The Last Thing the Judges See!

The outcome of a diving meet is determined by the diving judges. The scores they give for each dive directly affects the final scores and places.

The goal of the diver should be to perform each of their dives in such a way that the judges will reward them with high scores. This is NOT POSSIBLE if a diver gets sloppy or lazy at the end of the dive. I firmly believe that the last thing a diving judge sees on each dive he or she judges leaves an overall impression (good or bad) about that dive. Let's say a diver jumps high, spins fast, is good distance from the board and enters the water vertically but loses their feet on the entry (feet come apart) -- it is my opinion and experience that the judges will not reward that dive as well as they should because they formed an overall negative opinion of the dive simply because the diver's feet came apart on the entry. The judge starts thinking that there must have been other things wrong with the dive as well. The same could be said for similar dives as mentioned above that go in the water with flat feet, or a slight twist or a bad entry. Everything about the dive is good EXCEPT for the last thing the judges see.

Coaches need to constantly reinforce (and divers need to be constantly reminded) that the dive is NOT OVER UNTIL THE TOES DISAPPEAR UNDERNEATH THE WATER. The diver must be taught to maintain GOOD FORM (legs straight, feet together, toes pointed) for the entire duration of the dive and they must try to enter the water with as little splash as possible each and every time they do a dive.

These little things that separate "good" divers from "not-so-good" divers do not occur accidentally -- they must be practiced and perfected over time.

FINISH THE DIVE!!

This week, I had the opportunity and privilege to judge at the 2008 FINA Grand Prix International Diving Championships at the Hall of Fame Aquatic Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. During the first of our daily judges' meetings, we discussed a number of things about the events from the previous day. One such topic that we discussed I felt was very relevant to diving at all levels from beginner to international elite and that topic was how some divers did very good dives but they did not FINISH them well and therefore the scores from the judges were not as high as they could have been.

WHAT IS THE LESSON?

The best divers know how to finish their dives.

REMEMBER: The dive is not over until your toes have disappeared underneath the water. Make sure your divers are taught and learn to stay TIGHT with legs straight, feet together and toes pointed all the way through the entry. The extra half point or point they could receive from the judges could make a huge difference in the final results -- it sure did at the FINA Meet!

Just A Half Point More!!

Ask yourself this question after your next diving meet: “What could I have done better on each dive to get just one half point more from the judges?”

In a typical 11-dive high school dive list (5 Voluntary Dives and 6 Optional Dives that includes 105C, 203C, 303C, 403C, 5132D and 5223D) your total score would INCREASE by nearly 30 POINTS if you took every score you received from each judge and added ½ point to it before re-calculating your score.

EXERCISE: Pull out your most recent diving sheet and re-calculate your final total after increasing every judges' award by one half point. (Example: If you received scores of 5.5 , 5.5, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0 on your first dive -- change those scores to 6.0, 6.0, 6.5, 6.5, 6.5 and recalculate the point total). Repeat this for all eleven dives and then see where you would have ended up in the final rankings had this been your score!

THIRTY POINTS – that is almost one whole dive!! That is like getting to do 12 dives in an 11-dive meet – on which end do you rather be?

A Good "Hobie-ism"

Legendary Diving Coach HOBIE BILLINGSLEY was often heard to tell a diver "Don't let the water dictate your direction upon entry." In a nutshell, this means that a diver should maintain a tight straight-line body position throughout the completion of the entry. The dive is NOT over until your toenails disappear underneath the water.

If a diver does not maintain a tight body when they enter the water, the water might force them to move in a certain direction that makes the dive appear to go short, over or maybe look twisted in the eyes of the judges -- all things that reduce the scores given to the diver.

Divers must learn this most important of skills from the very beginning of their diving careers. A good drill is to have them lie on their back with legs straight, feet together, toes pointed and a "flathand" grabbed and then on your command "STRETCH" -- they try to make their body 10 feet long and hold this tight stretched position for 10 seconds. Relax and then repeat 10 times. In addition, every practice should include time spent on learning to enter the water straight (read: VERTICAL) with this tight body position and good form (Legs Straight, Feet Together, Toes Pointed).

Former PDCA President Keith Russell Named U.S. Olympic Diving Judge

Keith Russell, Diving Coach at Brigham Young University and former President of the United States Professional Diving Coaches Association, Inc. has been named Olympic Diving Judge for the United States. Springboards and More congratulates Keith and we know he will represent the United States and the Sport of Diving in a very positive light.

• Keith Russell Bio - Click Here