Monday, December 21, 2009

THANK YOU!!

Springboards and More wants to say a BIG THANKS to all of our customers -- both new and returning -- for your business and continued patronage of our company. Our goal for 2010 will be the same as it has been since we started this endeavor in 1999 -- to provide to you or your diving team high quality products at reasonable prices with great customer service!

Our family and staff hopes you and your family enjoy a very Merry Christmas and we offer our best wishes for a safe and magical holiday season. May your team and the sport of springboard and platform diving continue to grow and prosper in 2010 and beyond.

LET'S DIVE!!


** Springboards and More will be closed from 12/24/2009 - 01/03/2010. Orders can still be placed online, by mail or by fax, but please be aware that your order may not ship until Monday 01/04/2010 when we re-open for business as we will have very limited staff coming in during this time.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

NEW F.I.N.A. Degree of Difficulty Table

With the newer and increasingly more difficult dives being performed in international competition as well as the rumors of "super difficult" dives being attempted in the farthest corners of the world, it was time that FINA updated the Degree of Difficulty Tables.

Numerous new and incredibly difficult dives have been added to the DD Chart that just 20 years ago were unthinkable. When you think back to the 1980's, it was thought that the dives being done then were the most difficult that could ever be performed. Now -- those "hard" dives are the norm for both men and women and for those divers dreaming of Olympic and International glory, the difficulty bar has been raised -- not by inches, but by feet!

Click here to see the new and approved FINA Degree of Difficulty Tables for both Springboard and Platform.

So, what is now the dive with the highest degree of difficulty? It is a 309B -- Reverse 4 1/2 somersaults in the pike position from the 3M Springboard with an eye-popping 4.8 Degree of Difficulty. If your athletic ability will not allow you to do this dive on 3M -- you do have the option of doing it from the 10 Meter platform -- but you LOSE a tenth of D.D. -- it is only a "paltry" 4.7!

I wonder what dives we will be seeing 20 years from now? Kind of exciting just thinking about it!

Friday, December 4, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HOBIE!!


HOBART SHERWOOD BILLINGSLEY (aka "HOBIE") -- The Man, The Myth, The Legend -- just celebrated his 83rd Birthday on December 2, 2009. Retired now from coaching, but still travelling the world visiting old friends and former divers as well as giving clinics, hosting seminars, talking about diving, teaching coaches and now writing his THIRD Book.

That's right -- Hobie is writing yet another book -- this one his autobiography at the request of the Indiana University Athletic Hall of Fame. Rumor has it he can be found working on this manuscript right this very moment tucked away in a cozy farmhouse somewhere on the outskirts of Moultrie, GA where there is reported to be "lots of Moss."

Can't wait to read the finished product. Happy Birthday, Hobie!
** Photo above shows another diving legend Dr. Sammy Lee sitting with Hobie at the FINA Grand Prix Meet in Fort Lauderdale, FL.