FAQs

What is Freediving?

Freediving is the practice by which human beings awaken and strengthen innate physiological capabilities, which allow us to safely spend more time underwater, on just one breath. Everyone can be taught to freedive safely. In-depth description here : What is Freediving?

Is Freediving dangerous?

Freediving is like any other sport. The safety of the practice is in the hands of the practitioner. At Freediving.ie, we pride ourselves on the teaching and maintenance of the highest safety standards during courses, coaching & retreats.

Do I need to be fit to freedive?

The course entry requirements for AIDA-1 state the student must “Be able to swim at least 100m non-stop” and AIDA-2 state that the student “Can swim at least 200m non-stop without fins or at least 300m non-stop with mask, fins and snorkel.” Effectively, this means that you need to able to swim these distances, and then still have enough energy to engage in training activities in the open water for up to 2 hours at a time.

What is AIDA?

AIDA International is one of the largest and most highly regarded Freediving federations, constantly working to provide and improve upon world-class education and safety standards. Courses entitled AIDA-1, AIDA-2, etc. are certification levels associated with different levels of edcuation and requirement achievement in the AIDA certification framework.

Which course is right for me?

It depends. We generally advise to start at the beginning. Freediving does not necessarily benefit from prior scuba diving experience.

AIDA-1 “Introduction to Freediving” - This course suitable for complete beginners and will provide you with enough knowledge and experience to know if you would like to take your Freediving education further. AIDA-1 is an experiential course, aiming to produce safe Freediving students with a good understanding of their instinctive equalisation practice, i.e. Valsalva or Frenzel, and guidance on how to migrate to or improve Frenzel equalisation.
AIDA-2 “Freediver” - Ideal for students who have completed AIDA-1 with a good appreciation of how to practice Frenzel equalisation. An online “EQ-Check” is available for interested students.
AIDA-3 “Advanced Freediver” - For students who have completed AIDA-2 or equivalent.
AIDA 2-4 Crossover - Evaluation course for those wishing to transfer to the AIDA system of training from other approved federations.
Monofin - For anyone interested in beginning their Monofin journey.

See the certification page for information on how to achieve certification. Blocks of training time / sessions are available to purchase: Classroom, Open Water & Pool. This provides students with a cost-effective way to pursue certification according to their own schedules. “Classroom” and “Pool” certification sessions are purchased through the shop, and “Open Water” sessions are booked using the Book Freediving Training page. Once purchased, “Classroom” & “Pool” sessions are scheduled directly with each student.

Do you offer coaching?

Outside of formal certification courses, Freediving.ie provides the following training and coaching:

Pool Freediving - Thursdays from 19:00 - 20:00 at the Markievicz Sports and Fitness Centre, Dublin 2.
Depth & EQ Coaching - Portroe Quarry, Co. Tipperary.
Online Equalisation - A 4-week online equalisation improvement program.

All coaching can be booked through the Book Freediving Training page.