French diver training and certification agency
The (FFESSM) is a French sports federation specialized in recreational and competition underwater sports, like scuba diving and freediving. It is the main diver training organization in France.
The historical ancestor of the federation was created in 1948 under the name "Federation of societies for underwater fishing and swimming", and merged in 1955 with the "French federation of underwater activities" to become the current organization. It is one of the founding members of the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS, World Confederation of Underwater Activities) created in 1959.
It has 140,000 members, 6,000 instructors, in 2,500 clubs. The federation has a delegation from the French Ministry of Sports to organize and develop scuba diving and related activities nationwide.
Origins and history.
In 1948, the organisation was created under the title, "Fédération des sociétés de pêche à la nage et d’études sous-marines" (FSPNES) (federation of societies for underwater fishing and swimming).
In 1952, FSPNES became the "Fédération des groupements régionaux de sports sous-marins" (FGRSSM) (federation of regional groupings of underwater sports).
In 1953, FGRSSM became the "Fédération française des activités sous-marines" (FFASM) (French federation of underwater activities).
In 1954, FFASM changed its name to the "Fédération nationale française d’études et de sports sous-marins" (FNFESSM) (French national federation of underwater studies and sports) in order to avoid confusion with FASM, a rival organisation with a similar name.
In 1955, FNFESSM and FASM merged to become FFESSM (French federation of underwater studies and sports).
Underwater sport.
FFESSM supports competition at all levels for the following underwater sports: finswimming, freediving, spearfishing, underwater hockey, cave diving, underwater orienteering and underwater target shooting. It also offers competition in canyoning.
Qualifications.
Equivalences.
As the federation is a founding member of CMAS (world underwater federation), all certifications delivered to its divers come with a world equivalence.