Thursday, June 19, 2008

The "Cheeseboard"


Divers all around the world know what a "Cheeseboard" is. That is the nickname for the 16' aluminum diving board manufactured by the Duraflex International Corporation. The actual full name for this world standard of the springboard diving world is the Duraflex 16' Modified Maxiflex Model "B" Aluminum Springboard. The word "modified" refers to the 189 perforations found in the end of the diving board. The "Cheeseboard" is the ONLY diving board used today in all Olympic, International and National Diving Competitions around the world.

The name "Cheeseboard" came about by accident. Way back in the day, Duraflex inventor Ray Rude was installing some of his new "modified" diving boards and some little kid said "hey it looks like swiss cheese" and so the name "cheeseboard" was born.

The Duraflex factory takes a 16' Maxiflex Board (tapered at both ends) and "modifies" it using a large punch-press that Ray Rude found in a junkyard -- had it shipped to the Duraflex factory where he re-tooled it to "punch" the holes in the end of the board. The process of "modifying" the diving board takes about 30 seconds.

Springboards and More uses these very punch-outs to have "Cheeseboard" earrings and bracelets made by well-known and highly respected Krombholz Jewelers in Cincinnati, OH.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The cheeseboard seems to be designed to minimize any chance of slipping, but in the interest of safety, is it reasonable to let a diver dry the end of the board before each dive in a competition? At a recent summer league meet, a mother asked, and was granted permission, to towel off the end of the board before each of her son's dives. While everyone saw this as a safety measure, some felt it was an unnecessary waste of time that may even have intimidated some of the other divers. It was the first time I had seen such a thing, and it was likely precipitated by a diving accident the day before, when a diver slipped and cut her leg on the same board. There's no doubt the board was in great condition, but there was certainly a heightened concern by the mother in question. "Safety first" is the creed of the league. So does it make sense to let the diver or the mother dry the board before proceeding with the dive? What are your thoughts?

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing information about different diving boards,
Olympic Diving Boards are always different from other boards