Stepping stone into the diving industry

FCOA Inc. now SEC Registered as a non-profit organization

OUR 3 MISSION ARE:

1. To teach ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY how to survive at sea.

2. To teach freediving because those that get to love the ocean will take care of it.

3. To train coaches so that when they go home they will also teach their family and friends how to survive and dive. Who did we train?

Some of the Events that are coming up

24/03/26 Tanzania Dar Eslam (6 days)
28/03/26 till 19/04 Kochi India (1 Day & 4 Day)
05/04/26 Mindoro Philippines (10 days)
16/04/26 Indonesia Jakarta 2 days
22/04/26 Indonesia Gili Islands (9 days)
05/05/26 till 05/06/26 Mindoro, Philippines

FIND FCOA OUTLETS AND THEIR COACHES

PHILIPPINES:

FCOA Pagkilatan Miles 09156496710
FCOA Puerto Galera Jeroen Elout +639174489590
FCOA Mabini Michaelangelo
FCOA Bicol Kristin
FCOA Illocos Erha Beli
FCOA Iloilo Ansis Ivan
FCOA Bacalod George
FCOA Bataan/Zambales Mal Deh Tah 09672840927

INDIA:
FCOA Cochin Nevin +91 72289 16876
FCOA Chennai Dhvinay +91 94964 62324
FCOA Pondicherry Priyamvada +91 96787 38196
FCOA Piravom. James +91 94478 17350

SEYCHELLES
https://www.facebook.com/ray.seychelles

UGANDA
https://www.facebook.com/gen.aggrey

ZAMBIA, SIAVONGA
https://www.facebook.com/mike.smwambi

CURRENT ADMINISTRATION
FCOA President Haze Gallos
FCOA Vice President: Erha Beli
FCOA Founder: Jeroen Elout +639174489590

THE FCOA MISSION

80% of the world population cannot swim. That's six billion non-swimmers and 300,000 drownings per year. Besides that, we are killing our planet. Diving is our tool to make people care more about our planet and oceans. We teach people from all walks of life to swim, dive, sail and climb and turn them into advocates for our environment. Freediving Coaches of Asia (FCOA) was founded in 2016 by Jeroen Elout a Dutch National

Freediving Coaches Of Asia (FCOA) is a non-profit certification agency for freediving, scuba, sailing and climbing. We collaborate with divers and sailors that like to participate in our mission.

Collaborators participate in teaching and in exchange they get to do their continued courses. Scuba licenses can be converted to CMAS Prerequisite to become a collaborator: Register in full on http://FCOA.online and complete Video Quiz 1 till 5b, contact +639174489590 on WhatsApp for feedback and guidance.

We operate mostly in the Philippines, India, Uganda and Zambia. For those that are far from us: trough Remote Verification Training (RVT), swim & dive training is available for anyone in the world with an internet connection at zero cost.

OUR VISIONS

· To give our 20% swimming population the tools to teach swimming to the 80% that still has to learn it.

· To practice respect for life. Respect for other humans, for animals, for nature in general and for our own mind and health.

· To recognize our destructive habits and replace them with progressive once.

What differentiates us from other organizations is that from day one we encourage a coaching mindset. Our motto is “What you learn today be ready to teach it tomorrow” This allows our students to be exposed to teaching opportunities and to learn from each other under the guidance of a coach. Eventually they will become FCOA coaches themselves. Since 2016, we have functioned as a stepping stone into the diving industry. Here a list of cool diving groups that had their initial trainings with FCOA for many of them teaching freediving has become their livelihood.

currently, we have coaches and divers operating worldwide at locations in India, Uganda, Zambia, and in the Seychelles. In the Philippines, we have coaches in Mabini Batangas, Pagkilatan Batangas, Puerto Galera, Bicol, Iloilo, Zambales, Cebu and Ilocos and Pangasinan

Our organization advocates for marine conservation and protection. We host clean-up and holiday dives to fulfil our vision of living in a world with a clean and healthy ocean and conserving our home planet.

