how far can I go in diving?

Question
QUESTION: hey! I gave up competitive artistic gymnastics 5 months ago and have done not much in terms of sport and exercise since then. I have watched teh olympics and have decided that i would love to try out diving. I have emailed some clubs in my area and i have been asked to attend a session to see where I am and what will happen from there. I know it will take commitment and hard work since I have never dived before but from this knowledge, how far do you think I could get? Also, since giving up my conditioning has gone out the window along with my flexibility. Would you be able to give me any diving specific exercises, conditioning, flexibilty anything that you think will help me to get in better form when i attend the session. Also i would like to know what to expect when i attend etc. eg what i am likely to do thankyou

ANSWER: Jessica-

I think can answer your question better when I know the following:

1. Your age.This is so I can tell you what your age group will be.

2. What competitive gymnastic level you attained.

3. What club team(s) are you going to try out with?

Please ask a follow up question and I will reply with the info you need before you start up diving.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thankyou so much for helping me out! I am 16 years old. I do not live in the US so i dont know what levels you have out there but i can somersault, twist, etc. I attended an elite club and although i was not an elite gymnast i was brought up to a very good standard. Hope this helps thanks

Answer
Jessica -

Now that I know your age and that you are not living in the US I think I can answer your questions better:

1. The exercises and conditioning that you need to do are very similar to gymnastics.You need flexibility in your legs and shoulders. You need to re-develop your stomach muscles through sit-ups of all kinds. There are diving related sit=ups (tuck-ups and pike-ups) but they are hard to describe in writing. You also need leg strength through plyometrics. I will give you some websites to go and find out more about conditioning at the end of this response but in the meantime, you may want to go back to your old gym and ask if you can just do conditioning work and not gymnastics.Here are two self-tests you can do to check on you flexibility and body alignment:

Stand up against a wall with your heels next to the wall and your feet flat on the ground. Stretch your arms over your head with your hands together.Is there a space between your ears and upper arms? If so, you need to develop the shoulder flexibility to be able to squeeze your head with your biceps. This is for head first entries.

Lay down on the floor (hard flat surface with no carpet) with you toes pointed and your arms all the way over your head & hands together like the above test. Is there a space between the floor and your lower back? If so, you need to be able to push the lowest part of your back to the floor. This is for proper body alignment on head first entries.We call it "hollow" like gymnastics.

2. In the US, we dive by age group. You are in the 16-18 events (1 meter, 3 meter, and platform). Within each age group are these ability levels: lesson, novice, intermediate and junior olympic.
You need to be able to basic fundamental dives (5) as well as the harder optional dives (4). You can find out more about these dives at the websites I list at the end.

3. There is also high school diving here and it is very popular with ex-gymnasts. There are two competitive levels: Junior Varsity and Varsity. The JV do 3 dives and varsity to 6 dives in a dual meet (your school versus another)and 11 dives in a championship meet. Again you have to know basic dives (called voluntary dives, 5 of them) and 6 optional dives.

4. The other levels of diving here are Senior (19 & older ) and collegiate diving (NCAA Division I, II & III with I being the hardest)

When you try diving, here is how I explain the sport to ex-gymnasts:

You have to be able to go head first as that is what the sport is mainly about. There are feet first dives you can compete, but you cannot avoid going head first. The easiest head first thing is a front dive. The hardest thing for a gymnast to do is go backwards head first (back dive). It is because landing head first backwards is never learned in gym. You have to be able to change direction: take off backwards and rotate forward (inward dive ) and also take off forward and then go backwards (reverse dive, also known as a gainer). The remaining skill is to be able to somersault and twist, either forwards or backwards, which is usually easy for someone with your background.

How far you can go is really up to you. What you need to excel is a good pool to train at, an experienced coach and your own talent. Most of this sport is girls between the ages of 13 & 22 and most of them are ex-gymnasts. One of the key things in making the transition to diving is being able to practice on a trampoline with a rope/pulley/belt system to learn new dives. Once you learn them there, then the next step is to learn them on a dry board. It is a full size competition board that is not over water. It is over a big mat that a high jumper or pole vaulter would land in. It should also have the belt system like tramp. Then you can learn a head first dive before you do it in the water.

Here are the websites you should go to to learn more about diving in the states:

www.usadiving.org - National governing body.Click on 'Divers'.
www.aaudiving.org - Other national governing body.
www.flipnrip.com - Site for divers/families.
www.diving.about.com - Site that explains the sport.
www.divemeets.com - Diving meet results.
www.usadiver.com - Articles about diving.
www.laurawilkinson.com - Site of our #1 female diver.She has a great conditioning dvd you should get.
www.springboardsandmore.com - Equipment for divers/coaches.
www.fina.org - International governing body. Look for info on diving in your country.

Good luck with your pursuit of this great sport.