Diving 101
What do you see here that isn’t so artistic?
Like gymnastics and figure skating, diving is a judged sport. Every dive has two aspects: technical proficiency and artistry. In many sports, these scores are separate. In diving, they are combined into a single number from 0-10. Technical proficiency comes first, then artistry. A dive that is pretty, but done incorrectly, or not very well, should get a lower score than a dive that is correctly done but not so beautiful. A dive that is both technically proficient and pleasant to the eye should get a score of Good or above.
A dive has four parts: Approach, Takeoff, Flight, Entry.
To be done correctly, it must have all of these parts. If it is missing one of them, that is a major error no matter how well the rest of the dive is performed.
Front approaches can be either running or standing.
If a diver uses a front approach and dives or spins forward, that is a front dive. That is the most basic dive.
If a diver uses a back approach and dives or spins backwards, that is a back dive.
If a diver uses a front approach and dives or spins backwards, that is a reverse dive.
If a diver uses a back approach and dives or spins forward, that is an inward dive.
In NVSL, every diver must do a front dive and a back dive. Seniors must also do an inward dive. These are the “required” dives. Everything else is an “optional” dive: one for freshmen, two for juniors, three for intermediates and seniors—all from different dive groups .
In NVSL, front approaches may either be standing or may consist of one or more steps followed by a hurdle. A diver should assume a starting position at the front or back of the board before beginning the approach. The start of a “running” dive is when the diver takes the first step.
If not standing, a front approach must include a hurdle before the takeoff. It doesn’t matter how many or how few steps a diver takes before the hurdle or what they do with their arms or their feet while walking down the board. They can skip or jump and land on one or two feet; it doesn’t matter as long as it is before the hurdle.
Standing approaches should contain an arm circle but it is not mandatory. The actual start of a standing dive is the press.
A diver may be penalized by the judges for errors in the approach.
Here are some of the things that can go wrong: These are all referee calls.
If a diver starts the dive and then stops and starts over, that is called a “balk” (just like baseball).
After the diver has completed the dive after balking, the referee will call the balk.
Two points are deducted from each judge’s score by the announcer.
If the diver balks twice, that is a failed dive. These are all issues of safety.
In other words—correct technique is to jump into the air from one foot with upraised knee, then land on two feet and take off immediately. Anything else is an error.
Back approaches are always standing.
Back and inward dives must use back approaches.
In a back approach, the diver is entitled to any kind of arm movement and may rock the board gently with their feet to get it moving, as long as they don’t use their heels to drive down the board for takeoff. That is called a press. It constitutes the start of the dive.
If the diver hasn’t actually started the dive and they lose their balance and even fall in, it is not considered a balk and they can start over.
There are several things that can go wrong with a back approach.
If a diver takes off from one foot, that’s a failed dive.
If they bounce on the board twice with two feet before taking off, that is a failed dive.
If a diver jumps into the air with two feet but lands briefly back on the board before actually taking off, that is called a “crowhop.” It is allowed, but it is not considered good technique. Judges can deduct anywhere from ½ to 2 points depending on how much daylight there was between the diver’s feet and the board and how much of the diver’s foot landed back on the board before the actual takeoff.
Flight
The flight of a dive is the most complex part. All the flips and twists take place during flight. A correct dive contains all the flips and twists that were announced. The more flips and twists a dive contains, the higher the degree of difficulty.
A correct dive has a flight that goes upward, not outward, from the end of the springboard. The flight is perpendicular, not parallel to the water. It looks like a rocket launch, not like a rainbow. A correct dive is finished with its flight before the diver’s hands or feet hit the water. A dive that is not finished before entry is not Satisfactory. This is true whether the diver is entering the water head first or feet first.
A Good or Very Good or Excellent dive is finished before the diver comes back past the board. The dive is considered finished when the diver has completed all the flips and twists and has kicked out into a straight vertical position perpendicular to the water to prepare for entry.
