The "Perfect" Installation (Part 2 of 3)

The second element of a "perfect" installation of a Duraflex Diving Board to a Durafirm Diving Stand is to make sure the Rubber Channels on the underside of the diving board are PARALLEL to the Slide Tracks of the Fulcrum Box.

Look at the picture above and notice how the Rubber Channel on the outside edge of the diving board is parallel to the Slide Track of the Fulcrum Box. This is important because it insures that the diving board and the fulcrum roller are PERPENDICULAR to each other and as a result, the diving boards bends in a straight line over the fulcrum.

Even BAD Judges Can See That!

ATTENTION ALL HIGH SCHOOL AND SUMMER LEAGUE DIVERS!

As you are all painfully aware, not all high school and summer league diving judges are as "competent" as we would hope but one thing is for sure -- even BAD judges can see!

We often see high school and summer league diving meets being judged (often reluctantly) by swimming officials who may not know much about diving. It is not unreasonable to assume that the only time they see diving is when they are sitting in the judging chair. However, regardless of their judging ability or knowledge of the sport -- they can and do see things! They CAN see things like non-vertical entries; bent legs; flat feet; big splashes; etc. Simple things like keeping your legs straight, feet together and toes pointed; going in straight on your dives with good entries -- these basic fundamentals are paramount to success in diving and should not be tossed aside as unimportant. They are of the utmost importance!

As I always tell my divers: "You need to be BETTER than bad judging"!

THE OBJECT OF DIVING

What is the object of diving? I suppose the answer to this depends on whom you are asking. For me as a coach -- I try to teach my divers from the very beginning that the object of diving is comprised of the following four items:

1) Go in straight (vertical entry -- most important!)
2) Go in straight with good form (legs straight, feet together, toes pointed!)
3) Go in straight with good form and little or no splash (RIP entry!)
4) Go in straight with good form, little or no splash and at a safe distance from the diving board (too close is too dangerous!)

Once your diver can do these four things, there is a fifth item and that is to increase the degree of difficulty (D.D.) of your dive list. Once your D.D. has been increased, you then try to complete numbers one through four again on the new list of dives.

Chances are good that if you can do these four things (plus the fifth item), you will be able to accomplish what legendary diving coach Hobie Billingsley used to tell his divers: "Beat the guy who finishes 2nd"!

TEN, TEN, TEN!!

If you are a diver and perhaps a bit superstitious, then today is your day!! October 10, 2010 -- the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year of the century (or the millennium). Abbreviated, today is 10/10/10!!

This day will only happen once in your lifetime so if you have a diving meet today -- hopefully, today's date will impart some kind of good luck to you. If you do not have a meet today but will be attending practice -- it might be a good idea to really put in some extra effort so that someday in the future you just might hear the announcer reading your scores as today's date!! 10/10/10!!

REMEMBER: According to the new FINA Diving Judging Chart, a "10" does NOT mean perfect -- a "10" means EXCELLENT so go out there and try to be excellent today!

DIVING Does It Again!

Once again, the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship Team Title was greatly influenced by DIVING. This time, the Texas Longhorns Men's Team -- on the strength of the very fine showing of their divers -- was able to hold-off 2nd place team Univ. of California (500 points for UT versus 469.5 points for Cal -- a difference of 30.5 team points) in the final team standings at the 2010 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.

The Texas Diving duo of Drew Livingston and Matthew Cooper combined to score 54 team points with their 3rd, 9th, 16th, 3rd and 7th place finishes); 2nd Place team University of California scored ZERO team points in diving; 3rd place team Univ. of Arizona scored 13 team points in diving; 4th place Stanford University scored ZERO team points in diving and 5th place team Univ. of Florida scored ZERO team points in diving.

In mathematics, a person needs to be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide -- it is difficult to be successful in math (or life) by only being able to do three of these four disciplines. Similarly, well rounded swim teams need to have sprinters, distance swimmers, backstrokers, flyers, breaststrokers AND DIVERS. It is difficult to be the overall best team if your team is weak or lacking in one or more of these disciplines. And, since diving accounts for 3 of the 21 events (14%) that are contested at the NCAA Championships -- it behooves every program to make sure that their diving teams have all the resources necessary to recruit and then train the best divers available to be the very best they can -- it can only help the swimming and diving team as a whole.

