Joining the Bristol Freedivers and meeting some really great people, the best thing you can do to im

As I write this, there is a pang in my heart, as I'm 11,500 miles away and have a 7 hour time difference.

Bristol Freedivers are the club that made / shaped me.

I was so excited to find out there was a local freediving club to join and train with.

As soon as i got back from my AIDA 2 in Teneriefe, I was keen to improve on the skills I'd been shown by Omar & Rafael.

I fired off an email to the club email address from the BFD website. My first communication was with Josh, such a sweet response, lot of information and was invited to come along to the next Friday session. He apologised that he wouldnt be there but that Andy would be leading the session.

Excitedly / Nervously I got my stuff together to go to the Friday session. It's strange, even as an adult, I still get nervous about meeting new people. I worry they will be a tight group or I'll accidently blurt out something stupid. Luckily I couldn't have found a nicer group. We met Andy, who gave a briefing for the session. which was a safety and rescue session. Such a friendly guy, very calming nature, like a giant west country water -teddy bear. The session was great! Good skills to practice but essentially a group of 15 + adults playing in the water. I knew they were for me and that I belonged!!!

The whole group were so friendly and from such a mixed background, allsorts of different reasons how / why the got into freediving. After the session we went to The Knowle pub to have drinks and eat crisps, a BFD ritual. I spent about 30 mins in the company of Alice, a slightly hyperactive girl, who seemed to share and even out do me, in enthusiasm for freediving. I knew we would be good friends, she invited us along to British Freedive Associations meet the next day.

It was great to get to meet the freedive community, really made to feel welcome by everyone, so quickly. Also got meet the man behind the emails, Josh, as nice in person as he is electronically.

My parting comment would reiterate the title of the blog, if you want to improve your freediving and get the bonus of making new friends, join a freedive club!!