There are eight generally recognized freediving disciplines:
| Freediving Disciplines | Measurement | |
| STA | static apnea | time (breathhold while floating in pool) |
| DYN | dynamic apnea with fins | horizontal distance (in pool) |
| DNF | dynamic apnea without fins | horizontal distance (in pool) |
| CWT | constant weight apnea with fins | depth (without touching line) |
| CNF | constant weight apnea without fins | depth (without touching line) |
| FIM | free immersion apnea | depth (with only pulling at line) |
| VWT | variable weight apnea | depth (weighted descent, own ascent) |
| NLT | no-limits apnea | depth (weighted descent, inflated bag ascent) |
And these are the AIDA recognised World Records for these eight freediving diciplines as of 4th April 2019 (so most likely some of these are already broken or will be soon):
| Freediving Disciplines | WR men | WR woman | |
| STA | static apnea | 11:35 min | 9:02 min |
| DYN | dynamic apnea with fins | 300 m | 243 m |
| DNF | dynamic apnea without fins | 244 m | 191 m |
| CWT | constant weight apnea with fins | 130 m | 107 m |
| CNF | constant weight apnea without fins | 102 m | 73 m |
| FIM | free immersion apnea | 125 m | 97 m |
| VWT | variable weight apnea | 146 m | 130 m |
| NLT | no-limits apnea | 253,2 m | 160 m |