Diving is an aquatic sport in which competitors perform acrobatic jumps from a springboard or platform before entering the water, aiming to combine difficulty with clean, controlled technique. Divers are judged rather than timed, which makes execution and precision the whole basis of the sport.
Objective
A diver, or a synchronised pair, performs a set list of dives, each judged on how well it is executed and how difficult it is. The competitor or team with the highest total score across all dives wins the event.
Rules and regulations
- World Aquatics, known as FINA until it renamed itself in 2023, is the global governing body for diving and the other aquatic disciplines, and the sport in India comes under the Swimming Federation of India.
- Competitive diving takes place from springboards, typically at 1 metre and 3 metres, and from a 10-metre platform, in individual and synchronised events.
- Dives are classified into six groups, forward, back, reverse, inward, twisting and armstand, and each dive carries a degree of difficulty rating that reflects how hard it is to perform.
- Divers must select a list that meets variety requirements set by the rules, so they cannot simply repeat their strongest dive.
Equipment and playing area
- Springboards are flexible aluminium boards that give extra height and spring on take-off, while platforms are rigid and fixed at set heights, with 10 metres used in top-level competition.
- Pools used for platform events must meet minimum depth requirements to keep divers safe on entry.
- Divers wear simple, fitted swimwear designed not to restrict movement or catch on entry into the water.
Scoring
- A panel of judges, usually seven at major championships, scores each dive from 0 to 10 in half-point steps, based on approach, take-off, flight and entry.
- The highest and lowest scores are dropped, and the rest are added together and multiplied by the dive’s degree of difficulty to produce a score for that dive.
- Totals from all dives in the list decide the final ranking, with synchronised events also judged on how closely the pair match each other’s timing and position.
