>People

>need to meet the diver at one-third their depth to ensure protection of the airway
>in case of an underwater blackout.
>I have been teaching freediving courses with Performance Freediving International (PFI) for more than five years, and one of the most common comments I hear from students is that they didn't realize how dangerous freediving could be without a trained buddy or that having a lookout on the boat is not enough. Freedivers need to have eyes on each other on every dive and be close enough to intervene if needed. Proper training is key to recognizing a problem, being close enough to respond and knowing how to react and protect the airway of a freediver coming up from a dive.
>A good buddy can retrieve you if you encounter a problem while freediving, but being overweighted could put you in a situation that even the most vigilant and highly trained buddy might be unable to manage. Students and untrained individuals often wear too much lead so that on the surface with a peak inhalation (their lungs completely full) they have to swim to keep their heads above the surface. If they were to lose consciousness after a prolonged breath hold, they would sink below the surface, possibly at an alarming rate.
>Many students try to justify being overweighted because they want to get to the bottom more easily. While we all want to get down easily and have a relaxing dive, appropriate entry technique with correct weighting makes it even easier than loading up on lead. If you are properly weighted, you do not have to work as hard while diving. Therefore, you conserve necessary oxygen and are much more likely to return to the surface without issue.
>Surfacing

>properly trained diver can manage.
>Freediving in a controlled environment, such as in a class, is different from going with a buddy or two, unsupervised by a professional, with a camera or speargun in your hand. Out on your own you must dive even more conservatively. When diving in a group, never dive deeper than any of your buddies can, and don't expose the group to conditions that any member is uncomfortable handling.
>Freediving instructors will encourage you to push yourself and perform outside of your comfort levels, but you should never feel pressured into doing something you do not want to do. If you choose not to perform a necessary skill, however, you will not get the certification.
>In the end you will have a newfound respect for the water and the skills you need to freedive safely.
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![]() >life-support equipment. |
>The Association Internationale pour le Développement de l'Apnée (AIDA) and the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS), the two leading organizations that oversee freediving competitions, have rules that competition organizers must follow. These rules ensure the safety of all athletes, safety divers, judges and spectators, and they keep the playing field even.
>Some rules prohibit athletes from exceeding a maximum depth compared with their recent maximum depths, require use of a freediver recovery system or require athletes to return to the surface if they stop their descent. If someone breaks these rules or an incident occurs, teams of experienced and qualified safety divers are ready to make a rescue.

>personal boundaries and set new records.
>Most issues happen in the last one-third of the ascent, so freediver safeties go to one-third of the athlete's announced performance depth and follow the athlete up from there. Other designated freediving safeties follow the athlete down on a scooter — at Deja Blue they go to depths of 196 feet (60 meters) to 230 feet (70 meters). Should freedivers have an issue while deeper than the upper third of their prescribed maximum depth on ascent, the scooter safety can protect their airway and quickly get them to the surface. To protect themselves from the effects of decompression illness (DCI) during these rapid ascents from depth, scooter safeties will offgas by breathing gas with elevated partial pressures of oxygen at the surface, a technical freediving technique developed by Kirk Krack, PFI's founder and CEO.
>Scuba safeties must not only have proper technical training and the experience to operate at these depths but also be well versed in freediving so they know what to look for and how to respond in a freediving emergency. They can use noisemakers to signal a problem and initiate the freediver recovery system or directly intervene by attaching a lift bag to the blacked-out or injured freediver, quickly sending him or her up the competition line to the surface.
>The many facets of safety in freediving start with assuming personal responsibility. Never freedive alone, and always get training from a recognized agency to ensure your safety and the safety of the sport.
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