(Just ask the Florida women)

Attention All Swim Coaches!

Are you one of those swim coaches who thinks diving is a waste of time? That diving is the "ugly red-headed step-sister" that cuts into your pool time; takes money from your budget; makes meets run slower and adds more paperwork to your already busy life?

Well better think again -- especially after seeing the results of the Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. The University of Florida won the venerable team title by a scant 2.5 points over 2nd place Stanford and it would not have been possible had it not been for the very strong showing of the Florida divers. In fact, the University of Florida DIVING Team accounted for 40 of the 382 team points scored by the Gators. The other top 5 teams scored ZERO diving points in the meet. Without the points earned by the divers, the Florida Gators would have finished in 5th place as a team. See below:

NCAA Division I TOP 5 TEAM SCORES (WITH Diving Points)

University of Florida -- 382 Team Points (40 points from diving)
Stanford University -- 379.5 Team Points (0 points from diving)
Univ. of California -- 363.00 Team Points (0 points from diving)
Univ. of Arizona -- 359.5 Team Points (0 points from diving)
Univ. of Georgia -- 342.5 Team Points (0 points from diving)

NCAA Division I TOP 5 TEAM SCORES (WITHOUT Diving Points)

Stanford University -- 379.5 Team Points
Univ. of California -- 363 Team Points
Univ. of Arizona -- 359.5 Team Points
Univ. of Georgia -- 342.5 Team Points
University of Florida -- 342 Team Points

The moral to the story is to never underestimate the importance of having a diving team!

Diving Referee or Judges Should Help Teach Younger Divers

My kids are both on the third grade basketball team and for the most part -- it is a comedy of errors watching them "play" the game and learn the game!

Of course, teaching the kids how to play the game is the job of the coach but I like how the local referees take an active role of teaching the kids during the games. As you can imagine, the rules of basketball for 3rd graders are not very strictly enforced -- but when they are, I really like how the referee will squat down in front of the kid and tell him exactly why the whistle was blown or why the foul was called. This way, the youngster can get immediate feedback and learn the game one rule at a time.

Similarly, diving referees and judges should do the same thing -- especially in summer league diving. If a failed dive, balk or other penalty is called, the referee (or judge) should call the young aspiring diver over and explain exactly why the penalty was called to make sure they understand. In certain instances, I think even letting young diver repeat a dive that was failed is a great opportunity to teach the sport to them. Call them over, explain why the dive was failed and then let them try it again. This is a non-threatening and non embarrassing way to teach a young diver and keep them involved in the sport by taking a potentially humiliating experience and turning it into a positive situation.

Can A Judge Give A Zero If The Referee Does Not Fail the Dive?

The answer is YES -- a diving judge can score a dive "ZERO" even if the referee has not declared the dive to be failed. This somewhat rare situation is most likely to happen in a high school competition and when it does occur, it is usually on a twisting dive -- especially when the judges are seated on both sides of the diving well (as they should be).

A few notes:

• Scores in diving range from a high of "10" (Excellent) to a low of "0" (failed).
• Whenever possible -- judges should be seated on BOTH sides of the diving well.
• Whenever possible (and at all "big" meets) there should be both a referee and an assistant referee who are seated on opposite sides of the pool.
• The ASSISTANT referee makes the call (failed dive) and the referee either confirms it or does not confirm it. In order for the dive to be declared failed -- BOTH the referee AND the assistant referee should be in agreement.
• If the referee declares the dive to be "failed" -- all scores are "0" -- even if one or more of the judges does NOT think it was failed.
• A judge who gives a "0" to a dive not declared failed by the referee should be able to defend that score with an explanation other than "it was my opinion."
• All diving judges should watch as much diving as they are able in order to keep their "diving eye" sharp.
• All diving judges should know and understand the rules of the sport.
• All diving judges should first and foremost be completely neutral; judge what they see fairly and accurately and always give the diver the benefit of the doubt.

Thank You, Mr. Lindner.

One of the most instrumental people behind the creation of USA Diving as we know it today recently passed away. Cincinnati Philanthropist Mr. Richard Lindner died on Saturday January 16, 2010 at the age of 88.

