Diving Equipment and History

Equipment

History

Pool

The pool must be at least 5 metres deep.

Springboard

A flexible diving board that can be adjusted to create more or less spring. It must be at least 4.8 metres long and a half-metre wide, with a non-slip surface.

Platform

For platform, the board must be at least six metres long and two metres wide, with a non-slip surface. (For synchronised diving the platform must be three metres wide.).

All events

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All the medallists since 1896

Glossary

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Approach
Steps a diver takes to the end of a springboard or platform before take-off.
Arm stand dive
A dive that begins from a handstand position, used only in platform diving.

Back dive
A dive where a diver takes off with his back to the water, and spins backwards in the air.
Baulk
A false start to a dive, i.e. a restart.

Degree of difficulty
A rating, ranging from 1.3 to at least 3.6, that measures the difficulty of a specific dive and is factored into the total score after the judges give their scores. The degree of difficulty is based upon a mathematical formula.

Elevation
The height a diver achieves from a take-off.
Entry
The end of a dive when the diver enters the water. The entry should be vertical. Ideally, although there is no such rule, the diver should create little or no splash.
Execution
The performance of a dive, judged on mechanics, technique, form and grace.

Fancy diving
A 19th-century exercise where gymnasts performed over water, leading to modern-day diving.
Forward dive
A dive where the diver starts from a position facing the water and spins forward in the air.
Free position
A combination of straight, pike or tuck positions used only in twisting dives.

Hurdle
The last part of a diver''s approach to a forward facing take-off, where the final step starts from one foot and ends on two feet before leaving the board.

Inward dive
A dive where the diver begins with their back to the water and, during the execution, rotates toward the board.

Layout
A diving position where a diver''s body and legs are straight, the feet are together, and the toes are pointed; also called "straight".

Pike
A diving position where the body is bent at the hips, the legs are straight, and the toes are pointed.
Platform
A stationary, unbending diving platform. In Olympic competition the platform is 10 metres above the water.

Required dive
A dive specifically indicated on a list of dives with a limit on the degree of difficulty. (There are no longer any required dives.)
Reverse dive
A dive from a forward facing take-off where the diver jumps upward and outward, then rotates backwards, also sometimes called "gainers".
Rip
The ideal entry that creates little splash, named for its ripping sound as the diver enters the water.
Running dive
A dive performed with a walking or running approach.

Somersault
The full rotation of the body on an imaginary horizontal axis through the hips.
Standing dive
A forward or backward facing dive from a standing position at the end of the springboard or platform.
Straight
A diving position where a diver''s body and legs are straight, the feet are together, and the toes are pointed; also called "layout".

Take-off
A diver''s lift-off from the board.
Tuck
A diving position in which the body is bent at the waist and knees, with the thighs drawn tightly to the chest and the heels pulled close to the buttocks. The legs should be kept together and the toes pointed..
Twisting dive
Any dive that includes a twist with the legs together and the toes pointed at all times.