1. Judging High School Diving
Best Practices

2. Judging Philosophy
Several years ago, the Indiana High School Swim Coaches Association submitted a recommendation to require only IHSAA licensed officials to judge diving at the state championships. Up until that time, the state panel consisted of selected coaches and officials, with coaches judging at the sectional and regional levels. The IHSAA has attempted to create materials to help educate our swimming officials so that they can be better prepared to judge diving at the elite level.
Swimming officials are trained to identify finite and concrete events – did the swimmer touch the wall with two hands?; did the swimmer commit a false start?; did the swimmer perform the legal IM turn?
The event of diving, however, is largely subjective and evaluative. Swimming officials who are asked to serve on a diving panel must change their paradigm, and learn to judge the dive in it’s entirety, and consider the impression of the dive that was performed.
We have learned some things along the way, and the following slides will hopefully help identify some of the more important points to remember.

3. Be Prepared Are you prepared to judge this contest?
Are you well rested?
Do you know the NFHS rules?
Are you familiar with the dives likely to be performed in this contest?
Have you witnessed enough diving of this caliber to properly carry out your responsibilities as a judge?
Are you Prepared to Judge This Contest?
We prepared a practice judging video, that contained dives performed during the pervious years state championships. A link was sent to all swimming and diving officials. We are in the process of creating another tutorial that shows divers of lesser skills, so that our officials can practice watching dives they see more frequently. The video shows the dive, asks the user to judge the dive, and then provides feedback as to what the score should have been and why.
In addition, we asked representatives from USA Diving to present information from their coaches and officials education program. They actually created most of the slides you are about to see. It has been a great working relationship, and the fact that their national office and that one of the Olympic Training Centers is located in Indiana doesn’t hurt.
Do you know the NFHS rules?
The art of judging is not only a question of having a good command of the NFHS Swimming and Diving Rules Book. In reality, the written rules are the easiest part of judging. The difficulty lies in mastering the unwritten rules and the psychological factors which influence a judge.
Are you familiar with the dives like to be performed?
At the state championships last year, we experimented with reading the number and position of each dive, but not the description. Our diving judges sometimes had difficulty in determining what dive was about to be performed (particularly with the twisters). We determined that this was not a good practice.
All good judges have a picture in their mind about the dive to be performed. Do you?
Have you witnessed enough diving of this caliber to properly carry out responsibilities as a judge?
We encourage our newer officials at attend meets they are not necessarily working, to shadow an experienced official. We encourage those swimming officials who have not been assigned to a diving regional (there are only 4 regionals) to attend and practice judge. We are considering to use only officials to judge at the regional, but have not made that leap yet.

4. Judge What You See
A diver who is highly ranked in the State is not always going to do a great dive.
A diver who starts the contest out poorly can get better as the contest continues.
A diver who starts the contest out exceptionally can perform a poor dive later.
Judge what you see, not what you expect to see.
A diver who is highly ranked in the State is not always going to do a great dive.
The diving coaches have some interesting ideas about what our judges are doing prior the state championships. In the past, our officials would watch warm-up sessions both Friday night and Saturday morning. Diving coaches took great issue with this, as they felt that the judges were developing preconceived ideas about the skill level. In all actuality, they were simply attempting to soak in the performances to practice judge. In reaction to the diving coaches concerns, we sequestered the diving judges on Saturday morning and asked them not to watch the warm-ups on Friday evening. During the Saturday morning warm-up session, we watched the previous year state championships, and discussed general philosophy and procedures. This gave improved the comfort level of the coaches.
All dives have a start value of 10, and all divers are capable of scoring a 10.

5. Be Independent
Score the dive based on what you feel it is worth, don’t worry about what others think.
Trust your own judgment no matter what the other judges score. A judge who gives up his independence is no longer a judge.
“I am the only one who is right” is not a bad philosophy as long as your realize you can make mistakes too.
Don’t repeat mistakes you may have made, but don’t make additional mistakes by trying to “make-up” for an earlier error
Compare the dive to the image in your mind.

