Intermediate

Learn to freedive down to a maximum depth of 40m/132 feet!

This program teaches freediving techniques for comfortable enjoyment in the aquatic world to depths of 40m/132ft. You will also practice Static Apnea to help develop your breath-holding abilities and in-water comfort.

Your PFI Intermediate Freediver course will cover topics such as:

• Intermediate safety and buddy procedures

• Proper ventilation for gas saturation and volume

• Equipment for freediving

• Mental aspects of freediving

• Detailed physics and physiology of freediving

• Confined-water static apnea development

• Open water constant ballast development

• Practices for intermediate freediving

Is this course for you?

• You have basic experience in scuba, freediving, and/or spearfishing

• You’re interested in freediving in the 25-40m/80-132 feet range

• You’d like to learn to hold your breath between 3-5 minutes

Format/Duration

The PFI Intermediate Freediver course includes, at a minimum:

• Classroom Sessions

• Confined Water sessions

• Open Water sessions

What can you expect to learn?

Some of the skills a student will be able to accomplish at the end of the PFI Intermediate Freediver course are:

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

• Organize gear without the instructor’s help

• Perform a 3:00 static in the pool with opportunity to increase to maximum capacity

• Dive with proper technique to 25 meters constant weight and free immersion using the PFI method of entrance and exit with proper recovery breathing

Prerequisites

• Freediver course or equivalent experience with freediving, spearfishing, or scuba diving (general comfort in the water)

• You have basic freediving experience and can achieve depths anywhere from 6–30m/20–99 feet with relative comfort

• You have a breath-hold time of around one minute or longer

• Good health and fitness—check the PFI Medical Form

• 12 years of age with guardian permission

• Constant Ballast of 6 meters/20 feet

Course Components

Classroom

• Attend all classroom teaching sessions

• Stretching and equalizing seminar

• CO2 and O2 training clinic

• Complete all quizzes in manual

• Complete pre learning quiz before class

• Pass final with 80 percent or more

Watermanship and Stamina

• Swim test

• Survival float

• Snorkel skills

Confined Water

• Minimum of four consecutive static breath-holds without any hypoxic symptoms minimum 3:00

• Recovery breathing and coaching

• Optional: Minimum of three dynamic performances

• Optional: Complete a minimum 50m dynamic apnea

• Negative pressure dives

Open Water

• Recovery breathing and coaching for buddy

• Eight constant ballast dives reaching minimum 25m/82ft using proper entrance and exit

• Emergency rescue and problem management, surface and underwater

• Including LMC, blackout at surface and underwater

• Full mask flood and ascent from 10m/33 feet

• Eight free immersion dives to 25m/82 feet

• Weight belt removal and ascent from 10m/33 feet

Equipment Used:

• Mask, snorkel, fins

• Appropriate exposure protection

• Weight system

• Timing device or freedive computer