A Platform is a naturally occurring or human-made surface for people to jump from. Jumping platforms are usually situated above sufficiently deep water, or above mats, box springs, piles of empty cardboard boxes, or other soft landing surfaces, or they may be used together with other means of dampening the impact (such as for example, platforms for bungee jumping). Children often improvise platforms, either on a large scale (at abandoned quarries) or on a smaller scale (e.g. by moving a desk next to a bed, to jump onto the bed from the desk).

Platforms for cliff jumping

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For cliff jumping, the platform is usually a simple clearing in the bushes and other vegetation along the cliff above a river, ocean, lake, or quarry.

Sometimes railway bridges and other bridges are used as platforms. They can sometimes be distances up to approximately 100 feet above the water.

Abandoned quarries, and deep ponds will often have platforms, whether by design, or by improvisation of the people in the community. For example, platforms will often be affixed to towers in abandoned rail yards, overlooking a deep pond.

Officially designed platforms

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At many of the municipal swimming pools there are officially installed platforms, typically at heights of 3, 5, 7.5, and 10 meters above the pool. Sometimes there are platforms of various heights on a cement tower, and in other cases there are separate towers for each of a variety of platforms.

Safety and traffic control

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Many naturally occurring platforms are unofficial, and simply known among the children in a community. For example, the children are often tresspassing on quarry land, or the like, when they use the platforms. Usually the locals check the water to make sure it is deep enough and free of clutter, but there is always the danger of a dead fish or beverage can, bottle, branches, or the like floating near the surface of the water. Bad angle of entry can also cause injury even in the absence of clutter (e.g. broken bones or re-arrangement of internal organs from the impact of the water itself, if landing crooked). Being knocked unconscious by the impact can also lead to drowning.

Platforms at a municipal swimming pool are usually monitored by a lifeguard, who directs traffic. For example, during University of Ottawa's "fun swim" the lifeguards will often open up the gate leading to the four towers, when there are a sufficient number of children wishing to jump. The lifeguard calls out a tower number and raises that number of fingers, e.g. she will say "tower number four" and hold up four fingers, to indicate to the person on tower 4 that it is their turn. Platform numbering system can be confusing, and could lead to accidents, howerver, since some facilities use tower numbers (tower 1 is 3-meters, tower 2 is 5-meters, tower 3 is 7.5 meters, and tower 4 is 10-meters), whereas other facilities use the height in meters, i.e. the lifeguard will say "10 go" meaning "hey you on the 10-meter platform, it's your turn to go". There is thus an ambiguity in protocol when the lifeguard says "3 go" whether that means tower 3 (the one that's approximately 3 stories up, i.e. 3rd level, i.e. 7.5 meters) or the 3 meter tower (tower 1).

In order to address these safety issues, sometimes the towers are split, e.g. at Vancouver Aquatic Center, the 3-meter and 7.5 meter are at one end of the pool and the 5-meter and 10-meter are at the other end of the pool. Additionally, they have age restrictions on the 10-meter tower so that young children are only allowed to go up to 7.5 meters and no higher.

Typically, children must demonstrate that they can swim a certain distance, prior to being allowed to jump off the platforms, and wristbands are worn to indicate their ability to swim.

External links

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• CliffJumping.com - includes a list of "jumpsites" and indication of which are legal, illegal, etc., as well as a list of safety tips like "don't drink and jump", etc..