Last year, we told you all about PADI’s new dedicated freediving program. This weekend at Blue Wild Expo we had the chance to catch up with PADI Instructor Development Programs Specialist Eric Albinsson to find out what’s new.
Over the last year, PADI’s been continuing with its mission of constant improvement—developing and refining the program and online learning materials. They’ve also updated their instructor training requirements, ensuring that each of their teaching staff is well-versed in the tried and true instruction techniques that have made PADI such an effective agency.
A final notable development is the new availability of their Touch eLearning materials in twelve different languages, with a thirteenth on the way. With the new system, instructors don’t have to predict which languages they’ll need to supply training materials in and buy accordingly. With the Touch eLearning, they simply buy a code and the student themselves makes the choice when they register.
Eric shared with us that the sport of freediving is continuing to grow in popularity, resulting in more divers, more training, more instructors, and even more freedive-specific travel opportunities. This increase in accessibility is great news—because when everyone does better, everyone does better!
If you’re interested in getting into freediving, crossing over from scuba, or just improving your already awesome skills, check out PADI Freediver, take a deep breath, and jump in!