Mr. Lindner was the owner of Thriftway Grocery Stores -- at one time the 2nd largest privately held company in Cincinnati, OH and was one of the people who helped the sport of diving break away from swimming and the AAU to become it's own entity in the late 1970's. Mr. Lindner was an original member of the United States Diving Foundation Board of Trustees, and a major contributor to USA Diving through the Helen Gill Lindner Memorial Fund which was created after the death of his wife in 1977. Over $100,000 in support of sports medicine and sports science came from this donation.

Mr. Lindner's daughter Carol was a diver who was coached by Rick Early, Wynn Young and ultimately Hobie Billingsley. Hobie remains a very close family friend.

According to Todd Smith (former Executive Director of USA Diving), "Rich was a very special person, the type that can never be forgotten."

Memorial contriubtions may be sent to the following charitable organizations:

Armstrong Chapel United Methodist Church * 5125 Drake Road * Cincinnati, OH 45243

St. Joseph Home * 10722 Wyscarver Road * Cincinnati, OH 45241

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!

How Carving Pumpkins and Coaching Diving are Related

It is my favorite time of the year -- the leaves are changing colors, a chill is in the air, fires are crackling in the fireplace and my kid's most favorite "holiday" is just around the corner -- HALLOWEEN and the weeks leading up to it. They love decorating, costume shopping, apple cider, fall festivals, corn mazes, hay rides and of course selecting and carving the perfect pumpkin.

We carved our pumpkins the other day and I, the diving geek that I am, found some strange similarities between carving pumpkins and coaching diving. Here goes:

• Going to a pumpkin farm and searching for the perfect pumpkin is like a diving coach attending a summer league championship meet scouting new talent for your team. There are many that appear to be acceptable -- but to the trained eye, there are but a few who make the grade. You have an idea of what you want and it is your mission to sort through all of them to find the right one or two.
• There are many pumpkin carving kits available on the market today just as there are many different ways to coach diving. You choose the way you think will work the best with your personality, strengths and weaknesses and those of the divers you coach. Keep in mind that YOU may need to make changes or adapt depending on the pumpkin you are carving or the diver you are coaching.
• There are many tools in a pumpkin carving kit that can help you get the desired result. Diving coaches also have many tools from which to choose that can help them help their divers reach the desired result. It is up to you the coach (or carver) to make use of these tools and to choose the correct tools to help do the job.
• In pumpkin carving kits, there are different levels of carving difficulty -- the more difficult the pattern, the larger the potential payoff as far as contest success, accomplishment and pride. The same could be said for coaching (and learning) diving.
• When learning to carve a pumpkin, it is best to start with an easy pattern before moving up to more complicated, time-consuming and difficult patterns. Coaches need to make sure their divers are well-schooled in the fundamentals of diving before moving on the more challenging and difficult dives.
• And finally, take your time; use all the tools at your disposal; be patient and most importantly -- pay close attention to detail. If you cut corners while carving a pumpkin, the end result will be less than satisfactory -- ditto for coaching diving.

May all your pumpkins be perfectly carved and may all your divers learn from you how to jump high, spin fast, enter vertically and disappear under the water with nary a splash!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

WHAT TO DO WITH OLD DIVING T-SHIRTS

Have a "T-Shirt Quilt" made!!

This is the second quilt that I have had made using my old diving T-shirts as well as many collegiate diving T-shirts and Sweatshirts I have collected over the years. Most of these were gifts from college diving coaches around the country. (Click on the image above to make it larger)

My favorite T-shirt in this quilt, however, is the center one -- taken from the back of the old Moss Farms Diving Team T-shirts. It was given to me in 1994 by Robert "Moose" Moss and it has the emblem of the Flying Tigers in the center surrounded by the (reproduced) signatures of all (at the time) living former Flying Tigers. These legendary WWII Veterans were highly decorated for their daring and courageous exploits during the war with Japan in the Pacific. Their picture hangs in the Smithsonian Institute among many other places. Moose was granted permission by the Flying Tigers to use their emblem as the emblem for the Moss Farms Diving Team.

Moose Moss's signature is in the upper right hand corner of the T-shirt.

YES -- I Do Play Favorites!

Have you ever been accused by a parent of "playing favorites" on your diving team? I think every coach has at one time or another. Of course, the complaining parent is almost always the parent of the diver who is NOT among the "favorites."

