Sawum is the Cebuano word for dive. It is also the largest diving community in the Philippines with over 2700 members online, connecting not only freedivers in Cebu but also, across the Philippines and even a few international superstars in the underwater freediving world. On February 24-25th 2018, I had been lucky enough to participate in Sawum’s first anniversary in D’d Mayim Beach bar in Panagsama, Moalboal, Cebu’s divers paradise (Moalboal blog linked below) and take a deep dive not only in the sea but also into the history and people behind the community.
In the weeks anticipating the big anniversary sixty excited freedivers had confirmed to join in the fun. A round 30 of us had opted to rent a van to get to Moalboal from Cebu City so we can skip the lines in the bus station, the trip took roughly three hours. On the way there the whole island had been dreary with rain pouring. I was getting worried that it might not be great diving conditions when we arrive. Luckily when we got there the rain had stopped and the skies had begun to clear out.
The anniversary program was simple. Dive, party and Dive some more. Its been weeks since my last dive so we took to the seas and got our itching sea legs wet. Nearly everybody had gone into the water with their own groups diving and looking out for each other taking turns to take videos and pictures of the amazing underwater world.
Bouy Divers
At the end of the first day everybody got together to take one epic group photo.
As the sun had a started to set we prepared for the party. Changing out of wet suits and rash guards into shorts and shirts and tank tops. And a table had been put together into a long line for a classic Filipino Boodle fight, where hanging rice, noodles, roasted chicken and pork is all lined up and everyone comes around the table to eat.
A few words…
Before digging into the feast, we had a few words from a few community leaders and icons.
Bang Gumalo -One of the founding members of Sawum and the leader of our massive school of merpeople talking about sawums history.
“We just got together, and it was really just a group of local Cebuano freedivers who didn’t know much…” – Bang Gumalo
Sawum started out with a handful of local Cebuano freedivers who didn’t know much but who was interested in freediving and drinking. Without much experience or any certifications at the time no one would have expected that the community would grow into this massive network connecting people beyond Cebu.
Mr. Junya Kato is an Australian technical SCUBA diving consultant and instructor who transitioned into freediving and is the Regional Training Consultant for PADI. He took a moment to explain the PADI(Professional Association of Diving Instructors) freediver courses to the community.
“It was so nice to be in the water, just floating in the water not doing anything and just being part of it that was a fantastic feeling.”- Junya Kato
As Freediving had become more popular PADI being known for its course structures and educational material took the initiative to compile information from top freediving athletes and instructors all over the world. After a couple of years PADI had come up with a four-layer course that is focused more on recreational and safety as compared to the more competitive driven AIDA courses. As well as a different set of courses to take up to become instructors.
The PADI courses:
Basic Freediver
Freediver
Advanced Freediver
Master Freediver
“I got hooked in the underwater world.” - Junya Kato
We even had a few words from Freediving Athletes that are key people in helping the community grow.
Alana Caskey – Former Australian National freediving record holder
“My goal is to keep this community safe and to bring high end freediving and to train people to enjoy,(to) dive deeper and to have less injuries…” – Alana Caskey
Maria Noella Zosa – Philippine Record Holder, co-founder of Free Immersion Moalboal (FIM).
“Don’t get discouraged if you're training and fun diving or trying to work on skill and its not yet there, I want you to not feel pressure or disappointed because once you feel that, once theres negativity inside you it holds you back…I want you to just enjoy your dives.” – Maria Noella Zosa
After inspiring words were shared the night went on to everyone sharing food, booze, games and a lot of fun.
More Diving…
Deep blue
Sawum today…
After a year of bringing people together Sawum has become more than just a group of friends. With over 2,700 members online Sawum is a venue to learn from freedivers not only in Cebu but also across Philippines and key personalities in the freediving world such as Alana Caskey, Adam Stern and many more. Sawum being the biggest community in the Philippines has also become a venue to connect to other freediving organizations and communities from other parts of the world and more specifically the Philippines.
Other freediving communities:
Orca Freedivers Philippines – Cebu based freediving community that provides AIDA certification courses.
Dive ta Bai - davao - the Diving organization from Davao City
Seazoned Philippines - Manila Based freediving community that has a dive pool for city dive sessions
Apnea Philippines – Manila Based freediving community that holds their classes in Anilao, Batangas
Sawum has also developed strong ties with diving and freediving organizations and businesses.
Freedive Ph – The online dive shop that provides supplies from Salvimar as well as other freediving needs.
Hammerhead Spear Guns – Spear fishing shop as well as provider of freediving Equiptment
Badjao Dive Shop – Supplier of Leader fins in Cebu
Nicco’s Place – Hostel and homestay in Moalboal as well as adventure guide in Moalboal
Free Immersion Moalboal – founded by two of Sawums best divers Maria(Philippine record Holder) and Mikey and instructors, providing a venue for AIDA and PADI certifications.
Not only is Sawum well connected it also provides a venue for the freediving community to grow and develop. Freedivers can join the weekend dives at Kontiki and participate in a fun dive or improve their technical skills alongside some of the best divers in the community.
One of the big programs of Sawum is the Newbie Sunday Program where Sawum has dedicated several Sundays where newbies and anyone who wants to learn how to freedive can participate and learn for free from freediving instructors such as FIM’s Maria Noella Zosa or Seazoned’s Gen Abanilla and many more big personalities in the Freediving world.
This program helps welcome a new generation of freedivers, helping newbies to learn how to freedive safely as well as encourage the growth of the freediving community.
As Sawum continues to grow and connect freedivers from all over the Philippines and the world the communities core leaders continue to come up with ideas to better help the community. With one year, Sawum has achieved so much more than anyone would have expected. Moving forward the community full of passionate and diverse freedivers, each with various skills and connections that would help the community propel forward towards greater heights or rather depths.
If you wanna go check out Sawum Freedivers Facebook Page and other freediving articles I had written are linked below.
Exploring Philippines: Moalboal, Cebu's Divers Paradise
I had also taken the time to link other freediving organizations above, so you may get in touch with other organizations outside of Cebu that is near your area. If you have questions about Sawum and freediving, leave them in the comments.
Thanks for reading! Keep diving! Stay Awesome!