Day 2 of the 2024 321FREEDIVE Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida saw the first half of the day with participants and instructors in the pools of the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center and the other half of the day learning about freediving in overhead and enclosed environments as well as learning what it’s like to be an underwater stuntwoman and trainer.
The day began with in-pool workshops on static apnea, dynamic with fins as well as depth training. The beauty of being at a facility like the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center was that participants were able to use both the regular swimming pools as well as the 20-foot/6-meter dive pool.
Following a lunch break, participants had a chance to listen to Dr. Juan Valdivia, a neurologist and competitive freediver, talk about the causes of and risk mitigation for freediving-related blackouts.
After that, a panel discussion on freediving risk factors of overhead and enclosed environments took place, featuring Valdivia, Immersion Freediving founder Ted Harty, underwater stuntwoman Liz Parkinson, freediving medicine practitioner Fernando “Bizo” Silva and diving off the grid advocate Rachel Novak.
The day concluded with Parkinson talking about her career as an underwater stuntwoman and the various movies she’s worked on in recent years.
If you’re in the Fort Lauderdale area and want to learn more, the conference runs through Saturday and tickets and the remaining schedule are available at 321freediving.com.
