Expert in maths? No need in diving!

All aquatic disciplines have their technical language, their jargon. For the neophytes in each of the sports, it may represent a challenge, or even a barrier preventing them to fully enjoy the action of our best athletes. These specific “codes” can be more or less complex, easier or more difficult to understand: synchronised swimming can be fancier with positions such as “flamingo”, “ibis” or “albatross”; in swimming, things are more straightforward, with “arm pulls”, or “dolphin kicks”; water polo has its “ordinary fouls” and “centre forward” players; diving has numbers, sometimes associated with letters!

Every 10m platform diver dreams of a perfect 109C (and many will try to achieve it in Dubai, during the second leg of the FINA/NVC Diving World Series) or also a good execution in a 5255B. But what is the meaning of these numbers and letters? It is in fact, simpler than it looks, and you don’t need advanced knowledges in maths to understand what is behind these “codes”.

The key is to break down these numbers in a specific order. There are basically six diving groups: 1 (front or forward); 2 (back); 3 (reverse); 4 (inward); 5 (twisting); 6 (armstand). These are the first numbers in our combination: we therefore know that a 109C is a forward dive and the 5255B belongs to the twisting group.

In the first four groups, there can be a flying action during the dive. It is indicated by the numbers 0 (no flying action) and 1 (flying action). We advance in our 109C: there isn’t any flight action. In twisting and armstand dives, the second number indicates the group (in fact, the direction) of the dive, as per the numbers indicated above. So, in our 5255B, the “2” indicates the back direction.

We now get into the third number of the equation. Even simpler: it indicates the number of somersaults multiplied by 2. In the 109C, the “9” means 4 ½ somersaults, while the 5255B includes 2 ½ somersaults.

As the name indicates, the twisting group will include twists, and this can happen also in the armstand group (the latter only performed in the 10m platform, a rigid structure, unlike the 3m springboard). Therefore, dives starting by “5” or “6” may have four numbers, the last one indicating the number of twists multiplied per 2. We are now complete for our 5255B, it comprises also 2 ½ twists (indicated by the last “5”).

Finally, the letters. There are four positions in which the dive can be executed: A (straight), B (pike), C (tuck) and D (free, only for dives with twists). We now have all the explanations for our “enigmatic” numbers. Our 109C is therefore a forward dive with 4 ½ somersaults in the tuck position, while the 5255B is a back dive, with 2 ½ somersaults and 2 ½ twists, in the pike position.

The lesson is complete with one last detail. To each of these dives, there is an associated “degree of difficulty” (DD) that takes into account the technical complexity of the dive. It is easily understandable that the more somersaults and twists are added, the higher will be the DD of the dive. This value (our 109C is worth 3.7, while the 5255B has a DD of 3.6) is very important: the marks of the judges will be multiplied by this number. This means that executing a good dive is not enough – ideally it should have a high DD. A concrete example: for the same execution noted by three judges giving 8.0 points (for a total of 24.00), a DD of 2.0 will give a final note of 48.00 (24.00 x 2.0), while our 109C will provide the diver with a 88.80 (24.00 x 3.7) score.

The strategy in diving competitions is to correctly balance the choice of the DDs with the level of execution. Some divers choose lower DDs, knowing that they can execute those dives very well; others will go for higher DDs, but at the same time will take more risks (as these dives are more complicated to execute correctly). The key for victory? Simple, high DDs and perfect execution!