FCOA follows the International Standard ISO 24803 for Recreational diving services

FCOA-PH (Freediving Coaches of Asia Philippines Incorporated) is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines as a Non-Profit organization since June 9, 2023 and currently being lead by President Haze Galos

FCOA-INDIA (Asian Freediving Pioneers Association) is registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in India since October 17, 2024, and currently has 2 directors: President Dhvinay Vinod and Secretary Ramkumar Rajesh

FCOA-ZAMBIA (Registration in Progress by Esther Piri and Maysen Likonge)

Aqua line / FCOA UGANDA (Registration in Progress by Sanusu Businge)

FCOA-INERNATIONAL (Registration in the USA in progress by Jeroen Elout and Jacob Jose)

GET STARTED! / Digital Training / Video Quizes

Sabang Wreck, Puerto Galera, Philippines

My FCOA | FCOA app | FCOA Full Training Manual 2026

Maybe you're preparing for your upcoming lesson, or you plan to train by yourselves, either way it all starts here. Download the FCOA logbook & training guide 2026

Our 10 FCOA lessons are available on youtube and provide a step-by-step approach. We recorded the videos on our mobiles and consider them a first draft.

For coaches: Use this platform to prepare and refresh yourself before teaching students.

FCOA FREEDIVING LESSON 1 till 10 QUIZZES / VIDEOS

Video Quiz 1 / 1A float / 1B apnea / 1C Protocol / 200m swim
Video Quiz 2 / "Water safety, Rescue & Self-help"
Video Quiz 3 / "Navigation"
Video Quiz 4 / "Ropework" and "Weight use"
Video Quiz 5A / "Coach training" / Bare minimums
Video Quiz 5B / "Medic First Aid for divers"
FCOA Enviromental Diver quiz
Video Quiz 6 / Lesson 6: "Depth Preparation & Line training"
Lesson 6B: The FCOA mask drill (our entry prerequisite for SCUBA)
Video Quiz 7A / "Exhale dives"
Video Quiz 7B / "Physics of Exhale dives"
Video Quiz 8 /"Lost at sea"
Video Quiz 9 /"Advanced Equalization & Reverse Packing"
The Divers Ear
Video Quiz 10 /"Lead Coach Training"
Lifeguard Quiz / Lesson 11: "Wild water training"
FCOA spear fisher quiz
FCOA Pilot survival training

The Discipline Tutorials (Audio)

STA Static Apnea
DNF Dynamic No Fins
DYN Dynamic
FIM Free Immersion
CNF Constant Weight No Fins
CWT Constant Weight
VWT Variable Weight

ADDITIONAL USEFUL VIDEOS

How to measure your lung volume

Freediving in currents

Measuring currents (text)

Measuring currents video

Improvisation during emergencies "In water chest compression" Possible?

Swim with LESS Effort

My deepest solo dive

Risk Management: Interesting Links

Freediving and Decompression sickness

Delta P risk (working near pumps and outlets)

Glass walls

Notes of Caution

Topics:

The risk of diving versus other activities
Drowning
Secondary drowning
Group Think
Depth adaptation
Hands free solutions
Boat Traffic
Hyperventilation
Packing
Why not to breath air from a Scuba diver
No Freediving after Scuba
Decompression risk
Physical Contact
In fresh water we float less
Skipping logical steps
Equipment Dependency
Learning scuba unprepared
Bilharzia (Africa and India)
Brain Eating Amoeba (India)

1. The Risk of Diving Versus Other Activities

There is no such thing as a zero-risk dive. Yet, the percentage of accidents in freediving is very small compared to scuba diving (reportedly 1.8 casualties per million recreational scuba dives). When comparing the risk of diving to other activities, it would be fair to say it's more dangerous than flying but less dangerous than riding a motorcycle.

Here are some statistics for other risky activities:

Motorized transport fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles:

Motorcycles: 26.16
Cars: 1.33
Flight: 0.04

Other activities that are known to: shorten life expectancy by years:

Smoking -13 years.
Alcohol overuse -24 years.
Obesity -14 years.
Drinking sodas daily -2.5 years.
Living with air pollution -2 years.

