All About DIVING

Contents
Dive groups Scoring
Dives with a twist Preliminary rounds
Events Equipment

OVERVIEW

Competitive diving is divided into mens and womens springboard and platform (highboard) events. Competitors perform a series of dives, and receive marks for each. After a set number of dives, the diver with the most marks is the winner. A tie is declared if divers have equal points.

All dives are considered finished when the diver's body has gone completely under the water.

DETAILED RULES

Dive groups

There are six official dive groups. At least 24 hours before the competition, divers will state which dives they have selected to perform. In some competitions, the dives are set and the divers do not have a choice.

Forward dives (body facing the water)
Backward dives (body facing the platform)
Reverse dives (body facing the water)
Inward dives (body facing the platform
Twist dives
Armstand dives (from the platform only)

Divers may take off from a forward, backward, or armstand position. Forward take-off dives may be performed while standing or running.

Standing dives
The starting position is for the diver to stand on the end of the platform or board. The body must be straight head upright, and the arms either straight at the sides, or straight upwards, or straight in any sideways position. The diver must not bounce on the board before take-off. In an armstand dive, there must be a steady balance in the straight position.

Running dives
The starting position is when the diver is ready to take the first step of their run. The run must be smooth, straight, without stopping and must be at least four steps. The take-off from springboard must be with both feet. The take-off from a platform can be with one or both feet.

During the flight, the body may be straight, with pike, or with tuck. The diver can put their arms in any position they wish.

In the straight position, the body must not be bent at the hips or knees, the feet must be together, and the toes must be pointed. With pike, the body must be bent at the hips, the legs straight at the knees, and the toes pointed. With tuck, the whole body must be curled, with the knees together, the hands on the lower legs, and the toes pointed.

For dives where the diver somersaults in the air, a straight position should be held for approximately half a somersault.

Dives with a twist

The twist should not be started until the diver is in the air. In pike dives with a twist, the twist must follow the pike. In somersault dives, the twist can be performed at any time during the dive. The twist must be within 90 degrees of what the diver stated or the dive is a failure.

The diver must go into the water vertically or near vertically. The body must be straight, and the toes must be pointed. For head-first entries, the arms must be stretched above the head and in line with the body. For feet-first entries, the arms must be close to the body, with no bending at the elbows.

Events

Mens springboard
Mens springboard events consist of eleven different dives, five dives which each come from a different group with the total difficulty no greater than 9.5, and six dives with no limit to the difficulty. Of these, one dive will be from each group, and another dive which can come from any group.

Womens springboard
Womens springboard events consists of ten different dives, five dives which each come from a different group with the total difficulty no greater than 9.5, and six dives with no limit to the difficulty. Of these, one dive will be from each group.

Mens platform
Mens springboard events consist of ten different dives, four dives which each come from a different group with the total difficulty no greater than 7.6, and six dives with no limit to the difficulty, each from a different group.

The dives may be performed from either the 10 metre or the intermediate board, except in the Olympic Games and world championships, where only the 10 metre board is used.

Womens platform
Womens springboard events consist of eight different dives, four dives which each come from a different group with the total difficulty no greater than 7.6, and four dives with no limit to the difficulty, each from a different group.

The dives may be performed from either the 5 metre, 7.5 metre, 10 metre or the intermediate board, except in the Olympic Games and world championships, where only the 10 metre board is used.

Scoring

Each judge (there are usually five or seven in major competitions) awards each diver a mark in points and half points from 0 to 10 for each dive they perform, according to the following criteria:

0 - completely failed
0.5 to 2 - unsatisfactory
2.5 to 4.5 - deficient
5 to 6 - satisfactory
6.5 to 8 - good
8.5 to 10 - very good

The highest and lowest scores are cancelled, and the remainder is combined and multiplied by the difficulty of the dive. This gives the score for a five judge competition. For a seven judge competition, the result is multiplied by three fifths for comparison with a five judge event. The judges do not communicate with each other when giving scores.

If a diver performs a dive that they did not announce before the competition, it does not count. A dive performed in a position that was not announced scores a maximum of 2 points. If a dive is spoiled by something which is not the diver's fault, the dive may be repeated with the permission of the referee.

Preliminary rounds

In the Olympic Games and in world championships, there is always a preliminary round and final competition. In a springboard event, a preliminary round is eleven dives for men, ten for women. In platform events, a preliminary round is ten dives for men, eight for women.

The twelve divers with the most points qualify for the final round, and are placed in reverse order of their scores in the preliminary rounds. There is no carry over of points.

Equipment

Platform boards
There are three boards for a platform event. All platform boards are 6 metres long. One board is 10 metres high and 2 metres wide. The other two boards are both 1.5 metres wide, and are 7.5 metres high and 5 metres high respectively.

There are two training boards used for platform event training. One is 3 metres high, 5 metres long, and 1.5 metres wide. The other is 1 metre high, 5 metres long, and 60 centimetres wide.

Springboards
There are two boards for a springboard event. They are both 4.88 metres long and 60 centimetres wide. One is 3 metres high, the other is 1 metre high.

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