Skills

If students cannot do this, they may receive a certificate reflecting what they can accomplish. Some students take the course for the experience and not the certification. These students often participate in just the confined-water sessions. We are happy to accommodate students who wish to do so; however, we need to know this ahead of time.

To earn PFI Intermediate Freediver certification, students must be able to:

• Prepare gear without the instructor's help

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

• Dive with proper technique to at least 25 m/82 ft constant weight and free immersion using the PFI method of entrance and exit with proper recovery breathing

Classroom

• Attend all classroom teaching sessions

• Stretching and equalizing workshops

• CO2 and 02 workshops

• Complete all quizzes and exams

• Complete pre learning quiz before class

• Pass final with 80 percent or more

Watermanship and stamina

• Prepare freediving equipment without instructor assistance

• Proper entry procedure (select best local option)

• 200-meter continuous swim without fins, snorkel, wetsuit, or flotation

• Minimum of ten-minute tread/float

Confined Water

• Minimum of four consecutive static breath-holds with no hypoxic symptoms achieving at least 3 minutes

• Recovery breathing and coaching

• Manage LMCs and blackouts both on the surface and underwater

• Finding a blacked-out diver on surface

• Six negative-pressure dives

Open water

• Recovery breathing and coaching for buddy

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

• Emergency rescue and problem management (rescue scenarios), surface and underwater including LMC, blackout at surface and underwater

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

• Eight free immersion dives to at least 25 m/82 ft

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

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