Most of us engage in activities that could potentially be fatal, yet we choose to do them anyway. As an educator, it's important to explain these dangers. However, the decision of what risks we're willing to take is personal. In this chapter, we will further explain how divers get into trouble and what they can do to avoid it.

2. Note of Caution About Drowning

Drowning is the second most common cause of accidental death. FCOA recommends keeping non-swimmers in shallow water, which is defined as water shallow enough for individuals to stand in. The water should reach no higher than chest level; however, knee-deep water is safer and sufficient for starting initial lessons.

Even in chest-deep water, people can still drown, especially if they have buoyant legs that make standing up difficult.

Before participants move to deeper areas, they should demonstrate their ability to swim 200 meters in shallow water without standing up. Additionally, they must complete the FCOA survival float challenge: "In shallow water, they must be able to remove and replace their mask and snorkel, and clear the mask and snorkel, without touching the bottom in a repeatable fashion.

3. Note Of Caution About Secondary Drowning

If someone has inhaled water into their lungs but appears fine afterward, it is crucial to keep a close watch on them. Water in the lungs can trigger a chemical reaction that draws more bodily fluids into the lungs. Some individuals have died hours after being rescued from a drowning incident due to this condition.

To ensure safety, the individual should either stay in the hospital under observation or be closely monitored at home. If monitoring at home, sleep nearby and set an alarm to check on them every 30 minutes. Listen carefully to their breathing. If you hear any sputtering or liquid sound, seek immediate medical attention.

4. Note of Caution on Group Think

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon occurring when a group prioritizes harmony over sound decision-making, leading to irrational outcomes. Group cohesiveness may push members to agree without critical evaluation. An important 2015 Divers Alert Network (DAN) study revealed that 83% of drowned freedivers were with companions. Having a buddy does not eliminate all risks.

5. Note of Caution About Depth Adaptation

FCOA recommends limiting personal best depth increase to no more than one arm span per dive to allow for the body and mind to gradually adapt to the increase in pressure.

6. Note of Caution: Keep Your Hands Free (hands free solutions)

Cameras should not be tied to the wrist. We recommend tying cameras to the chest, so that your hands are free when performing rescue drills. Bungee chords are often the favored for securing cameras. For your students it would be good to have a bundle of straw rope available that they can use to tie their own hands-free solutions.

7. Note of Caution About Boat Traffic

Boats kill divers and swimmers every year. Especially jet skis since they are often operated at high speed by unaware tourists. But also, surfers and sail boats can kill swimmers, you won’t hear them coming. Being visible is your best defence but it’s not a guarantee. Learn to identify collision courses far in .advance (in FCOA lesson 8) and practice swim sprints and exhale dives to increase your ability to get out of the way of a fast-approaching boat that just didn’t see you.

8. Note of Caution About Hyperventilation

Hyperventilation: In the freediving world this is when you do more than 2 breath ups.

When we hold our breath? The O2 level in our body goes down and CO2 level goes up. When CO2 is high enough it triggers your brain to breath, then the CO2 reduces again and O2 comes back up.

When you hyperventilate the O2 does not really go up much higher cause your blood is already saturated by default. But your CO2 drops lower and lower. Now if you hold your breath you can hold it longer. You might never feel the trigger to breath. You could deplete your O2 without warning. This is called the SHALLOW WATER BLACKOUT. Athletes have drowned in their bathtubs and swimming pools due to this so don’t take it lightly. If you want to experiment with hyperventilation, then your bed is the safest place to do so. When you bring it to the water make sure you have a competent safety budy to look after you.

9. Note of Caution About Packing

Packing is an advanced technique used to force extra air in the lungs. The benefits of it are debatable. Many freediving instructors advice against the practice because when done exesively it could cause a lung overexspention injury. For those that like to try out packing for the first time it’s advised to not pack more then 5 times. If this feels comfortable during the whole dive, then one extra pack can be added per subsequent dive. (One pack is equal to one mouth volume that gets pressed down in the lungs)

10. Note of Caution About Scuba Diving

Scuba divers should not offer compressed air to freedivers. A freediver taking a breath of compressed air at 10 meters would risk his lungs to over expand to double the size and rupture on the way up. The moment a freediver breathes compressed air he is no longer a freediver, he should now follow scuba diving protocols including safety stops and slow ascent rates while breathing at a normal rate.

