Editing Diving (sport) (section)

==Competitive diving==
Most diving competitions consist of three disciplines: 1&nbsp;m and 3&nbsp;m springboards, and the platform. Competitive athletes are divided by gender, and often by age group. In platform events, competitors are allowed to perform their dives on either the five, seven and a half (generally just called seven), nine, or ten meter towers.  In major diving meets, including the [[Olympic Games]] and the World Championships, platform diving is from the 10 meter height.

Divers have to perform a set number of dives according to established requirements, including somersaults and twists. Divers are judged on whether and how well they completed all aspects of the dive, the conformance of their body to the requirements of the dive, and the amount of splash created by their entry to the water.  A possible score out of ten is broken down into three points for the takeoff (meaning the hurdle), three for the flight (the actual dive), and three for the entry (how the diver hits the water), with one more available to give the judges flexibility.

The raw score is multiplied by a degree of difficulty factor, derived from the number and combination of movements attempted. The diver with the highest total score after a sequence of dives is declared the winner.

===Synchronized diving===
[[File:Salto ornamental - UnB.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A man and a woman perform synchronised diving in Brazil, 2014.]]

Synchronized diving was adopted as an Olympic sport in 2000. Two divers form a team and perform dives simultaneously. The dives are identical. It used to be possible to dive opposites, also known as a pinwheel, but this is no longer part of competitive synchronised diving. For example, one diver would perform a forward dive and the other an inward dive in the same position, or one would do a reverse and the other a back movement. In these events, the diving would be judged both on the quality of execution and the synchronicity – in timing of take-off and entry, height and forward travel.

===Scoring the dive===
There are rules governing the scoring of a dive. Usually a score considers three elements of the dive: the approach, the flight, and the entry.  The primary factors affecting the scoring are:

* if a hand-stand is required, the length of time and quality of the hold
* the height of the diver at the apex of the dive, with extra height resulting in a higher score
* the distance of the diver from the diving apparatus throughout the dive (a diver must not be dangerously close, should not be too far away, but should ideally be within {{convert|2|ft|m}} of the platform)
* the properly defined body position of the diver according to the dive being performed, including pointed toes and feet touching at all times
* the proper amounts of rotation and revolution upon completion of the dive and entry into the water
* angle of entry – a diver should enter the water straight, without any angle.  
* amount of splash – many judges award divers for the amount of splash created by the diver on entry, with less splash resulting in a higher score.

Each dive is assigned a ''degree of difficulty'' (DD),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fina.org/project/docs/rules/rules_dA2.pdf|title=Appendix 2: FINA table of degree of difficulty|date=15 September 2009|publisher=[[FINA]]|access-date=4 September 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913161738/http://www.fina.org/project/docs/rules/rules_dA2.pdf|archive-date=13 September 2015}}</ref> which is determined from a combination of the moves undertaken, position used, and height. The DD value is multiplied by the scores given by the judges.

To reduce the subjectivity of scoring in major meets, panels of five or seven judges are assembled; major international events such as the Olympics use seven-judge panels. For a five-judge panel, the highest and lowest scores are discarded and the middle three are summed and multiplied by the DD. For seven-judge panels, as of the [[2012 London Olympics]], the two highest scores and two lowest are discarded, leaving three to be summed and multiplied by the DD. (Prior to the London Olympics, the highest and lowest scores were eliminated, and the remaining five scores were multiplied by {{frac|3|5}}, to allow for comparison to five-judge panels.) The cancelling of scores is used to make it difficult for a single judge to manipulate scores.

There is a general misconception about scoring and judging. In serious meets, the absolute score is somewhat meaningless. It is the relative score, not the absolute score that wins meets. Accordingly, good judging implies consistent scoring across the dives. Specifically, if a judge consistently gives low scores for all divers, or consistently gives high scores for the same divers, the judging will yield fair relative results and will cause divers to place in the correct order. However, absolute scores have significance to the individual divers. Besides the obvious instances of setting records, absolute scores are also used for rankings and qualifications for higher level meets.

