Springboard Diving is classified as an art as well as a sport. Beauty and grace
must be added to 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-meter and three-meter springboard events and also on
platform. When competing platform, divers may perform from five, seven and
one-half, or ten meters.
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.
STARTING POSITION ON THE BOARD - The diver stands with their body straight, head
erect, arms straight and to the sides or above the head. Once a diver moves
their arms from a backward take-off position or starts their run in a forward
take-off position they must continue or a balk can be called by the referee. One
balk is allowed - resulting in a penalty of two points which is deducted from
each judge's score by the scorers as instructed by the referee. Should a diver
lose their balance and their feet touch the platform in an arm stand dive, the
same rule applies. A second results in a failed dive.
THE APPROACH - The diver walks down the board maintaining good posture and must
take at least four steps including the hurdle. If a diver takes less than four
steps the referee shall instruct the scorers to deduct two points from the award
of each judge. The run should be smooth, straight and without hesitation.
THE TAKE-OFF - The diver must leave the board from both feet on the springboard
but may take off from one foot on the platform. It shall be bold, reasonably
high and confident and may be performed either standing or running. The judges
shall award points for a standing dive, bearing in mind the height and standard
of execution which might be expected from a running dive. Only one bounce on the
same spot is allowed, it is permissible for a diver to start the board in motion
in preparing for a back take-off.
THE FLIGHT - The divers legs should be together and toes pointed.
There are six groups of dives:
Forward - forward take-off (facing the water) with forward rotation.
Backward - backward take-off (back to the water) with backward rotation.
Reverse - forward take-off with backward rotation.
Inward - backward take-off with forward rotation.
Twist - Any of the above groups with 1/2 to 4 twists added.
Arm stand - (from the platform only) dives performed from a handstand on the end
of the platform.
The body positions are:
A: Straight - body not bent.
B: Pike - body bent at the hips only.
C: Tuck - body bent at hips and knees.
D: Free - combination of the above positions (used for twist dives) Arm position
is optional.
If a position is clearly other than announced, the referee will declare that the
highest mark shall be two points. If a position is partially other than
announced the maximum mark is 4.5.
If the diver touches the end of the board, or dives to the side of the direct
line of flight - this indicates, no matter how well the dive may have been
executed, that they were too close to the board for proper execution and the
judges make their own decisions regarding the deduction of points from their
scores. It is proposed that in this case the highest mark be 4.5.
TWISTS - Twisting must not be done manifestly from the board in straight dives
with one-half or full twist. In pike dives with the twist, the twist must not be
started until there is a definite pike position shown. Twists may be done at any
time in somersaults with twists. If a twist is more or less than announced by 90
degrees the diver receives zero fro that dive as declared by the referee.
FLYING DIVES - In all flying somersault dives a straight position should be
clearly shown for approximately one-half of the somersault. This position should
be assumed from the take-off except for dive 116 in which the straight position
must be shown after one somersault has been completed.
ENTRIES -
HEAD FIRST - body is vertical, or nearly so, with arms stretched beyond the head
in line with the body, hands close together.
FEET FIRST - body is vertical, or nearly so, with arms tightly at the sides of
the body. A dive is finished when the whole body is completely under the surface
of the water. What happens under the water is not judged. All dives must be
executed by the divers without help from anyone after the referee has signaled
the start of the dive.
After the competition is started, a diver must not bounce on the springboard
until after the score of the previous diver has been announced.
A diver who refuses the execution of a dive shall receive zero points for that
dive.
A diving meet is conducted by a referee, a panel of 5 or 7 judges, an announcer
and scorers. The referee manages the event and ensures all regulations are
observed. After each dive, the referee signals the judges who, without
communication with any colleagues, immediately flash their awards. Points are
awarded from zero to ten, according to the opinion of the judge based on the
criteria and the performance.
What The Scores Mean
Very Good 8-1/2 to 10
Good 6-1/2 to 8
Satisfactory 5 to 6
Deficient 2-1/2 to 4-1/2
Unsatisfactory 1/2 to 2
Failed 0
The judges' scores are written in order on each diver's sheet. The highest and
lowest scores are eliminated and the remaining scores are added. This score is
then multiplied by the D.D to produce the final score for the dive. The scores
for each dive are added to give the total score for the event. The diver with
the highest cumulative score at the end of the competition is the winner. During
a competition, the divers must perform compulsory and optional dives, the number
of dives varies depending on the competition.
The competition consists of preliminaries and finals. All divers in the
competition compete in preliminaries and perform their compulsory dives, they
may also (depending on the completion) perform optional dives. The totals from
the preliminaries are used to perform "cuts" in which only the top divers will
move on to the finals. Depending on the competition, this is typically eight,
ten, or twelve divers.
The divers in the final will perform additional dives, typically optional dives
and fewer than in the preliminaries. The scores from preliminaries are usually
discarded so that each diver starts out equal in the final competition. The
diver with the highest score after finals is the winner.