THE WEBSITE FOR EDINBURGH DIVING CLUB CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.EDINBURGHDIVINGCLUB.ORG.UK/
BASIC DIVING GUIDELINES.

Diving is made up of many different styles and techniques. It involves a display of perfectly formed body positions while plunging into a pool of water.

Diving consists of 4 distinct body positions, these are “straight, pike, tuck and free”.

Straight (A) – When there is no bend at the hips or knees and the body is kept in a consistently “straight” line.

Pike (B) – When there is a bend in the hips but no bend at the knees.

Tuck(C) – When the body is folded so that the hands are tightly holding the lower legs.

Free (D) – This body position is used when twisting dives. This is when there is a combination of at least 2 other body positions so that more bends can be done without penalisation.

During competitions these are referred to by the letter A, B, C, D as indicated above. Differences in the dive including the position that the dive is executed from and the body positioning used will make a difference to the “tariff” or difficulty of the dive, which will also affect the differences in points.

BECOMING A DIVER
SIMPLE STEPS TO DOING A DIVE…
Most dives are made from either springboards or platforms. A “springy” springboard allows a diver to launch themselves into the air, whereas a platform is a steady base from which a diver will execute a higher dive type.

Any dive is done using 3 main steps…

The “take-off”. This is where the diver starts a dive. A take off can be done facing the front (forwards take-off) or the back (backwards take-off).

The “Flight”. This is where the position changes take place. Several different positions can be used and combined in the same dive, these positions are known as “Straight”, “Pike”, “Tuck” and “Free”.

The “Entry” – The aim for the diver is to enter the water without a splash occurring. This is highly difficult and is done using balance strength but most of all positioning. To enter the water head first the arms should be extended straight above the head with the tip of the fingers the first contact with the water. For feet first entries, the divers’ body should be straight and the arms close to the body. There should be no bend in the body at all as this helps them to be streamlined. This reduces the friction with the water and can therefore cause a “rip”.