Well my answer to this nonsense is "YES -- I DO PLAY FAVORITES!"

• My favorites are the divers who come to practice on time; all the time.
• My favorites are the divers who do what I ask them to do it without complaining.
• My favorites are the divers who are eager and willing to hear what I have to say.
• My favorites are the divers who bring a good attitude and positive energy to practice.
• My favorites are the divers who want to get better -- no matter what.
• My favorites are the divers who work hard; who try hard and who pay attention to me.
• My favorites are the divers who give great effort all the time (without me having to constantly badger them!!)
• My favorites are the kids who try and try and try again.
• My favorites are the kids who stay late to get in extra work on the trampoline or dry board or in the gym.

Yes -- these are my favorites. Now to become one of my favorites, all a diver needs to do is show up; work hard; try hard, do their best and pay attention to me. If you pay attention to me, then I will most likely pay attention to you. I would much rather work with a total non-athlete who really wants to become a better diver than a physically gifted, super athlete who thinks they know it all and can do it all by themselves.

I DO NOT, CAN NOT and WILL NOT reward lack of effort, bad attitudes, disruptive behavior, or the like. I ignore these things (READ: I do not pay attention to these divers -- i.e. certainly not one of my favorites). So to paraphrase Bo Diddley "before you accuse me, take a look at your (kid)!"

Support Your Team!!

For the past two days, I had the honor of serving as judge and referee of the 2009 Private Pool Swim League (PPSL) Diving Championships. The PPSL is one of the best sources for new diving talent anywhere and some of the best divers in the United States over the past 25 years got their start in the PPSL.

This year was no different -- there was a multitude of diving talent in this meet and there were coaches from each of the four diving programs in the area at the meet scouting for new talent for their diving teams and programs.

I am always pleased to see a large number of my former divers who are giving back to the sport of diving. Serving as coaches, judges, table workers, etc. -- selfishly speaking -- it is very humbling to think that they are still involved with diving because of their experiences with diving when i coaches them. The judging panel for this meet was excellent and they did a great job! The judges were Mike Grappner, Jenny (Chasteen) Fleming, Jenny (Huber) Rehberger and Andrew Campbell. Every one of them except Mike Grappner, were former divers of mine.

I would be remiss without saying that the only thing that was disappointing about this meet was the incredibly low number of spectators and "diving fans" at the end of meet. The team that ended up winning the 2009 PPSL Champ Meet (Madeira Swim Club / coached by a former diver of mine -- Elena Schaible) pulled quite an upset. Elena has been coaching summer league diving for 15 years and has come close to winning -- finishing 2nd a couple times -- but this year finally put it all together to win the Champ Meet. I was very proud of her -- especially for all the determination, effort and work she has put in over the past 15 years. The disappointment I felt was the fact that the ONLY people from the winning team that were present at the end of the meet when they announced the final team scores and presented the Team Champion Trophy was the diver from her team who competed in the final event and her parents.

Where were the rest of the divers from the winning team? Where were the divers from the other teams that were jockeying for the team title? They HAD to know their team was on the verge of winning the Champ Meet -- they posted updated team scores at the completion of each event! Why didn't the parents and divers of these teams stay to watch the last few events? Why didn't they stay to support their team? Why didn't the kids who dove in yesterday's events come back to cheer on their team and be a part of the Championships Presentation today? They sure missed a golden opportunity to be a part of local diving history.

I would be lying if I did not say that I am disappointed in the parents and divers of today. It seems to me that most divers (kids) today simply do their thing (event) and then take off to do their next thing -- disregarding their TEAM. It is sad but I feel that it is a sign of the times. I can recall a time when the entire team (even those who were NOT diving in the Champ Meet) would show up at the Champ Meet, faces painted, cheering wildly for THEIR TEAM. In the "good ole days" -- the pool would have been packed with spectators; the energy and electricity could be felt throughout the pool and the celebrations would be spectacular when the final results were announced. Not so much these days.

Congratulations Coach Elena Schaible and the Madeira Swim Club Diving Team for winning the 2009 PPSL Diving Championships. Congratulations as well to all the divers and all the coaches who participated in this Champ Meet. See you again next season!

