– Our Mission –
We don’t just Teach Freediving. We Create Highly Skilled, Well-Trained, All-Round Technical Freedivers!
At the Freedive Academy Panglao, we all fully enjoy living on our beautiful little island. We love coming to work every day to share our love for breath-hold diving and our passion for the oceans and the underwater world.
It’s our mission to create the best professional freediving development center in the world while maintaining a family atmosphere and a welcoming home for freedivers from absolute beginner to Instructor Trainers and World Champion freedivers!
About Us
The Freedive Academy Panglao had its official opening by World Champion and multiple World Record holder Alexey Molchanov on February 8th, 2016 – at that time, we were still operating under the name FREEDIVE+. And since its opening, the center has been rocking the freediving world ever since.
The Freedive Academy Panglao founder and owner Vincent had a clear vision of what he wanted with the professional freediving development center in Panglao, having taught and trained all over the world before landing in the Philippines.
Meet the management of the Freedive Academy Panglao
Vincent Sparreboom
Owner, CEO, SSI Freediving Instructor Trainer, SSI Specialty Instructor Trainer, SSI Swim Teacher Trainer, Molchanovs Freediving Instructor Trainer, and AIDA & Raid WSF Instructor.
Emily (Mei Lin)
Owner, CFO & Purchasing, Retail & Distribution and Manager China Operations – and Boss of the Boss 😉
The Freedive Academy focuses on three things;
Recreational freediving courses, mainly beginner and intermediate courses.
Master Training
Professional Freedive Development
Molchanovs, SSI (and AIDA) recreational freediving courses:
The Freediving Academy Panglao offers a wide range of freediving courses and many, many freediving specialities. Of course, the most popular are the beginner freediving courses, while we also teach quite a few intermediate and master courses. We have courses starting on pretty much any day of the week and run them many times a week. We usually run one or two monthly SSI Level 3 or Molchanovs Wave 3 courses.
Master Training in Panglao:
If you are looking for the best place for your freediving training, Panglao, for sure and without any doubt, has the best conditions possible. It is very easy to get to any depth you want, diving at any time of the day without using a boat, always close to shore, up to 40-meter visibility, and up to 31C water temperature. The out-of-the-water conditions are pretty great, too, with affordable and excellent and affordable long-term stay housing and healthy and good food available all around the island. Whether you want to train by yourself or follow the MASTER+ program, with coaching and guidance from very experienced Instructor Trainers and Master Instructors, the Freedive Academy and Panglao are a true paradise for master freedivers.
Professional Freedive Development programs:
With Vincent being an SSI Freediving Instructor Trainer and a Molchanovs Instructor Trainer, the Freedive Academy Panglao can run an SSI Instructor course Molchanovs Instructor course pretty much every month. Because of this – and our location and high-end facility, the Freedive Academy is very strong in offering the different Professional Freediver Development programs. With the Freedive Academy Panglao, you can start a freediving Zero to Hero program at any time, apply for a freediving internship, or follow a custom professional development program.
Additionally;
If you are interested in becoming a speciality instructor like SSI Monofin Instructor, SSI Variable Weight Instructor, or any of the other many freediving or ecology specialities, be sure to contact the Freedive Academy too. And if you want to broaden your market as an instructor, you can also choose to participate in the Swim Teacher courses or Mermaid Instructor courses.
Panglao is a fantastic tropical island with near-perfect in-water and out-of-the-water freediving conditions, and we’d love to welcome you here on our incredible island!
BUT! The Best is Yet to Come! Our Team! Our Family!
The best thing about the Freedive Academy is not the dive center in Panglao, our location, the high level of freediving education, or even Panglao Island. The best thing about the academy is our team! The Freedive Academy Panglao family will make your visit to Bohol and freediving in the Philippines fun, deep and unforgettable!
We are very proud to introduce to you our Freedive Academy Panglao family!
