What is the Molchanovs Junior Program?

The Molchanovs Junior education system introduces children to swimming underwater while comfortably holding their breath. It is designed for children between the ages of 4 and 15. Starting from age 4, children learn the basics of floating, swimming, and becoming comfortable in the water. As they grow and progress through each course, they learn the fundamentals of all freediving disciplines, preparing them to one day become adult freedivers. By learning how to swim and dive, children make their time in the water safer, improve their health, and build a lasting connection to the aquatic environment.

Benefits:
A child’s body is constantly developing, and training can significantly support this growth — especially in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

When children learn to swim underwater, they naturally:
build muscle
increase elasticity of lung tissue
expand vital lung capacity
strengthen respiratory muscles
improve blood circulation to the brain and heart
strengthen the heart muscle and its contractions
improve regulation of vascular tone and elasticity
increase oxygen absorption by body cells
prevent illnesses

How do we do it?
In Junior courses, children first learn basic swimming techniques. As they grow and progress through the levels, they begin to learn different freediving disciplines and start training it as a sport.

Practical tasks include:
Learning basic swimming techniques: crawl, backstroke, breaststroke
Swimming with and without fins
Understanding and practicing freediving technical skills such as duck dive, turns, breathing techniques before and after surfacing
Aerobic and anaerobic endurance training
Building tolerance to hypercapnia and acidosis

How is our system different from other youth programs?
The author of the Molchanovs Junior program, Dr. Olga Lukova, has more than 12 years of experience leading junior freediving training in Russia. She is joined by a group of experienced junior instructors, who are both educators and athletes, dedicated to providing high-quality training.

Inspired by Natalia’s philosophy
Natalia Molchanova, freediving world champion and inspiration for the Molchanovs education system, always strived for safe and effective breath-hold diving through education and training. The Junior program follows the same principles that form the foundation of the adult Lap/Wave courses.

Comprehensive courses
The Molchanovs Junior program consists of courses tailored to each age group, further divided into multiple levels in both pool and open water. This ensures thorough education and experience in both environments.

Molchanovs Education Structure

Junior (ages 4–7) – Lap
Children gradually get used to floating, swimming at the surface, and diving. As they gain more experience, they learn crawl and backstroke. Advanced students are introduced to static apnea and fin swimming, sometimes even monofin technique, all with very short and manageable times and distances.

Courses for ages 4–7 include:
Discover Freediving
Pool Course 1 (Lap 1)
Pool Course 2 (Lap 2)
Pool Course 3

Junior (ages 8–11) – Lap
Children first learn freediving theory and build confidence at the surface through swimming techniques and STA/DYN/DYNB. Later, they learn equalization, breaststroke, and continue training STA/DYN/DYNB. Advanced students study marine mammals and human anatomy, learn turns in the pool, and even the DNF technique.

Courses for ages 8–11 (Lap) include:
Discover Freediving
Pool Course 1 (Lap 1)
Pool Course 2 (Lap 2)
Pool Course 3 (Lap 3)

Junior (ages 8–11) – Wave
Children begin learning the physics of freediving along with surface swimming, duck dives, and FIM/CWTB techniques. Later, they are introduced to equalization methods and how the body functions underwater, continue training FIM/CWTB, and learn CWT technique. Advanced students study marine mammals, deepen their freediving theory, learn blackout rescue, and gradually increase depth while refining FIM/CWT/CWTB techniques.

Courses for ages 8–11 (Wave) include:
Discover Freediving in Open Water
Depth Course 1 (Wave 1)
Depth Course 2 (Wave 2)
Depth Course 3 (Wave 3)

Junior (ages 12–15) – Lap
Children develop knowledge of freediving, equalization, crawl, and STA/DYN/DYNB. Later, they learn correct turns in the pool, breaststroke, and DNF technique, while improving their STA times. Advanced students learn about possible freediving injuries, training methods, and slowly increase distances in all disciplines while refining their technique.

Courses for ages 12–15 (Lap) include:
Discover Freediving
Pool Course 1 (Lap 1)
Pool Course 2 (Lap 2)
Pool Course 3 (Lap 3)

Junior (ages 12–15) – Wave
Children deepen their knowledge of freediving physics, surface swimming techniques, and FIM/CWT/CWTB. Later, they learn equalization techniques, underwater human anatomy, blackout rescue, and try CNF technique while improving performance in FIM/CWT/CWTB. Advanced students practice open water training, refine equalization methods, and continue developing FIM/CWT/CWTB/CNF techniques.

Courses for ages 12–15 (Wave) include:
Discover Freediving in Open Water
Depth Course 1 (Wave 1)
Depth Course 2 (Wave 2)
Depth Course 3 (Wave 3)

*Price of the course does not cover registration fee to Molchanovs (30€)