University of Richmond Athletics
An Introduction to Diving with Erika Matheis
01/25/2012 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Editor's
Note: Spider diving coach Erika Matheis will join assistant
swim coach Travis Stensby as a guest blogger on RichmondSpiders.com throughout
the remainder of the 2011-12 season. In the spirit of the second semester now getting underway, here she offers us a class of her own: "Intro to Diving". Her blog entry details several of
the misperceptions and idiosyncrasies of the sport as well as a description of the
dives you will see in the accompanying video links found below.
Jan. 25, 2012: "Intro to
Diving" with Erika Matheis
Let me open by saying that divers are not swimmers, which is a common misconception among most outside the swimming and diving world. This said, however, most people shrug it off when you try to explain the differences between the two sports.
Yes, divers dive into a pool, but no they don't drown. Nevertheless, divers cannot swim as well as you may think. There tends to be an automatic assumption that divers glide through the water as effortlessly as their swimmer counterparts, when in reality we flail through the water and the swimmers sometimes laugh. There are indeed divers who are extremely gifted and can manage to both competitively swim and dive ("swivers" as we have dubbed them), but it is very rare to find such a gem.
I find it amazing that two very different sports are brought together into one harmonized splash-fest. Swimming and diving are two separate Olympic sports that are placed together in college competition, facilitating respect for each individual sport and the team as a whole. The swimmers understand the gusto it takes to soar high in the air and land with barely a splash, while the divers recognize the physical prowess and strength it takes to swim those many laps on a daily basis.
Most divers are daredevils. Now don't get me wrong, at one point they were all scared. But, with more practice comes a greater level of comfort. In my days as a diver, I found that the scariest dive was always the most fulfilling to do correctly. While I miss that feeling of adrenaline, I now get a "new" feeling watching our student-athletes on the boards. Every diver, coach and spectator respects the risk undertaken with each dive. This may be the reason it is so breathtaking when something involving such risk goes so very right.
Here
is the basic knowledge and understanding to the sport of diving:
1. There is springboard (the bouncy board) and platform (the super-high concrete board)
2.
There are five directions on the springboard, all of which must be performed at
a collegiate meet where the diver will perform six dives (check out the list
below and our video to see all five in action).
3.
There are four positions: tuck, pike, straight and free. Each are denoted by
letters.
4.
The scores from the judges aren't all about "splash". They comprise a number of
factors that include approach, height, style, the rapidity of the spin,
completion and entry.
5.
The total score is tabulated using a formula that incorporates judges' marks
and the dive's degree of difficulty.
6.
Along with swimming, diving is one of the most watched Olympic sports.
The
five directions on the springboard (click on the link to watch a video of each dive):
1.
201c - back dive tuck (3-meter)
2.
301c - reverse dive tuck (3-meter)
3. 401a - inward dive straight (1-meter)
4. 101b - front dive pike (1-meter)
5. 5331d - reverse 1½ ss (somersault) ½ twist free (3-meter)
So
the next time you hear someone say they are a diver, please remember that they
are the ones who do the flips and "twisty-things". They are the crazy ones who
love the adrenaline rush of flipping, twisting and hitting the water in a
matter of seconds. Divers are the ones who yearn to jump higher and spin
faster, always striving to earn that perfect 10. We are a spicy ingredient to a
wonderful concoction that makes up a swim and dive team; one ingredient to a
recipe for success.
All Spider Swim & Dive Assistant Blog Entries