There are three positions that a diver can use during flight: Straight (A), Pike (B), and
Tuck (C). Tuck dives have the lowest degree of difficulty; straight dives have the highest because it is harder to do a somersault in straight position than in tuck.
Tuck position: Tight and aesthetically pleasing is better than loose with legs not together and feet not aligned. The poor tuck to the left
resulted from a bad takeoff.
Split tuck
If a diver must put their knees outside their shoulders to spin fast, that is not aesthetically pleasing, and judges may deduct for it. The tuck on the right is correct; the legs are aligned rather than split and the knees are inside the shoulders.
Pike position
The tighter the pike, the better the dive. Divers are allowed to wrap their arms around their legs to get their heads onto their knees for a faster spin.
Open pike
In an open pike, the arms are held out to the side rather than stretched or wrapped around the legs. This is worth extra points from judges because it is more difficult to spin in this position than in a closed pike.
Position Errors
A dive done in the wrong position receives a maximum score of two. This is a referee’s call although a judge can award this score if the referee does not do it pre-emptively.
The bent knees here constitute a “break” in position. In the pike position, the legs are supposed to be perfectly straight. Judges are not supposed to award a score above 4 ½ for this dive because the break makes it Deficient. A break worse than this one would warrant an even lower score.
Artistry in Position
Extra points above Satisfactory should be awarded for dives with positions that are tight and aesthetically pleasing, with the entire body aligned and fully stretched, including the arms. Toes should be pointed throughout the flight although the feet on a feet-first dive should be flexed for entry.
The flexed feet should lower the score of this dive slightly.
Straight position—in flight and on entry. The arch in the image above makes it less good but not incorrect. An arch in the straight position is not “broken” as long as the knees and waist are not bent.
The last element of any dive is the entry into the water. This should be straight and as close to vertical as possible—that is, perpendicular to the board and to the water.
A Satisfactory dive enters the water about 1 ½ to 4 feet in front of the board. Inward dives will tend to be closer to 1 ½ feet and reverse dives will be tend to be farther out. If the diver hits the board or the referee thinks their head is too close, the referee may award a maximum of two points. Too far out is the judges’ discretion, but a dive whose flight is parallel to the water is either Deficient or Unsatisfactory.
Dives should enter the water in front of the board, not off to the side, with the diver’s shoulders parallel to the end of the board. Dives not belonging to the twister group should not be twisted.
In NVSL, dives are judged from first contact with the water until the diver is submerged.
All of these criteria for a satisfactory dive are issues of technical proficiency, not artistry. Artistry comes into play if the diver enters the water perfectly vertical with almost no splash. That is called a ‘rip” entry because of the sucking sound it makes.
The main thing that can go wrong with an entry is to hit the water with something other than the head or hands on a head-first dive and something other than the feet on a feet-first dive. A feet-first dive that isn’t kicked out can land on the butt. Hands that are put down for balance can hit before the feet. On a head-first dive, the back or the butt or the feet can hit before the hands if the flight is low and parallel to the water. All of these dives are failed.
The entry into the water is the last thing judges see but that doesn’t mean it should be overemphasized. If a dive is otherwise well done and just goes a little long or falls a little short, that doesn’t make it incorrect, just not Good or Very Good.
A correct dive (5-6 ½) is finished before the hands or feet hit the water. A dive is not finished if the diver fails to come out of a tuck, pike, or twist. That error brings a score of no more than two points. A correct dive goes in the water more or less vertical with the legs straight and toes pointed, so it also is not finished if it hasn’t been kicked into a straight position. This is true whether the diver is going in head first or feet first. A dive can be legal if the diver goes in the water still in a ball, but the dive is still Deficient.
The dive to the left here is clearly Deficient and probably Unsatisfactory depending on how the flight looked before producing this entry
Kinds of Dives
Dives are classified into groups based on the approach and the direction of the spin.
