussion but though I'd bound it a little more. Can everyone make it to SDI intermediate free diver?

Some of the req's:
Minimum of four consecutive static breath-holds without any hypoxic symptoms minimum 3:00.
Eight constant ballast dives reaching minimum 25m/82ft using proper entrance and exit.
Eight free immersion dives to 25m/82 feet.

I have leftover GI Bill so the wife and I are interested in traveling from NoVA to somewhere we can learn free diving. Locally we're not going to make it past 60' Unfortunately Veterans Affairs bundles both the basic and intermediate courses into one so I'm concerned about not finishing and not getting reimbursed. We've both done pool free diver course but have concerns about equalizing or being able to make the time.

Sam

 

[CG43]

Do you need a freedive certification ?
As long as you don't want to work as a freedine instructor why ?
I have not experienced that a certificate was required for freediving.
If you don't need a certificate do the course no matter if you pass the exam or not.
If you then practice what you have learned for about 1 year, you can do it in practice
and under exam conditions.
This and not the cert. will make you a better diver and a better scuba instructor.

 

[Aquaviolator]

Do you need a freedive certification ?
As long as you don't want to work as a freedine instructor why ?
I have not experienced that a certificate was required for freediving.
If you don't need a certificate do the course no matter if you pass the exam or not.
If you then practice what you have learned for about 1 year, you can do it in practice
and under exam conditions.
This and not the cert. will make you a better diver and a better scuba instructor.

I've heard some dive operators require one. Think its more about liability coverage

 

[GiraffeMarineSalvage]

We've both done pool free diver course but have concerns about equalizing or being able to make the time.

Time of 3 minutes is something you can almost guarantee being able to do if you practice beforehand (practice breathe ups and if an over achiever O2 and CO2 tables which are readily available online).
82' on the other hand absolutely requires going into the course healthy (ie simply having the sniffles you might struggle to get to the deep end of a pool, let alone 60' or 82'). In the small sample size of the FII level 1 course I took everyone got to 60' pretty easily and personally diving after the first class I plateaued at ~87' before I took a level 2 class. (The more time between level 1 and level 2 the better in my personal opinion though...)

 

[Subcooled]

Pretty close to a recent discussion but though I'd bound it a little more. Can everyone make it to SDI intermediate free diver?

Some of the req's:
Minimum of four consecutive static breath-holds without any hypoxic symptoms minimum 3:00.
Eight constant ballast dives reaching minimum 25m/82ft using proper entrance and exit.
Eight free immersion dives to 25m/82 feet.

I have leftover GI Bill so the wife and I are interested in traveling from NoVA to somewhere we can learn free diving. Locally we're not going to make it past 60' Unfortunately Veterans Affairs bundles both the basic and intermediate courses into one so I'm concerned about not finishing and not getting reimbursed. We've both done pool free diver course but have concerns about equalizing or being able to make the time.

Sam

1. I did 50+ meters horizontally, no fins, absolutely not an athlete (OK, I admit, that 65m was a fail...).
2. I guess - and this is just a guess - anyone reasonably fit could do the same 25m x 2 vertically - after some equalization practise.
3. I am not a freediving instructor, neither am I an experienced freediver. My comments thus have limited value.

 

[lizardland]

I guess - and this is just a guess - anyone reasonably fit could do the same 25m x 2 vertically - after some equalization practise.

I did a level 1 & 2 course in Thailand, there were 8 of us on the course and I think everyone achieved all the requirements. A very mixed class of different levels of fitness and experience. Everyone was hitting 30m dives by the end and on the static day everyone was doing >4min. I hit 6, I think someone else got 7. That was with no prior experience. As you say, if you're reasonably fit then it is achievable.

 

[Subcooled]

Now, when I hit 65m and resurfaced, I lost consciousness and was revived by a safety diver.
All of us who do love freediving, we have different hard limits.
Nevertheless, breath hold diving is so relaxing!

 

[CG43]

All of us who do love freediving, we have different hard limits.
Nevertheless, breath hold diving is so relaxing!

And even when a freediver dives with scuba, he maintains relaxation and is able to respond calmly for a longer time in case of any problems, unlike just a only scuba diver. Freediving is therefore also an excellent way to increase enjoyment and safety while scuba diving.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Freediving/skindiving is an excellent pre- scuba activity that is extremely valuable to learn and be good at as a lead in to tank diving.
It teaches water hydrodynamics, relaxation, acclimation, mask clearing skills, watermanship, etc. a freediver will go into a scuba class with an entirely different skillset that most scuba only people have no clue about.
Most of the divers where I come from were prior freedivers before getting into scuba.
Unless someone is looking to fast track themselves for some specific reason like competing or such, I don't see a need for a lot of training. There are several good books on the subject to get a person started.
Part of the appeal of freediving is that it doesn't require an expensive course or certifications. Just go buy a suit, fins/socks, mask, snorkel, weightbelt, gloves and go for it.
We have several freedivers in our cadre that started from scratch and they're putting most of our scuba divers to shame.