11. Note of Caution About Freediving After Scuba

To reduce decompression sickness risk, refrain from freediving, flying, or mountaineering post-scuba diving. Adhere to the recommended surface intervals by scuba diving organizations. For example, PADI recommends a 12 hour surface interval after a single scuba dive and an 18 hour surface interval after 2 scuba dives.

12. Note of Caution About the Risk of Decompression Sickness

For recreational freedivers the risk of decompression sickness (DCI) is neglectable. How ever for competitive freedivers there is a small risk, this risk can get reduced by applying appropriate surface intervals between deep dives. Yet the chance is always there. DCI can cause numerous symptoms depending on where the nitrogen bubbles get stuck in the body. What the symptoms have in common is that the patient has likely never felt them before. To treat DCI the patient should breath 100% Oxygen while his vitals are being monitored. The first aider could call DAN (Divers Alert Network) for treatment tips and to find out if a decompression chamber is currently available in the region. In Water Recompression (IWR) is something that could be part of a DCI treatment plan especially for remote locations.

13. Note of Caution About Physical Contact

When it comes to touching each other we all have different boundaries. Yet when you teach freediving or swimming there will be moments that physical contact could be practical and even necessary. Make sure your student is ok with it. If not sure just ask. For example: “Do you want me to support your back while you practice the survival float”?

14. Note of Caution About overtalkative people.

Engaging with talkative individuals can sometimes be a bit distracting, and in certain situations, it might even affect safety. They can interrupt the flow of the lesson. That's why, as a coach, it’s important to address this with clarity and authority. Key phrases to the group can be:

Let’s stay on topic and discus other topics at another time.

We only have 20 minutes left so please keep your questions to the minimum and follow my lead.

But if it is one particular person that still keeps talking and interrupting then you likely have to address them personally without others hearing your conversation. Key Phrases can be:

Can you reduce your questions by 75%?

May I challenge you to practice some vipassana and not talk this morning unless asked questions?

15. Note of Caution About the Difference in Buoyancy Between Fresh and Salt Water

It’s easier to float is the sea then in a pool. It’s possible that a person floats in sea water but sinks in fresh water.

16. Note of Caution About Skipping Logical Steps in Learning

Often students are excited to get out there and see the underwater world. Yet they still lack swimming skills. Take your time for it. If you can’t comfortably swim 200 meter yet then you belong in shallow water.

17. Note of Caution About Equipment Dependencies:

Check your self on the following dependencies:

Mask dependency: Feeling anxious without, not wanting to dive without
Snorkel dependency: Finding it hard to swim longer distances without snorkel
Fin dependency: Without them you feel handicapped, you seem not able to move
Nose clip dependency: you fear or are not used to water going up your nose
Diveline dependency: without the line you find it hard to go down
Dive watch dependency: For knowing your depth, you're not yet used to counting arm spans or sensing and interpreting pressure on your years and the size of your lungs.
Dive buoy dependency: You’re not yet familiar to recover from your dive withouth holding on to something floating
Dive buddy dependency: Your uncomfortable swimming and diving by yourself, often relying on others
Calm water dependency: When there is a current or when there are waves you become uncomfortable
Wetsuit dependency: Even in warm water you feel uncomfortable without your wetsuit.

Many former non-swimmers have learned to freedive without acquiring basic swimming abilities. However, they become helpless if they lose their fins or struggle to breathe without their snorkel. More advanced divers often heavily depend on the diveline, the buoy or their watch.

How to overcome dependencies?

Become aware of your dependencies, which once are you ok with and with once you want to change?
Come up with ways to safely practice without the item you depend on even if it is just for 10 minutes per session.
Gradually increase the level of difficulty
Repeat no equipment divers for recency

The first thing to do is to call it out and be aware of your dependencies and ask your self if you want to do something about it. Your best defence is to regularly practice dives without equipment. With the right skills, you won’t depend on any specific gear. Practice frog kicking in all directions and try diving without a mask until it feels