Freediving Level 1 - PFI (Performance Freediving International)

PFI offers recreational, professional, and Breath-Hold Survival courses to fit all freediving abilities, goals, and needs. Whether you have no water experience or decades of it, we guarantee that taking a PFI course will make you a safer, more efficient, and more confident diver.

Look at your safety. Are you the safest you can be? If not, fix it. The more you learn, the safer you will be. A safe diver is a good diver--with safety at the forefront, you can truly enjoy the amazing experiences and challenges that freediving brings into your life. 

Freediver

Learn to freedive down to a maximum depth of 20m/66 feet!
This program teaches fundamental freediving techniques for comfortable enjoyment in the aquatic world to depths of 20m/66ft. You will also practice Static Apnea to help develop your breath-holding abilities and in-water comfort.

Your PFI Freediver course will cover fundamental topics such as:

• Essential safety procedures for breath-holding at Freediver Level
• Proper breathing techniques for freediving and snorkeling
• Confined water skill development i.e. Static Apnea
• Open water skill development i.e. technique for deep diving
• Equalization for deep diving
• Equipment for freediving and snorkeling
• The fundamental physics and physiology of freediving to understand what happens to your body at depth

IS THIS COURSE FOR YOU?

• You’re interested in learning the fundamental techniques of freediving
• You’re new to freediving
• You typically dive in the shallows
• You want to dive safely
• You want to hold your breath longer
• You want to dive deeper

Download and review the PFI medical form. If you answer YES to any question, you need to get a doctor's approval to take part in the course. Email us if you have any questions about the medical form.

FORMAT / DURATION 2-2.5 DAYS

The PFI Freediver course includes:

• Classroom sessions
• 2 Confined Water sessions
• 2 Open Water sessions

SKILLS

There are many skills that will be practiced repeatedly, simulated, and taught throughout the duration of every course. It should be noted that in order to pass the course, a student must complete all the classroom sessions as well as the pool and ocean sessions. In accordance with participation, a student will receive a certificate based on the skills and objectives they complete even if it is lower than the course they are currently taking. There are pool and ocean qualifications to pass in each PFI course. If a student only wants to pass the pool section, PFI instructors are happy to accommodate but will need to be informed before the class begins.

By the end of the Freediver course, a student will be able to perform the following skills:

• Adequate safe buddy skills, showing how to perform a rescue to PFI standards

• Perform a 1:30 static in the pool with opportunity to increase to maximum capacity

• Dive with proper technique to 10 meters constant weight and free immersion using the PFI method of entrance and exit with proper recovery breathing

• If only receiving pool certification, must complete 25-meter dynamic plus the 1:30 static

CLASSROOM

• Attend all classroom teaching sessions

• Stretching and equalizing workshops

• CO2 and 02 workshops

• Complete all quizzes in manual

• Complete pre-learning quiz before class

• Pass final with 80 percent or more

WATERMANSHIP & STAMINA

• Prepare freediving equipment without instructor assistance

• Proper entry procedure (select best local option)

• 25 meter no mask snorkel swim without surfacing

• Snorkel blast clearing

RECOVERY BREATHING AND COACHING

• Minimum of four consecutive static breath-holds without any hypoxic symptoms minimum of 1:30

• Recovery breathing and coaching for a buddy 

• Pool only: Complete a minimum of three dynamic apnea performances with no hypoxic symptoms to a minimum distance of 25m/82 feet plus 1:30 static

OPEN WATER - Troy Springs State Park

• Recovery breathing and coaching (hooking)

• Six target constant ballast dives reaching minimum 10m/33 feet

• Four free immersion dives to a minimum depth of 10m/33 feet

• Emergency rescue and problem management (rescue scenarios)

  • Managing an LMC and blackout on surface and underwater blackout

• Full mask flood and ascent from depth

PREREQUISITES

• Swimming or snorkeling experience
• Good health and fitness–see PFI Medical Form
• 10 years of age with guardian permission

WHAT TO BRING: BASIC SNORKELING AND SCUBA EQUIPMENT CAN BE USED BUT WE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT FREEDIVING SPECIFIC EQUIPMENT IS USED FOR THIS COURSE

For this course, each diver is responsible for bringing his or her own equipment: (ALL EQUIPMENT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT SCUBA MONKEY DIVE CENTER)

• Mask, snorkel, fins
• Full wetsuit (3mm for warm water locations; 5-7mm for cold water locations)
• Rubber weight belt and small number weights
• Timing device or Freedive Computer