Freediving Instruction

LOCAL DIVING | BYCHARL MARAIS & BRITTNEE ENGELBRECHT

The growing global interest in freediving and breath-hold diving has created the need to develop structured and endorsed courses for Instructors This has also opened new opportunities to develop courses for Freedive Instructors to grow and train other professional freediving instructors We asked PADI Freediver Instructor Trainer Charl Marais what went into the new PADI Distinctive Specialty of Freediver Staff Instructor course.

Scuba diving offers a specific course for people who intend to assist scuba course directors (CD) in Instructor Development training. This is a mandatory course before a PADI Professional can help a Scuba course director during an Instructor Development Course (IDC) The Staff Instructors Course aims to develop the assistant to serve as a mentor, counsellor, and trainer Someone capable of mentally, psychologically and physically working with Instructor Candidates on an IDC During this time, the staff instructor (SI) candidate is groomed to assist in developing professional dive instructors The Scuba SI course is a bridge from training divers to training instructors, and it encompasses greater responsibility and takes a dive into the IDC.

In freediving, the more advanced instructors are used as certified assistants on a Freediver Instructor course The minimum requirement for the PADI Freediver curriculum to act as an accredited assistant has the PADI Advanced Freediver Instructor certification This standard allows the instructor to be capable of freediving deep, having taught deep freediving courses and allows for a substantially experienced assistant It also allows the PADI Freediver Instructor-Trainer (FD-IT) to utilise an experienced professional to assist during a course.

"I wanted to allow my assistants to develop a bit more This course is not a prerequisite to assisting on an FD-ITC There is a definitive difference between training a student to dive and preparing an instructor candidate to teach diving I wanted more for my FD-ITC assistants; thus, the course was designed," said Charl, "I designed the PADI Distinctive Speciality of Freediver Staff Instructor (FD-SI) because I wanted the mental and emotional growth offered to the Scuba staff instructors I wanted more for my staff; I wanted them to stand out in a classroom and take charge confidently I enjoyed the 'above and beyond' the programme offered as this course allows the certified assistant to be coached and groomed into a counsellor, mentor and coach for instructor candidates I wanted them to be competent in all these aspects and experienced in dealing with instructor-level candidates since there is a large gap between the mentality of a student and that of an instructor candidate The development and training are also very different."

THE DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF A FREEDIVER STAFF INSTRUCTOR INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING

Organising and Preparing Candidates for the FD Instructor Training Course.

Independently upskill and mentor candidates in preparation (before) for the FD-ITC.

Assist with conducting FD-ITC training segments with PADI Freediver InstructorTrainer present and in control.

Evaluate and critique instructor candidate knowledge development, confined and open water teaching presentations with Freediver Instructor-Trainer present and in control.

Provide counselling and remedial training for FD instructor candidates.

Observe the orientation and closing sessions of the FD-ITC Instructor Examinations.

COURSE ASPECTS & DETAILS

As with the Scuba Staff Instructor course standards, Charl ensured adherence in developing the freediver version As a result, the Distinctive FD-SI course follows the same principles, values, objectives and outlines as the Scuba SI course It aligns with PADI's values and philosophy.

The course presentations, knowledge reviews, manuals, exams and workshops were based on the above, but also on tried and tested standard teaching tools to avoid potential challenges when training freediving instructors.

THE COURSE ITSELF ENTAILS MANY DIFFERENT ASPECTS

Pre-assessment of Dive theory, skill evaluation, and a knowledge development presentation The SI Candidate must have an 80% pass rate on skill demonstrations, briefings, exams and presentations.

Attending various course presentations.

Writing and passing a standards exam for the Distinctive FD-SI.

Higher level physiology, safety and physics training.

Evaluation Training where the SI candidate can evaluate student teaching presentations and is offered feedback and critique.

Finally, when prerequisites have been met, the SI candidate has to audit a full FD-ITC by staffing the course as an Advanced Instructor and conducting one of the seven instructor development presentations.

This course does not focus on developing a freediver into a PADI Instructor. Instead, it focuses on assisting the development of a PADI Advanced Freediver Instructor in developing their professional conduct when working with candidates undertaking instructor training. "We also focus on mental, personal, psychological and knowledge development," said Charl.

The PADI Distinctive Freediver Staff Instructor is an elite, distinctive speciality. They are responsible for influencing the development of the next generation of PADI Freediver instructors To apply for this course, the candidate needs to be a PADI Advanced Freediver instructor who has experience teaching PADI Advanced Freediver courses and has assisted with PADI Master Freediver development.

CANDIDATE'S EXPERIENCE WITH THE COURSE

The course involves an in-depth study of teaching, collaborating with and supporting other candidates who want to teach freediving. A freediving Staff Instructor has to relearn the Instructor course in a supporting role – identifying areas where they can support Freediving Instructor Candidates. "It has taught me to engage with my students and candidates on a much more personal level, recognising that certain people experience different challenges/difficulties on course as well as overcome them differently", says Brittnee Engelbrecht. "What is nice about an IT course is that all candidates have the desire to learn and improve their skills – so a lot of the time, when a problem is encountered, there is a joint/communal effort to effectively problem solve – which has taught me different ways of teaching and problem solving on my own courses."

To become a staff instructor, you must engage with the material, complete several presentations, and complete the Staff Instructor examination You must also revise the other Freediver examinations to enhance and recap Freediver, Advanced Freediver and Master Freediver theories. The final step of the journey was to audit an Instructor Trainer Course.

BRITTNEE'S FUTURE GOALS

"I would like to continue teaching Freediving courses in and around Cape Town I joined Charl in a business aptly named Apnea Addicts Freediving We intend to continue training instructors in South Africa and around the world – which he has already started with a trip to the Maldives in 2022 I want to continue my personal development and reach a 40m constant weight freedive. We need to keep growing; the only way to do that is to continue learning."

HER ADVICE FOR FREEDIVERS THAT WANT TO BECOME FREEDIVING INSTRUCTORS

"Being a freediving instructor is very different from being a freediver Yes, the passion, endurance and training remain But the focus turns from yourself to whoever your student is. It is a selfless passion, as any teacher will confirm The satisfaction of seeing physical, mental and emotional growth within a person is far beyond self-satisfaction. I advise any freediver wanting to teach and instruct others never to withhold the opportunity of experience from yourself Every dive and every encounter is an opportunity to grow in your capacity and what you can offer others."

Freediver Staff Instructor, Brittnee Engelbrecht - studied Education at Stellenbosch University. She has always loved working with children and thought of becoming a teacher. After a few practice sessions in the classroom, she discovered open space suited her better – it offered an engaging curriculum to share her knowledge. She found that becoming a freediving Instructor fulfilled the teaching aspect of her degree She free dives because there is no other place she can go to where the feeling of being both in and out of control is blended uniquely. Each dive is both ominous and wonderful Although survival is very likely, it is not guaranteed! Whether diving into the ocean and seeing creation in its rawest form or being in the pit of the quarry with no shadow, knowing there is light to cover the expanse of darkness, freediving has been her personal journey of self-discovery. It has helped her to help others conquer their fears.