In NVSL, six groups are used:
0 Lineup/Entry 001, 002…
1 Front dive 100 101 102…
2 Back Dive 200, 201, 202…
3 Reverse dive 301, 302…
4 Inward dive 401, 402…
5 Twisting dive 5111, 5121, 5122, 5124; 5211, 5222, 5231, 5132…
Dive Numbers
The dive number is an official description of the dive. The first number is the dive group. The third number is the number of half rotations: 0 for none (that’s a jump); 1 for a dive, 2 for a somersault (one full rotation), 3 for a one-and-a-half, and so forth. So, a 104 is a front double somersault and a 402 is an inward flip. The twisting group has a 5 at the beginning so the second number tells you if it is a front, back, reverse, or inward twister.
Twisters also have an extra number at the end for the number of half twists. 5121 is a front flip with a half twist; 5122 is a front flip with a full twist; 5132 is a front one and a half with a full twist and so forth…
Degree of difficulty (DD)
Every dive is assigned a degree of difficulty that goes with its number and position.
Front dive tuck is 101C, which is 1.2
Front dive pike is 101B, which is 1.3
Front dive straight is 101A, which is 1.4.
It is harder to make a dive in the straight position go up and down perpendicular to the water, so it has a higher dd than front dive tuck.
Front flip tuck is 102C, which is 1.4. A somersault is harder than a dive.
Front flip pike is 102B, which is 1.5. A pike somersault is harder than a tuck somersault because you spin slower with your legs extended.
Front flip straight is 102A, which is 1.6. A straight somersault is harder than a pike somersault because your whole body is extended.
Back dives, inward dives, and reverse dives all have a higher start value than front dives. All the degrees of difficulty are laid out in a table in the NVSL handbook. In a meet, the diver’s score from the judges is multiplied by its degree of difficulty to get the total score for the dive. You get more points for doing a more difficult dive if you can do it better than you can do an easier dive. If not, it’s wise to do the easier dive better. This is appropriate for a developmental league.
Twisting
Any dive from any of the first four groups can be made more difficult by adding a twist.
Twister dives have some special rules.
Basics of Dive Judging
Dives are judged on a scale of 0-10.
Completely failed 0
Unsatisfactory 1/2 - 2
Deficient 2 1/2 - 4 1/2
Satisfactory 5-6 1/2
Good 7 - 8
Very good 8 1/2 – 9 1/2
Excellent 10
A correct dive should get anywhere from 5-6 ½ points. If it has errors in technical proficiency, that should drop it into the Deficient range, or perhaps lower. If it is not only correct, but is performed with artistry, it should score at the upper end of the Satisfactory range or move into the Good, Very Good, or Excellent range, depending on how well it exceeds Satisfactory in both Technical Proficiency and Artistry.
This 5122 is better
This 5122 is still better
This 5122 (front flip full twist) is done correctly.
The difference is an increasing level of artistry,
which can pull a Satisfactory dive up into the Good
range.
Technical Proficiency
There are several aspect of technique that elevate a dive from Satisfactory to Good, Very Good, or Excellent.
Height: The higher the flight, relative to the diver’s height, the better the dive. The higher the diver is above the board when the flips and twists are performed, the better the dive. The higher above the water the dive was finished, the better the dive.
The trajectory of a dive
should look like this.
Yes, back dives too:
Body Position:
Excellent dives are tight and perfectly aligned. The entry is vertical.
There is little to no splash.
Distance: The closer the entry is to precisely three feet from the board, the better the dive. The goal is a narrow trajectory. Dives are supposed to go straight up and come straight down. This is harder in straight position than in tuck or pike, so those dives have higher degrees of difficulty. Dives that go up but not out should get higher scores than dives that go out, but not up.
Look where the diving board is relative to the diver’s height.
Artistry
Artistry is what elevates a dive up to 7-10 on the scale. A dive is Good, Very Good, or Excellent if it is smooth, elegant, aesthetically pleasing, and graceful.
Glossary of Diving Terms
balk
bunny hop
crowhop
DD
group
hurdle
list
long
pike
press
rip
rock
sheet sShort
straight
stuck
tuck