| Diving |
Diving is classified as an art as well as a sport. Beauty and grace must
be added to the feats of strength and agility while the body is moving
through the air. The diver must have total body control and good
kinesthetic awareness.
Divers compete in one-metre and three-metre springboard events and also
on the platform. When competing platform, divers may perform from five,
seven-and-a-half, or ten metres. |
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| Judging |
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A dive is not judged by entry alone. All phases of the performance are
considered: the approach, the take-off, the technique and grace during
flight, and the entry into the water. The judges score each dive, in its
entirety, without concern for difficulty as each dive has an assigned
Degree of Difficulty (D.D.) to reward the athletes for complicated
skills. |
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| A
Glossary of Terms |
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If you've ever talked to a diver or coach, or listened in on
one of their conversations, you will quickly realize that diving has a
lingo of its own. Coaches and divers use many terms to describe all
parts of the dive, from the take-off to the entry. The following is a
guide to help familiarize you with the terms associated with "the
take-off" and "the entry".
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| The Take Off |
| Riding
the Board |
|
Describes being in sync with the timing and rhythm of the
diving board during the hurdle; similar to surfer lingo of "riding
the wave". An ancient Chinese philosopher once said "riding
the board is like being one with the board and nature"!
|
|
| Stomping
the Board |
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This is the opposite of "riding the board". When
the diver is out of synch with the board, he/she makes a loud
"stomping" sound.
|
|
| Crow
Hop |
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A double-bounce on the board during a backwards take-off.
Although divers often do this involuntarily, this is a dangerous
movement that is discouraged by coaches.
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|
| The Entry |
| Line
Up |
|
This is the positioning of the body so as to "line
up" all body parts in a straight line from head to toe for the
entry. "Line ups" are drills used to practice the correct
sequence of events for a proper entry.
|
|
| Rip |
|
This term is used to describe an entry where the diver enters
the water without making a splash. A rip entry is the ultimate goal in
diving. The term "rip" comes from the resultant sound that
occurs upon impact - it sounds similar to a cloth tearing. A dive that
rips is very impressive and the judges score a rip entry with high
marks. Divers also refer to the rip as "scoffing the entry",
"slotting the entry", or "zeroing it".
|
|
| Clean
Entry |
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This term is used to describe a nice entry, with a small
amount of splash, but not quite a rip.
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|
| Heavy
Entry |
| This is the opposite of "ripping". A heavy entry is
one where the diver brings up lots of water and makes a big splash.
While this is desired in the cannonball competition, it is unimpressive
in competitive diving and judges will deduct marks for a heavy entry.
Other terms are "a missed entry", and a "kaboum".
Sometimes a heavy entry results in comments from athletes such as
"What, I didn't rip? This is the worst day of my life". |
|
| Going
Long/Over |
| This term refers to
a diver's angle of entry, whereby a diver over-rotates and goes beyond
vertical. There are varying degrees of "going long" ranging
from "little over", "pretty over", "way
over", to "ouch!" Sometimes this results in comments from
athletes such as "What, I went over? This is the worst day of my
life!" |
|
| Going
Short |
| This term is used when a diver under-rotates and fails to
achieve a vertical entry. Similar to "going long", "being
short" can occur in varying degrees. These include "a wee bit
short", "a little short", "very short",
"yowza", and "that had to hurt!" Comments from
athletes include "I told you I wouldn't make it!" |
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| Personal
Comment from a Coach |
Speaking from experience, I know diving can sometimes be
difficult and scary, and sometimes that water isn't so soft. But nothing
beats the feeling overcoming the fear of trying a new dive, or mastering
a dive you've been having difficulty with.
That's Success!!! |