Edwin Castillon
SSI Level 1 Instructor and Speciality Instructor Training Techniques and FIM
Lito Limosnero
Ground & Support team
Alianie Silos-Gapio
Management Assistant and Receptionist
Arlene Horcasita
Housekeeping
Samantha van Rossum-Gough
Support and distribution the Netherlands office
Clyde Aguillon
Online Business Manager
Jay R
Ground & Support team
Julie Mae Bandala
Academy Hostess
Jennifer Daradar (Jimmy)
Maintenance & Support team
Guadalupe Bendanillo (Pinky)
Support Team & Chef
Olivier (Lin Xu)
SSI Level 2 Instructor and Speciality Instructor Training Techniques and FIM
Benji Nicolas
Molchanovs Instructor Trainer, SSI Level 3 Master Instructor, Speciality Instructor Training Techniques and FIM
Giulia
Intern
Olie
Intern
Jacek
Intern
Toby
Intern
Michal
Intern
You don’t have to believe us, just read what our many guests had to say about us and the Freedive Academy Panglao family.
On the testimonial page, you can find even more testimonials. Below are random ones, if you refresh the page, you’ll see five new ones.
Kristine Tecson
Competent instructors and a fun basic freediving course!
As a beginner, I was a bit terrified of freediving. I had worries before I even started the course and panicked when we finally had to go into the open water.
But thanks to our reliable and (very) supportive instructor, Kuya Edwin, we enjoyed every minute and had fun during our basic freediving course, despite the slightly choppy waters!
My friends and I were complete newbies to freediving. But after just a day of learning breathing techniques and realising just how capable the human body really is, we were able to go into the open water, apply what we learned, and had a blast in the process.
It was amazing how Freedive Academy Panglao encourages you to challenge your understanding of your limitations and break that mould you put yourself into. The initial discomfort that the unknown brings slowly turns into something wonderful that you take with you forever.
My friends and I are already planning to return soon and get our SS1 Level 1 training. We’re excitedly talking about bringing new friends in and sharing the experience with them.
We are particularly grateful for Kuya Edwin! We couldn’t have asked for a better instructor to introduce us to this amazing sport. I personally felt safe from start to finish, and I wonder now why I was so scared in the first place.
To those of you who, like me, had hesitations and fears about freediving, I encourage you to give freediving with Freedive Academy Panglao a try. They’ll help you to open your eyes to the beauty of the ocean depths and make the process very enjoyable, too!
On Land In Sea
Amazing dive spot for freediving! The staff at Freedive Academy Panglao are all great people from different walks of life. It was a memorable experience filled with exciting adventures and infinite possibilities. Cheers to more dives!
Assaf Reshef
Did my SSI level 1 with Freedive Academy Panglao and had a blast. They made the course super easy and fun and had the patience to answer all my questions. Thanks a lot, everyone, I hope to see you again soon!
Vincent Mathieu – World Champion Static
You cannot say anything less about the Freedive Academy Panglao than that it’s a simply magical environment. With the perfect training conditions – visibility of 30m and a similar 30 degrees Celsius at the moment – in a calm sea, you have all you need to progress from 5 to 95m of depth.
I certified 9 minutes + static in the swimming pool at the Academy. I recommend training by the colours of the sunset or during the evening with the mood lights on and the stars shining down.
And what to say about the drop-off… You would believe it was made especially for freedivers. Lying down on the 25-meter curbed edge you can admire the corals from underneath, spectacular colour changes and incredible species that will delight both biology amateurs and underwater photographers. Did I already mention the family of sardines who form an essential element of the ecosystem at this part of the drop-off? Not to be missed are the hunting fish and the hungry needlefish around.
If you want a great freedive centre, this is the place to go ;-)!
Thanks to Vincent, and Sebastian for their kindness and hospitality. I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Gordz Gojunco
Awesome instructors, really knowledgeable and passionate about freediving. Good coaches and mentors. Perfect facility and location for training and learning! You guys rock! Keep it up. Can’t wait for the next trip.
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