Have you ever wondered what goes on in that huge pool during those early mornings or after school? Here are five things you should know about this complicated sport.
- Diving involves a series of five different types of dives identified by three or four numbers and one letter, for example, 401c. These digits correlate with the number of flips and the type: forward, backward, inward, reverse, or twisting. The letters are the position of the dive (tuck, pike, or free).
- In every dual meet (two schools competing against each other), dives are scored from a range from zero to ten, typically by three judges (usually 2 coaches and an official). There are five to seven judges in meets like championships, regionals, and states.
- Diving is not only a physically challenging sport. “It’s one of the most challenging mental sports in the world,” says Skyline Dive Coach Will Brenner. “Try convincing someone to do three and a half flips off a three-story building or to do acrobatics in front of a lot of people with
Emma Jacobs (’27) helping prepare Violet Shrag (’24) for another excellent dive. Credit: J.Lee. only one chance. It’s not like any other sport. You work muscles that no other sports work.”
- The schedule is typically four practices a week with additional morning strength practices before school. During September and half of October, there are dual meets every Thursday. “[The schedule] helps me with time management but sleep-wise I’m very sleep deprived because there’s like a lot of morning practice,” says Payton Oleksinski (‘25). “It pays off towards the end of the season though.”
- You don’t have to have any experience to join the Skyline dive team. “This is my first year doing high school [dive]… it’s really fun and a great thing to do,” says Emma Jacobs (‘27). If you want to join, the best way is to contact one of the captains by email and they will point you in the right direction.
