What is Freediving?

Freediving is breath-hold diving, being in and under the water whilst holding one’s
breath. Today, most people associate freediving with images of superhumans plunging
to the darkest depths of the ocean with only the air in their lungs, the power of
their bodies, and the will of their minds to keep them alive and bring them back.
However every time you slip into the water and hold your breath you are a
freediver, exploring our world of water from the shallows to, occasionally the
depths.
What is Freediving?

Diving without an aqualung is often referred to as ‘skin diving’ or ‘snorkeling’.

Both can use a mask, snorkel, and fins, but freediving will always involve a
breath-hold, no matter how deep you go. Humans first started freediving through
necessity, for food, trade-able items or items lost overboard, however in more
recent times, freediving has evolved into a recreational pastime, a way to take
photos, catch food, and as a sport.

Competitive freediving has different disciplines to reflect the various ways that
you can be in the water and hold your breath. This came with the emergence of
competitions involving teams, countries, and many individuals. Back in the early
part of this century, there was a distinction between records done in salt and
freshwater, although this has since been stopped.

In individual and team world championships, each diver will perform a constant
weight dive with fins, a dynamic swim with fins, and a static breath hold with
points awarded for each discipline to arrive at a final combined score. Free
immersion, constant weight no-fins, and dynamic no-fins can also be a competition
discipline they are usually stand-alone events.

The most recognized disciplines are explained below, although many people often
seek to invent new disciplines, whether for fun or competition.
Types of Freediving

Let’s take a look at the different types of freediving now. You’ll hear Freedivers
talk in strange code when referring to diving to depth or in the pool with
different equipment and here we’ll try to de-mystify it.

This can be done with fins (CWT) and without fins (CNF)

This is a depth discipline and a competition discipline. Seen by many as the purest
form of freediving, the diver descends and ascends under their own power, the
weight (or not) that they wear on their person remaining the same throughout the
dive.

Constant weight with fins (CWT), along with static apnea, were the original two
competition disciplines before Dynamic with Fins (DYN) was added. In the first
international competitions, most people wore bi-fins with only a handful of people
using the monofin. The monofin proved to be far more effective than bi-fins and now
it is the monofin that all deep competitors use.

In the past few years, constant weight without fins (CNF) has become increasingly
popular. There are competitions that have CNF as a category, with depths thought
impossible even for No-Limits diving a few decades ago. CNF can be challenging
overcoming initial positive buoyancy at the start of the dive and then negative
buoyancy at the bottom as the diver starts to ascend. This is further complicated
by having to use one of the pulling arms to equalize. To help overcome the issue of
equalization, most CNF divers wear a nose-clip and fluid goggles (or no mask) to
keep both arms free for the stroke.
Free Immersion Freediving (FIM)
Sayuri Kinoshita from Japan is on her way down to an 80 meter FIM Japanese record.
Photo by Daan Verhoeven
Sayuri Kinoshita from Japan is on her way down to an 80 meter FIM Japanese record.
Photo by Daan Verhoeven

A depth discipline where no fins are worn and the diver pulls down a rope and back.
This is often used as a warm-up for a constant weight dive to save the legs whilst
still preparing the body for depth and checking how smoothly the ears are
equalizing.

It is also used extensively on beginner freediver courses so students can learn

equalization skills slowly and carefully. For many people new to the sport and
having issues equalizing, it is only possible to do so feet first, and so pulling
down the rope is invaluable, although this takes extra effort. Whenever a diver
uses free immersion to prepare for depth diving, fins are always used as a safety
precaution to make it easier to ascend to the surface.
Variable Weight Freediving (VWT)

This discipline uses added weight to take the diver to depth, and then the diver
returns to the surface under their own steam, finning and also using the arms to
pull on the rope.

It is not a competition discipline, however, there are national and world records
set in it and it is often used to train equalization and constant weight with fins
diving.
No Limits Freediving (NLT)

This discipline is the deepest, the one that most makes the news, and arguably the
most dangerous. In No Limits, you use a weight to take you as deep as possible and
then a buoyancy device to return you to the surface. Very few freedivers train for
No Limits however it was the main method of freediving that the pioneers such as
Jacques Mayol and Enzo Majorca used when diving deeper, and was immortalized in the
film The Big Blue.

In the sixties, the depths achieved meant that it was possible for the diver at the
bottom of the dive to use a tank to fill a lift-bag that would take them back to
the surface. As dives got deeper and deeper, however, the lift achieved was not as
effective and sometimes the hose would come out of the bag it was supposed to be
filling. In addition, with the risk of nitrogen narcosis, it was unsafe to rely on
the diver at the bottom of the dive to execute a series of functions to fill the
bag, As a result, the deepest divers have preferred to use a buoyancy device not
reliant on air or the diver at the bottom to perform and bring the diver safely
back to the surface.

Pool Disciplines
Static Apnea (STA)

This is simply holding your breath for as long as possible, lying on the surface of
the water, usually in a swimming pool. It is one of the hardest disciplines, simply
due to the fact that there is nothing to distract you from the breath-hold. It is
also very easy to give up as the surface is millimeters rather than meters away.

Static apnea (STA), along with constant weight with fins is one of the original
competition disciplines and is always the last to be performed in competitions. It
is the ‘decider’ discipline, with competitors using tactics to ensure they only
have to do the minimum needed in order to win unless of course, they are going for
a record!
Static apnea is a discipline that can be practiced all year round in a pool, which
is perfect for freedivers who live far from open water or in colder climates where
it is not possible to train depth all year round. In addition, it is great training
for all-around apnea ability, mental toughness, and confidence.

Dynamic Apnea (DYN or DNF)

The can be done with fins (DYN) and without fins (DNF)

This discipline is usually performed in a pool and is based on maximum distance

horizontally under the water. Both are competition disciplines but dynamic with
fins is used in International team competitions.

Dynamic disciplines are great training for style and constant weight diving
particularly in colder countries where access to open water diving is limited to
the summer months. Some divers are also unable to equalize or find it very
difficult, and so dynamic with and without fins is a way that they can enjoy
freediving without the issues of depth.

Even though records can be set in every discipline, when freediving for fun, the
most common discipline freedivers use is constant weight, using fins to explore and
enjoy the underwater world. Free immersion is often used for equalization practice
and to get to a suitable depth for buddying whilst saving the legs for a possible
rescue and many freedivers take to one discipline such as dynamic without fins over
another simply because they enjoy the feeling and have little access to depth due
to location or weather. If however, a freediver is keen on competing then they will
usually focus on the main competition disciplines of constant weight with fins,
dynamic with fins, and static apnea. Ultimately, however, freediving is about being
in the water whilst breath-holding and practicing one discipline can have
beneficial results for another.