How to flip on a diving board?

How can i run and jump off of a diving board without slipping?

• im swimming in pe tomorrow and we always end the class with about 15 min on the diving board. i always see my friends running and jumping off perfectly. they take about 3 quick steps and somehow land perfectly at the edge of the board so they get a maximum jump. when i tried it i ran only got 1 foot 1 ft away from the edge and slipped forward. lol i was okay but i really wanna know how they do it. im not afraid of heights or jumping off, i just wanna know how to jump off the diving board while running. and not just walking, stopping, and hopping of it.

• Answer:

  You ever watched Olympic divers? Not one of them ever 'runs' along a springboard. They walk at a normal pace, put a hop into their last step, and land right on the 'sweet spot' at the end of the board (the last 6-8 inches), where they get maximum bounce (i.e. height) for their actual takeoff. This approach technique is called the 'hurdle step' -- and I'm sure you can find example videos on YouTube. These divers will already have measured out where they should start their approach, prior to the competition. This is done by walking out to the end of the board, and then counting 4-5 normal paces back from the end. On a competition board with a moveable fulcrum (the big wheel), the diver can then 'mark' their starting point using the fulcrum scalebar, and so they can use the same approach distance for every dive. Running along a diving board is a bad idea for several reasons. As you've discovered, running along the board makes it much more difficult to aim for and hit the sweet spot, if for no other reason than because the board will already be bouncing up and down slightly from your last jump towards the end of the board. Even if you do manage to hit the sweet spot, your forward momentum means that (1) there is a greater danger of slippage, even on a 'non-slip' board, and (2) your flight trajectory will tend to be much flatter, giving you much less airtime for cool moves. (3) If you are also leaning forwards as you take off, the kick from the board can actually flip your feet over your flightline, resulting in a painful slap to the back of your legs, or your back, if you over-rotate that far. (4) Lastly, and most seriously, the flat trajectory plus the momentum from a running takeoff will mean that you hit the water much further from the end of the board than you would have if you'd walked. Pools with diving boards are designed on the assumpion that a diver will be hitting only 2-3 feet in front of the board, so that's where the deepest water is. If you're hitting e.g. 10-15 from the end of the board, you may well be landing in much shallower water than is safe, especially for a head-first entry -- even if your entry angle is shallow. (NB most spinal injuries in swimming pools occur as a result of shallow 'racing' dives at or near the shallow end, not in the diving pit). If you use a running takeoff from a 3 m springboard, the likelihood of injuring yourself (from a minor waterslap, up through bruising, unconsciousness, paralysis or death) is even greater. So slow down.