DIVING "INSURANCE"

When the words "diving" and "insurance" are used in the same sentence, people think "uh oh -- big expense; hard to get; difficult to afford; etc.) But, I am not talking about this type of insurance -- rather I am talking about having "Dive Insurance."

"Dive Insurance" is making sure that you have a back-up dive or dives that you can substitute into your list at the last minute should one of your regular dives (for whatever reason) not be usable. Divers of course should practice their "list" of dives -- but they should also practice their "insurance dives". This is applicable to all levels of diving. Here are a few examples:

SUMMER LEAGUE DIVING:

Little Johnny learns an inward dive (401C) and it is really good. You are going to replace his 5111A (front dive with 1/2 twist) because he sometimes does not complete the twist all the way or his form is not good when he does the dive. However, during warm-ups for the meet, little Johnny starts getting too close to the board on his inward and gets scared. Johnny, (his mom) and you do not want to use that dive today. The insurance dive is his "questionable" 5111A -- might not be pretty, but at least it is safe.

HIGH SCHOOL DIVING:

Your diver learns a 105C (front 2 1/2 somersaults in tuck position) but goes to a meet at another high school where the diving board is not as good as the board on which your diver trains and they are having difficulty making the 105C on the "bad board." In this instance -- your insurance dive would be a 104C (front double somersault in tuck position) or 103B (front 1 1/2 somersaults in pike position).

COLLEGE DIVING:

Your diver learns a 5235D on 3M (Back 1 1/2 with 2 1/2 twists) and this will replace their 5134D (front 1 1/2 somersaults with 2 twists). During warm-ups the day before the meet, your diver starts "getting lost" on his 5235D. If you had your diver continue to practice the 5134D even after they learned the 5235D -- you could simply substitute the 5134D back into the list and not miss a beat.

As with any insurance -- you hope you never need it, but you gotta have it!

Diving Related License Plates?!?!

In this day and age of customizing just about everything, I have seen some very clever custom license plates that got me thinking about DIVING related custom license plates.

Most states allow a maximum of seven letter or numbers per license plate. Here are some I have seen, used or thought of (in no particular order).

DIVE 10; A10DIVE; GR8DIVE;
GR8 RIP; GR8PIKE; NICERIP;
HIGH DD; DURAFLX; CHZBRD;
SPLASH; O SPLASH; NOSPLSH;
SMACK; FLATHND; 10 METER;
HISCORE; GLDMEDL; BADCALL;
GAINER; HNDSTND; DIVING;
TWISTER; DIVER; TITETUK;

SPINFST; RIPDIVE

Feel free to use any of these or please suggest other ideas for our readers to enjoy.

LET'S DIVE!!

Blues Legend BUDDY GUY and the Sport of Diving

Recently, I had the opportunity to see BUDDY GUY in concert at a small, cozy outdoor amphitheatre nestled in the rolling farmland of central Kentucky. The music and the show were great -- especially when the 73 year old Blues Legend left the stage and started walking through the crowd singing and playing (See picture above). In addition, the warm-up act for the concert was a 12 year old guitar phenom who blew away the crowd with his abilities.

Being the diving geek I am -- I could not help but think how the sport of diving parallels Buddy Guy playing the Blues. So here goes:

• Playing the Blues or involving yourself in the sport of diving is something you can do for a lifetime. (Diver / Coach / Administrator / Volunteer / etc.)


• Buddy Guy still travels the country and the world doing what he loves -- opportunities that the sport of diving can provide to coaches and athletes and volunteers.


• Buddy Guy, even at age 73, keeps working to improve his skills and put on a good show every time he performs -- just like diving coaches and divers should strive to do.


• Buddy Guy really seemed to be having fun -- a must for any diver or diving coach to help yourself stay fresh and not get "burned out."


• Buddy Guy -- Blues Legend -- takes the time and effort to mentor young guitarists just as the legendary coaches in our sport mentor young coaches (Hobie / Kimball / Ron O'Brien / Narcy / etc.) and hopefully the next wave of legendary coaches will continue to do as well.

My Apologies to Ben Hogan!!

"If You Didn't Bring It To The Pool; You're Not Going To Find It At The Pool!"

I paraphrased this quote from Golfing Legend Ben Hogan who once said about the game of golf -- "If you didn't bring it to the course, you're not going to find it at the course."

