Diving

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Diving_Medicine :: Diving_and_Sub_Aqua :: Diving

This article refers to the sport of jumping into water, often acrobatically. For swimming below the surface of the water, see underwater diving. For other meanings of the term, see dive.

Diving refers to the sport of acrobatically jumping or falling into water. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a common recreational pastime in places where swimming is popular.

While not a particularly popular participant sport, diving is one of the more popular Olympic sports with spectators. Successful competitors possess many of the same characteristics as gymnasts, including strength, flexibility, and kinaesthetic judgment.

In the past, the success and prominence of Greg Louganis led to American strength internationally. More recently, the greatest diving nation has been China, which came to prominence several decades ago when the sport was revolutionized by national coach Boxi Liang. China has lost few world titles since. Other powers are generally those which import Chinese coaches, including Australia and Canada, home to the poster boy of the sport in recent years, Alexandre Despatie.

Competitive Diving

Most diving competitions consist of three disciplines: 1m, 3m and tower, aka platform. Competitive athletes are divided by gender, and often by age groups as well. In tower events, competitors are allowed to perform their dives on either the five, seven and a half (generally just called seven) or ten metre towers, although high level meets, including the Olympic Games and world championships, usually require all dives to be executed from the ten metre.

One and three meter dives are performed from a springboard. Five through ten meter dives are performed from concrete or wooden platforms, and such platforms also exist at one and three metre heights as training tools.

Divers must perform a set number of dives according to various established requirements, including somersaults and twists in various directions and from different starting positions (see Components of a Dive below). Divers are judged on whether and how well they completed all aspects of the dive, the conformance of their body to the requirements of the nominated dive, and the amount of splash created by their entry to the water (less being better). A perfect entry, with no splash, is called a "rip," after the loud tearing or clapping sound it creates (as well as the sometimes painful bursting feeling on the hands of the diver). Theoretically, a score out of ten is supposed to be broken down into 3 points for the takeoff, 3 for the flight, and 3 for the entry, with 1 more available to give the judges flexibility. However, since judges must give their scores instantaneously, they base their scores more on a gut instinct and overall impression than actual calculations.

The raw score is multiplied by a difficulty factor, derived from the number and combination of movements attempted. The diver with the highest total score after a sequence of dives (which depend on age group and skill level in elite competition) is declared the winner.

While diving is closely related to gynmastics, it differs in one large way: Male and female gymansts compete vastly different skills on vastly different apparatus, while male and female divers compete the same dives on the same boards. Women are often required to perform one less dives than men (10 as opposed to 11, or 5 as opposed to 6), but there has been a movement in recent years to change this fact.

Synchronized diving was adopted as an Olympic sport in 2000. In this event, two divers form a team and attempt to perform dives simultaneously. The dives are usually identical; however, sometimes the dives may be opposites, in what is called a pinwheel. This is an impressive spectacle, and requires great coordination between the team-mates. In these events, synchronicity is valued as highly as technical skill. Thus, if both divers perform their individual dives badly, but in the same way, they will still score fairly well.

Components of a Dive and a Diving List

A dive must be composed of one of four defined positions. They are: (A) layout or straight position--the body is, as the name implies, completely straight; (B) pike position--the body is folded in half, bent at the waist but not at the knees; (C) tuck position--the body is curled into a ball, with the knees brought up to the chin and the heels tucked against the back of the legs; or (D) free position--defined as the use of multiple positions during the flight, usually pike and layout, and used exclusively for twisting dives. There may be any multiple of half-twist rotations and half somersault revolutions performed in these positions.

On the springboards, dives are performed in one of four directions: (1) forward or front--beginning facing forwards and rotating forwards in the air; (2) backward or back--beginning facing the board and rotating backwards; (3) reverse or gainer--beginning facing forwards but rotating backwards, back towards the board; or (4) inward-- beginning facing backwards but rotating forwards, back towards the board. A forward or reverse dive begins with an approach (called a hurdle) moving towards the end of the diving board. A back or inward dive begins with either a standing or rocking motion by the diver standing at the end of the board and facing backwards. However, forward and inward are in fact technically almost identical to each other, as are backward and reverse.

Dives involving a twist during the somersault may be either front, back, reverse or (rarely) inward, but are considered a fifth direction altogether. Similarly, on platform only, dives in the front, back, or (rarely) reverse directions, with or without twist, may be performed starting from an armstand (i.e., handstand) rather than from standing on the feet. Armstand dives are considered a sixth direction.

A diver's "list" refers to the dives they compete. In high level meets, athletes are required to perform dives in all five of the directions on springboard, and five of the six on platform; children may only be expected to perform three or four, and men often have to perform enough dives that they must repeat one direction.

The diver's list is divided into two halves, referred to internationally as compulsory dives and optional dives. The compulsories are not, as the name suggests, dives strictly identified by the rules; rather, they are simply the easier dives, intended to exhibit technical mastery. However, since there are so few to choose from and since there is a limit on the total sum of the compulsory dives' degrees of difficulty (see Degree of Difficulty), most divers around the world have the same compulsories. The optionals are more difficult and therefore allow more freedom to show off sheer strength and skill, but given competitive standards, athletes of a similar competitive level will often have the same or very similar optionals.

