Platform diving in details

Diving is an Olympic water sport, the essence of which is the performance of acrobatic elements while diving from the tower or a springboard into the water. In diving, both the quality of acrobatic elements and the cleanliness of entering the water are evaluated. Platform diving is a popular type of diving and a competitive discipline. Let us take a closer look at this sport.

Designation

All jumps are designated with the help of three or four numbers followed by a letter. The first figure is used to denote the type of the jump. What types of platform jumps are distinguished?

1. Divers face the water and do a forward somersault.
2. Divers stand back to the water and do a backward somersault.
3. Divers face the water and do a backward somersault.
4. Divers stand back to the water and do a forward somersault.
5. Divers rotate in two axes.
6. Divers start the jump with a handstand.

The choice of the second figure is limited. If the figure is zero (0), it means that there will not be any flying stage in the jump. If the figure is one (1), it means that there will be  a flying stage. Yet, these rules are applied to all jumps except the ones that belong to the sixth group. If the jump starts with a handstand, the second figure can vary from 1 to 3. What does it mean?

1. A forward jump.
2. A backward jump.
3. A jump from the front position with backward rotation.

The third figure denotes the number of half-rotations a sportsman is going to do. The fourth figure is applied to flip jumps and handstand-to-rotation jumps and denotes the number of rotation as well.

The letter in the end of this combination is used to denote the position, in which this or that jump will be performed.

1. The legs are straight.
2. The body is bent and the legs are straight.
3. Both the body and the legs are bent, with the chin touching the knees.
4. Free position.

Rules

All individual and synchronized diving competitions must include six jumps. The jumps must not be repeated. After the referee’s signal, the athlete must assume a starting position (free and independent). For example, when diving from a place, the body must be straight, the head straight, and the arms straight in any position. If a jumps-off is performed from the catch, it should be smooth, aesthetically pleasing and continuous to the end of the tower, with the last step being made with one foot and without jumping up before pushing off.

The push-off from the springboard should be performed with both feet at the same time. The push-off in the jump from the front stance in front to back from the tower can be done with one foot. During the flight, the jump position must be aesthetically pleasing at all times. The jump is completed when the jumper’s entire body is completely below the surface of the water.

Swimming pool and equipment

The same pool is used for diving and swimming competitions, so their parameters will be identical: width should be 21 meters, and length can vary from 18 to 22 meters. However, the FINA rules specify the minimum depth of the diving pool to be 4.5 meters and the minimum illumination of 1 meter above the surface of the water to be 500 lux.

The diving tower is equipped with platforms of width from 0.6 m to 3 m located at a height of 1, 3, 5, 7.5 and 10 m. Platforms made of reinforced concrete are covered with hardwood, and the top is covered with anti-slip coating. In addition, at diving competitions a unit for mechanical agitation of the water surface is used. This is necessary to better estimate the distance of the athlete to the water surface.

The diving equipment for men shall be swimming trunks with a cuff around the legs and, for women, a full-body swimsuit produced by the companies that cooperate with FINA and the European Swimming League. The material of the diving equipment shall be durable.

Judging system

The formation of judging panels is carried out in accordance with the Qualification requirements for sports judges in the sport of “diving”. In the case when there are eleven referees, five referees evaluate the performance of the synchronized diving, three referees evaluate the performance of one jumper and three referees evaluate the performance of the other jumper.

In all individual and team events, five judges may be used, and in synchronized events, nine judges may be used. Five judges judge the performance of one jumper, or two judges judge the performance of one jumper and two judges judge the performance of the other jumper. Diving jumps are evaluated by a 10-point system. Two independent secretaries keep and store competition records.

In individual competitions the evaluation of each jump is made by seven judges. Each of them gives marks from 0 to 10, after which the two best and two worst marks are discarded and the remaining three are multiplied by the coefficient of difficulty of the jump and by 0.6.

Synchronized jumps are evaluated by a panel of 9 adjudicators, two adjudicators evaluate the technique of each athlete, and five adjudicators evaluate the performance of the jump. After that the worst and the best marks are discarded, the sum of the rest is multiplied by the coefficient of difficulty and 0.6.

When assessing the technique of jump, the judges pay attention to the quality of the run-up or starting position (the run-up must be performed in a straight line and include at least 4 steps, the stand must be clearly fixed), push-off, performance of elements during the flight, entry into the water (must be as vertical as possible and with a minimum of splash).

History

Since ancient times, people were engaged in jumping into the water in one way or another. They did it from rocks, shores, ships. This activity was predominantly popular among fishermen, divers and warriors. If we talk about diving as a hobby, it was first mentioned in Switzerland in the 16th century. Diving became widespread in the second half of the 19th century, this was due to the widespread construction of bathing complexes.

In parallel with the Swiss school of diving there was a German school. The main difference between the German and Swiss school of diving is the projectile, from which the jumps were performed. While the Swiss performed jumps from the towers, the German used springboards. During the jump an athlete strongly strained the entire body. These jumps differed great accuracy of execution. The Swiss jump was characterized by freedom and naturalness of the body position. Later, American jumpers managed to combine both schools, and received a high departure and entry into the water without splashing.

In 1908, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) was formed, which influenced the further development of diving and promotes its development today. Nowadays, platform diving is an extremely popular sport that is included in the Olympic Games. Apart from the Olympics, there are other desirable events for all divers. They are the World Championship and the European Championship.

All in all, platform diving is a type of diving that is included in the list of Olympic disciplines. This sport is very popular among people coming from different countries and is available almost everywhere.