He refers to bringing your "game" to the golf course -- or in my example bringing your "game" to the pool. The point here is quite obvious -- if you do not do the necessary work and preparation leading up to the diving meet -- you certainly should not expect to all of a sudden "put it together" at the meet.

REMEMBER: You do in a meet what you do in practice -- this is the reason why you practice. You need to practice all of your dives (under meet conditions) -- not just the dives you like or the dives you are comfortable doing. In fact, it is probably a good idea to spend MORE time on the dives that are giving you the most problems or on the dives that you are less comfortable doing. This way, when you show up at the pool for your next meet -- you will be ready!

GET YOUR "GAME FACE" ON -- LET'S DIVE!

THE ABC's of DIVING (M-Z)

• M -- MASTERY -- It takes years and years of practice to reach the top level of this sport.


• N -- NEVER GIVE UP -- If diving were easy, everybody would be doing it.


• O -- ON TIME -- It is better to be an hour early, that a minute late (for practice, meets, events, etc.)
  
• P -- PASSION -- Those who succeed in diving (or coaching diving) have this.


• Q -- QUICKNESS -- It is difficult to do the high DD dives if you do not have this physical attribute.


• R -- RIP -- If you cannot "RIP" a dive, chances are your diving career may R.I.P.


• S -- SMACK -- Avoid these if possible!
  
• T -- TOE POINT -- As far back as I can remember -- "flat feet" just do not bring rave reviews from the judges.


• U -- USE -- Use all resources available to make yourself a better diver.


• V -- VERY GOOD -- For judging purposes, a dive in the "Very Good" range should score from 8 1/2 - 10.


• W -- WASTE -- If you waste your time while at practice, it will definitely show at meets.


• X -- X-RAYS -- Poor kickouts or bad line-ups (especially on tower) could result in a trip to the hospital for some of these on your shoulders or wrists!
  
• Y -- YES -- Yes, you CAN do that dive!!


• Z -- ZERO -- An unsuccessful attempt or an incorrect dive results in this score from the judges.

Diving Words To Live By:

"You Cannot Expect Above Average Results With Below Average Preparation"

Duraflex Announces Modification to the "Cheeseboard"

Duraflex International has announced a product improvement to the Maxiflex Model B ("Cheeseboard") diving board effective March 1, 2009. The change involves the area where the diving board attaches to the hinges which has been re-designed to improve the quality and longevity.

The new anchor angle is a rigid, heavy-duty hard-anodized aluminum angle that is mounted under the diving board and supports all 8 of the diving board ribs. This new anchor angle is assembled AFTER painting, which eliminates the contact between unpainted surfaces in this area, which provides better protection against corrosion. The Duraflex factory has added closed-cell foam gaskets between these components to reduce noise and prevent moisture from accumulating.

The top of the board is capped with a hard-anodized aluminum bar that, in conjunction the anchor angle, acts as a clamp, sandwiching the diving board between these two extrusions. This clamping action creates a highly stable mounting mechanism. This assembly is fastened together with flat-head stainless steel fasteners and torqued at the factory. The fasteners are locked in place with a permanent Loctite brand thread-locker. Heavy duty 3M Safety-Walk strip covers the fasteners, preventing tampering and providing a slip-resistant surface over the anodized surface. Replacement strips will be available.

The serial tag has been replaced with a tamper-resistant adhesive back aluminum label that is now applied to the VERTICAL surface at the rear of the diving board.

The warning label that was applied to the back of the board is directed at equipment installers and pool operators, and indicates that the pool dimensions must meet certain specifications. This label has been changed to a yellow label with a universally recognized symbol that indicates “warning.” On the Cheeseboard, this label is on the bottom of the new anchor angle. On all other boards, including refinished boards, this label is on the rear of the diving board. An additional warning label has been added to the board that is directed at the user (diver.) This label is intended to warn that improper use of diving equipment can lead to severe injury. This label is now attached to the rear of all Duraflex made diving boards.

The NEW diving board bolts are stainless-steel "short-neck" carriage bolts. The shortened neck only penetrates through the bar on top of the board, which eliminates the need to broach a square hole through the diving board. This increases the strength and longevity of the diving board.