All of the athletes are elite and skilful enough to perform compulsories admirably, but differences in ability become much more evident when optionals are performed. Therefore, it is not uncommon, in high level competitions, for optionals to be competed first, in preliminary rounds (as a way of separating the excellent divers from the very good ones) and compulsories to be performed only in final rounds, or for compulsories to not be done at all.

Each dive has a "dive number" - a code that describes its direction and number of twists and somersaults. Note that changing the position of the dive (tuck, pike, etc.) does NOT affect the dive number. A letter (A for straight, B for pike, C for tuck, or D for free) is appended to the end of the dive number to indicate the position in which it is to be performed. In competition, all the dives an athlete competes must have different dive numbers.

Degree of Difficulty

Each dive performed has an inherent "Degree of Difficulty," or "DD." This is a numerical value that is calculated based on a formula developed by FINA, NCAA, USA Diving or independent groups (see sample DD's). The calculation of each dive's DD is based on the number of somersaults and twists the dive entails, the direction, the position, and the board or platform it is performed from. Currently the highest DD is 4.1 for an Inward four-and-a-half somersaults (409C) on the ten metre platform in the tuck position. The most commonly competed high-DD dive has a DD of 3.8: 5255B, a back two-and-a-half somersault with two-and-a-half twists in the pike position. Recently divers have been learning more difficult dives. High-DD dives such as 109B, forward four-and-a-half somersaults in the pike position, 5339D, reverse one-and-a-half with four-and-a-half twists in the free position, and 5355B, reverse two-and-half somersaults with two-and-a-half twists in the pike position might be competed in the next World's or Olympics.

The total score for an individual dive is determined by adding the judges' scores once the highest and lowest have each been cut and multiplying this sum by the degree of difficulty. The score for each dive is added to give a final score, and the diver with the highest final total is the winner of the event.

Scoring the Dive

Ultimately, the judges' scores given on each dive are subjective. However, there are specific rules governing how a dive is supposed to be scored. Usually a score factors three elements of the dive: the approach, the flight, and the entry. The primary factors affecting the scoring are: (1) the height of the diver at the apex of the dive, with extra height resulting in a higher score, (2) the distance of the diver from the diving apparatus throughout the dive (a diver must not be dangerously close, should not be too far away, but should ideally be within 2 feet of the board/platform), (3) the properly defined body position of the diver according to the dive being performed, including pointed toes and feet touching at all times, (4) the proper amounts of rotation and revolution upon completion of the dive and entry into the water, and (5) angle of entry (a diver should enter the water straight, without any angle). Many judges award divers for the amount of splash created by the diver on entry, with less splash resulting in a higher score.

To reduce the subjectivity of scoring in major meets, panels of five or seven judges are assembled. In the case where five judges are assembled, the highest and lowest scores are tossed and the middle three are summed and multiplied by the DD. In the case where seven judges are assembled, the highest and lowest scores are tossed and the middle five are summed and multiplied by the DD. Accordingly, it is extremely difficult for one judge panel to manipulate scores.

There is a general misconception about scoring and judging. In serious meets, the absolute score is somewhat meaningless. It is the relative score, not the absolute score that wins meets. Accordingly, good judging implies consistent scoring across the dives. Specifically, if a judge consistently gives low scores for all divers, or consistently gives high scores for the same divers, the judging will yield fair relative results and will cause divers to place in the correct order. However, absolute scores have significance to the individual divers. Besides the obvious instances of setting records, absolute scores are also used for rankings and qualifications for higher level meets.

Competitive Strategy

To win dive meets, divers create a dive list in advance of the meet. To win the meet the diver must accumulate more points than other divers. Usually simple dives with low DDs will look good to spectators but will not win meets. The competitive diver will attempt the highest DD dives possible with which they can consistently achieve scores of at least 5. If divers are scoring 8 or 9 on most dives, it may be a sign of their extreme skill, or it may be a sign that their dive list is not competitive, and they may lose the meet to a diver with higher DD's and lower scores.

In competition, divers must submit their lists before hand, and past a certain deadline (usually when the event is announced shortly before it begins) they cannot change their dives under any circumstances. If they fail to perform the dive announced, even if they physically cannot execute the dive announced, even if they perform a more difficult dive, they will receive a score of zero. Under exceptional circumstances, a redive may be granted, but these are exceedingly rare (usually for very young divers just learning how to compete, or if some event outside the diver's control has caused them to be unable to perform).

There are some American meets which will allow changes even after the dive has been announced immediately before execution, but these are an exception to the rules generally observed internationally.

Generally, NCAA rules allow for dives to be changed while the diver is on the board, but the diver must request the change directly after the dive is announced. This applies especially in cases where the wrong dive is announced. If the diver pauses during his or her hurdle to ask for a change of dive, it will be declared a balk and the change of dive will not be permitted.