In synchronised diving events, there is a panel of seven, nine, or eleven judges; two or three to mark the execution of one diver, two or three to mark the execution of the other, and the remaining three or five to judge the synchronisation.  The execution judges are positioned two on each side of the pool, and they score the diver which is nearer to them.  The [[2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London Olympics]] saw the first use of eleven judges.

The score is computed similarly to the scores from other diving events, but has been modified starting with the 2012 London Olympics for the use of the larger judging panels.  Each group of judges will have the highest and lowest scores dropped, leaving the middle score for each diver's execution and the three middle scores for synchronisation.  The total is then weighted by {{frac|3|5}} and multiplied by the DD.  The result is that the emphasis is on the synchronisation of the divers.

The synchronisation scores are based on:
* time of take-off
* height attained
* synchronisation of rotations and twists
* time of entry to the water
* forward travel from the board

The judges may also disqualify the diver for certain violations during the dive, including:
* receiving a score of 0 on all dives performed in the event
* improper equipment usage (e.g., female divers not using hair ties)

===Competitive strategy===
[[File:IDHM Wasserspringen 2018-02-18 3m mixed Vorkampf Sprung 3 18.jpg|thumb|Mixed gender participants of synchronised swimming performing a dive]]
To win dive meets, divers create a dive list in advance of the meet. To win the meet the diver must accumulate more points than other divers. Often, simple dives with low DDs will look good to spectators but will not win meets. The competitive diver will attempt the highest DD dives possible with which they can achieve consistent, high scores. If divers are scoring 8 or 9 on most dives, it may be a sign of their extreme skill, or it may be a sign that their dive list is not competitive, and they may lose the meet to a diver with higher DDs and lower scores.

In competition, divers must submit their lists beforehand, and once past a deadline (usually when the event is announced or shortly before it begins) they cannot change their dives. If they fail to perform the dive announced, even if they physically cannot execute the dive announced or if they perform a more difficult dive, they will receive a score of zero. Under exceptional circumstances, a redive may be granted, but these are exceedingly rare (usually for very young divers just learning how to compete, or if some event outside the diver's control has caused them to be unable to perform-such as a loud noise).

In the Olympics or other highly competitive meets, many divers will have nearly the same list of dives as their competitors.  The importance for divers competing at this level is not so much the DD, but how they arrange their list. Once the more difficult rounds of dives begin it is important to lead off with a confident dive to build momentum. They also tend to put a very confident dive in front of a very difficult dive to ensure that they will have a good mentality for the difficult dive. Most divers have pre-dive and post-dive rituals that help them either maintain or regain focus. Coaches also play a role in this aspect of the sport. Many divers rely on their coaches to help keep their composure during the meet. In a large meet coaches are rarely allowed on the deck to talk to their athlete so it is common to see coaches using hand gestures or body movements to communicate.

There are some American meets which will allow changes of the position of the dive even after the dive has been announced immediately before execution, but these are an exception to the rules generally observed internationally.

Generally, NCAA rules allow for dives to be changed while the diver is on the board, but the diver must request the change directly after the dive is announced. This applies especially in cases where the wrong dive is announced. If the diver pauses during his or her hurdle to ask for a change of dive, it will be declared a ulk (when the diver stops mid-hurdle) and the change of dive will not be permitted.

Under FINA law, no dive may be changed after the deadline for the dive-sheet to be submitted (generally a period ranging from one hour to 24 hours, depending on the rulings made by the event organiser).

It is the diver's responsibility to ensure that the dive-sheet is filled in correctly, and also to correct the referee or announcer before the dive if they describe it incorrectly. If a dive is performed which is as submitted but not as (incorrectly) announced, it is declared failed and scores zero according to a strict reading of the FINA law. But in practice, a re-dive would usually be granted in these circumstances.