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.

How To Keep "Rough-tex" Looking Good

Rough-tex – the preferred non-skid surface for diving platforms -- has one frequent complaint. It has such good “grip” that it easily collects hair, paint chips and other miscellaneous things that drop onto it during the course of a day.

Here is a great tip for how to clean this "ugliness" off of your Rough-tex. This comes from BENJAMIN ROBERTS -- the very capable Asst. Aquatic Director at The Ohio State University and the person who is charged with keeping one of the finest diving facilities in the world in top working condition.

Take a piece of PVC pipe (about four feet long and three inches in diameter) and wrap duct tape around the PVC Pipe with the sticky side facing outward. Then, just like a large lint brush, roll the sticky PVC pipe back and forth across the Rough-tex and it picks up most of the debris that has attached itself to the Rough-tex. (Make sure the Rough-tex is dry before doing this!)

Afterwards, do a quick power washing of the Rough-tex to remove any remaining debris or oils or anything else that could make the Rough-tex lose some if it's non-skid grip.

The Most Important Thing To Teach A Young Tower Diver

"The Tower" -- 33 feet up and a mile down!! I was never a tower diver -- never really much of a diver to be honest -- but I certainly enjoy watching it, judging it and coaching it. Diving tower or coaching tower divers is a completely different animal -- not only is it higher than both springboards, but there is the "concrete factor" -- which is much less forgiving than a springboard if the diver comes into contact with it.

In my opinion, a diver should NEVER be allowed to dive tower until they can do the following:

• They must be able to "line up" an entry correctly. If your divers do not know how to grab a flat hand, line-up and "lock out" when hitting the water, they run the risk of tearing their shoulder muscles, wrenching their back or neck.
• They must understand the concept of "vertical entry." Diving straight into the water not only earns higher scores from the judges -- it is also less taxing on the body -- if you know what I mean.
• They must call out to you before they go (after their tower has been called) to make sure you are watching and to confirm all is clear below them.
• They must have a healthy respect for the tower. Your divers must know and understand that diving tower can be dangerous and that they can get hurt if they are not focused on what they are doing. NO HORSEPLAY UP THERE!

However, the single most important thing that you can teach your young tower divers is to PAY ATTENTION! They must be taught to NEVER dive off the tower until THEIR tower is "called" by you (the coach) or the "tower caller" at a meet. They must be taught to IMMEDIATELY swim back out of the way of the tower after entering the water AND THEN look to you the coach for corrections or instruction. Your divers should NEVER float out under the tower waiting for you to coach their dive -- it is way too dangerous. Divers who do not or cannot pay attention have NO BUSINESS being on a tower.

One final note: It is the very important responsibility of you THE COACH to monitor your divers while diving tower -- especially during warm-ups for a meet. At big meets especially, there are many divers diving off many levels of the tower and it is your DUTY as a coach to keep a keen eye on YOUR divers to make sure they are paying attention and not putting themselves or another diver in a situation where they could get hurt -- or worse.

Keeping The Hogs Cool!

For those coaches who are lucky enough to have diving programs with an outdoor tower facility and if you have Rough-tex installed as your non-skid surface -- specifically BLACK Rough-tex -- you are well aware just how hot the material can get on any summertime afternoon.

Try this remedy: run a garden hose (or 1/2" PVC pipe) up the back of the tower and then attach to another PVC pipe or hose that runs along one or both outside edges of each tower. The PVC pipe or hose should contain numerous pin size holes. When the water is turned on, the pipes or hoses that run along the side edges of the towers will spray a very fine mist of water onto the top surface of the tower. In most cases, this will make your BLACK Rough-tex surface quite comfortable -- definitely cool enough to stand, walk or dive on without burning your feet.

I first saw this set-up while attending the Moss Farms Diving Invitational in Moultrie, GA back in the mid 1990's. Those who have had the opportunity to attend a meet at this well known diving facility in southern Georgia know how hot it can get in the summer months. I asked "Moose" Moss -- the legendary (and now late) diving coach at Moss Farms -- where he got that idea and he said in that oh so memorable slow southern drawl of his -- "Uh, that's how we keep the HOGS cool in the summertime."

So there it is.

In honor of "Moose" Moss, go ahead and add some hog coolers to your diving platforms -- your divers will very much appreciate it!