Diving and Other Sports

In the United States scholastic diving is almost always part of the school’s swim team. Diving is a separate sport in Olympic and Club Diving. The NCAA will separate diving from swimming in special diving competitions after the swim season is completed.

Divers do not consider themselves swimmers. Sometimes in High School meets, a diver must swim, but often they don't practice swimming. While each sport shares a pool, and may compete side by side when doing so for their schools, the two sports are very different. Swimming is about times, diving is about art; swimming is a full body exercise with emphasis on upper body strength and speed, diving is a full body exercise with emphasis on grace and execution; swimmers most frequently suffer overuse injuries, divers most frequently suffer impact injuries or strains. And, of course, swimming takes place in the water, and diving takes place in the air.

The sister sport of diving is in fact gymnastics. Many divers begin their training as gymnasts, and switch sports for one reason or another. Two of the most common are that they simply prefer diving, or that they develop a chronic injury that makes continuing gymnastics impossible. Gymnastics provides young divers with unique skills that help them perform complex and risky dives. But starting as a gymnast can have some down sides, seeing as some habbits developed in gymnastics can interfere with the correct way of doing the movement in diving.

Diving Venues

Divers can compete in several venues; the categories listed below refer only to diving in the United States. Each may have age and experience limiations.

Summer Diving

In the United States summer diving is usually limited to one meter diving at community or country club pools. Some pools organize to form intra-pool competitions. These competitions are usually designed to accommodate all school-age children. One of the largest and oldest competitions in the United States is found in the Northern Virginia area where 47 pools compete against each other every summer (with over 380 divers in NVSL's "Cracker Jack" meet).

High School Diving

In the United States scholastic diving at the high school level is usually limited to one meter diving (But some schools use 3 meter springboards.). Scores from those one meter dives contribute to the swim team's overall score.

In each state there are usually two high school venues. The first is the public school competitions. The second is the independent school venue. In the United States public schools rarely compete with independent schools (see ISL) and almost never compete at the state championship level.

Club Diving

Pre-college divers interested in three meter or tower diving must join a club that is usually sanctioned by USA Diving or AAU Diving. Top club divers are usually called "junior olympic," or JO divers and compete nationally for "All-American" status.

USA Diving sanctions one East-West one and three meter event in the winter time with an Eastern champion and Western champion determined. In the summer USA Diving sanctions a national event with tower competitions offered. Divers over the age of 19 years of age cannot compete in these events as a JO diver.

AAU Diving sanctions one national event per year in the summer. AAU competes on the one, three, and tower to determine the All-American team.

College Diving

In the United States scholastic diving at the college level requires one and three meter diving. Scores from the one and three meter competition contribute to the swim team's overall meet score. College divers interested in tower diving may compete in the NCAA separate from swim team events. NCAA Divisions II and III do not usually compete platform; if a diver wishes to compete platform in college, he or she must attend a Division I school.

A number of colleges and universities will offer scholarships to men and women who developed competitive diving skills. These scholarships are usually offered to divers with age-group or club experience.

The NCAA limits the number of years a college student can represent any school in competitions. The limit is four years, but could be less under certain circumstances.

Master Diving

In the United States divers who continue diving past their college years can compete in Master Diving programs. Master diving programs are frequently offered by college or club programs.

Famous Divers

Olympic and World Cup Divers

Australia: Rebecca Gilmore, Mathew Helm, Chantelle Michelle, Chantelle Newbery, Robert Newbery, Dean Pullar, and Loudy Tourky

Canada: Annie Pelletier, Myriam Boileau, Philippe Comtois, Alexandre Despatie, Blythe Hartley, Émilie Heymans, and Anne Montminy

China: Fu Mingxia, Gao Min, Guo Jingjing, Hu Jia, Lao Lishi, Na Li, Li Ting, Wu Minxia, Peng Bo, Xue Sang, Tian Liang, Hailiang Xiao, and Ni Xiong

Italy: Klaus Dibiasi

Malaysia: Yeoh Ken Nee

Mexico: Rommel Pacheco and Fernando Platas

Russia: Alexander Dobroskok, Vera Ilina, Igor Lukashin, Ioulia Pakhalina, and Dmitri Sautin

United Kingdom: Leon Taylor and Peter Waterfield

United States: Hobie Billingsley, Bruce Kimball, Beatrice Kyle, Pat McCormick, Mark Lenzi, Greg Louganis, Aileen Riggin, Laura Wilkinson, Jennifer Chandler, and Bob Webster

All-American College Divers

Bill Ferry (University of Tennessee) - first All American diver for the Volunteers, also four-time SEC Champion (1968-1972).

Non-competitive Diving

Diving is also popular as a non-competitive activity that is often simply done for pleasure or thrills. Such diving usually emphasizes the airborne experience, and the height of the dive, but does not emphasize what goes on once the diver enters the water. The ability to dive underwater can be a useful emergency skill, and is an important part of watersport and navy safety training. More generally, entering water from a height is an enjoyable leisure activity, as is underwater swimming.

Diving Links

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