Better Freedive Training? Play Games Instead

To become a better freediver, sometimes the best way forward is to stop training and have some fun.

By Jeremy Storton

As a freediver, you know the only way to improve is through consistent training. Many of you will spend hours meditating, stretching, doing dry breath work, in the pool or the ocean, just to eke out a couple more metres or seconds than last time. But the brain is a fickle thing. Some days, it is hyper-focused on our goal. Other days, it may focus on everything, or nothing at all. 

Whomever said, “variety is the spice of life,” I think was on to something. We can chase the black line or dive the depths only so long before we crave more stimulation. On those training days, when your brain just isn’t showing up, perhaps it’s time to try something different. Maybe the solution to pursuing your goal is to take your focus off that goal altogether and let loose. After all, many of us began freediving simply because it was fun.

Below are some games to play in the water that will help you take a break, yet continue to train like a dedicated freediver.

Sometimes, better training requires you to stop training and just have fun. Photo © Vitomir.

Taking Games Underwater

The simplest form of turning freediving into a game is taking ordinary games underwater. This can be playing Rock-Paper-Scissors, Chess, Checkers, Poker, Blackjack, or any other game you can imagine, but doing it underwater.

Underwater Hockey

Imagine a cross between hockey, water polo, and freediving, some of the world’s most challenging sports, and roll them into one. Welcome to underwater hockey. Invented in the 1950s to keep British Navy divers fit, this requires two teams of six players, four substitutes, and some gear. It is a fantastic way to take your mind off your training while still receiving the benefits. You can find underwater hockey leagues in over 20 countries that also host regional and international tournaments.

Sharks And Minnows

Sharks and Minnows is the classic game kids play where one player is a shark and the rest are minnows. Minnows must cross from one side of the pool to another without getting tagged. Every minnow that the shark tags becomes a new shark until there is only one minnow, the winner. Now imagine this occurring underwater with freediving gear.

Blowing bubble rings is a skill that just might make you a better freediver.

Relay Races

One version of a relay race may involve moving a table tennis ball from one side of the pool to the other with an upside-down spoon. Then, a teammate will take over and work their way to the other side. The first team to complete the challenge is the winner. However, when it comes to freedive training, everyone wins. I even once saw an event where teams envelope a teammate inside a swimmer’s cap and then swim them to the other side. Get creative or borrow ideas from land-based relay races.

Obstacle Course

This is a great way to stimulate your creativity. Create obstacles of variable difficulty and string them together, freediver style. Imagine Ninja Warrior meets freediving, and you get the idea. This could include weighted hoops, pipe structures, or anything else you can put together.

Underwater obstacle courses are a great way to challenge your skills and your boredom.

Copy Cat

If finding or creating obstacles is too challenging, you can simply play Copy Cat or Follow the Leader. Pick one person to begin and let creative motion be your guide. The goal is to challenge each other to complex moves or outright silliness. No one really wins or loses in this game, but it’s definitely fun.

Sea Hunt

A great game to play in the ocean is Sea Hunt. This is a scavenger hunt where each person or team gets a list of items they must find and collect before the others. Not only does this train freedivers in a fun way, but this can also be a way to learn to identify underwater items and develop an appreciation for the underwater environment at the same time.

Sea Hunt: Like a scavenger hunt, but underwater. Photo © Sungsu Kim

Secret Missions

Growing up, I used to imagine being an elite underwater operative who had mere minutes to defuse the bomb and save the world. As an adult, I would engage my children in these same secret missions. Sometimes, we recovered lost treasure from evil pirates. On other days, we rescued victims from the clutches of the Leviathan. And then there were days when we all had to collectively diffuse the bomb and save the world. We would glide over and under lane lines, swim underwater so as not to be detected, then swim fast to get away before going back underwater to hide. This works particularly well with younger freedivers, but the beauty is that they are training their breath holds and practicing water skills without ever knowing it. The only limit to this is your child-like creativity.

Anyone can freedive, but it requires focus and effort to be good at it. Many of you have goals to achieve, and they aren’t going to happen without dedicated training. But while your inner athlete yearns to compete, don’t forget about your inner child who just wants to play. You can serve both by adding a little variety and a few games to your training regimen. Keep in mind, there are only two rules to freediver games: Dive safely and have fun.

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