6. Ignore Outside Influences
Do not allow outside influences to affect your scoring.
Remember you posses the knowledge, not the crowd.
Crowd favorites are not always the best dives in a competition.
Do not allow outside influences to affect your scoring.
In reality, the diving judges probably are not paying attention to the crowd noise. However, it is always a good reminder.
Crowd reaction is not an indicator of a good or bad dive.

7. Never Pre-judge
Don’t help the favorites, its not fair and they don’t need it.
A bad dive is a bad dive no matter who does it. A good dive is also a good dive.
Unknowns are just as capable of scoring a 10 as the favorite.
Remember the scale goes from 0 to 10, for all divers in the competition.

8. Overcome Bias
Biased judging is an offence against the concept of sportsmanship and fair competition.
In spite of this, some judges believe that they are entitled to give known divers a half point extra on each of their dives.
It is considered an unethical practice in the sport of diving.
Overcome Bias
The mere fact that a panel of officials rather than coaches are utilized at the state meet level, almost eliminates any perceived biases. However, you will experience the occasional situation of a well meaning official who will entertain a question or two from a dicing coach between session. In one case, we found that a judge was attempting to justify a score to a coach during the first break. We have since directed our judges to not speak to any coach until after the event has been completed.

9. Treat Every Round Equally
Do not start out cautiously in early rounds.
Do not overly award dives in the final rounds.
Judge each round as if it were the only round.
Dives performed in the early rounds are just as capable of scoring a 10 as dives in later rounds.
Don’t “hold back” in case a better dive comes along, it might not.
Round one dives can score 10s, and Round 11 dives can score 0”s.

10. Treat Each Dive Equally
Don’t reward difficult dives simply because they are difficult.
Don’t penalize a dive simply because it is easy.
A back 1 somersault is capable of scoring 10s
A back 2 ½ somersault is capable of scoring 1s
Don’t reward difficult dives simply because they are difficult.
This can happen with the newer official, who is not used to seeing some of the more difficult dives.

11. Judge The Complete Dive
Remember the dive starts with the starting position and not the entry.
Judge the starting position, approach, takeoff, flight, and entry
A great dive in the air that has a fair amount of splash can still score a 6 or better.
A terrible dive in the air that “rips” the entry may still be worth only a 4 or less.
A dive that starts with a “crow hop” can still receive 8s as well.

12. Use The Full Range Of Scores
The scale goes from 0 to 10
If you feel a dive is failed, give it a 0
Don’t let yourself get stuck between 4 and 6
At the State Meet, the difference between the best dives and the worst dives will not be 2 points per judge.
You rarely upset the diver, coach, or crowd by making a mistake of scoring to high.
The scale goes from 0 to 10.
At the suggestion of the diving coaches, we gave each judge a copy of the scale to use as a visual as they scored each dive. Evidently this is something that USA Diving has used for several years, and they feel it has helped judges to use the entire scale, not just the 4 to 6 range.

13. Judging Philosophy
Your overall impression of the dive should be your first indicator.
Wow! That was great!
Excellent Grouping
That was nice!
Very Good or Good Grouping
Hmm,Ok.
Satisfactory Grouping
Umm, what was that?
Deficient Grouping
Uh Oh! (Judge flinches)
Unsatisfactory Grouping
Determine what your first impression of the diver using the verbiage, rather than the numbers. 13

14. NFHS Scoring Scale Failed 0 Unsatisfactory ½ to 2 Deficient 2½ to 4½
Good
Very Good ½ to 9½
Excellent \
What is the difference between Excellent and Exceptional? 14

15. Do not be Concerned Who is Winning or Losing
It is the judges responsibility to judge each dive as it is performed, without consideration of the final standings.
The judge should not try to calculate the running score or current standing.
There is no need to observe the score board when it displays the standings of current score totals.

16. Elements of a Dive There are six elements of a dive to consider when judging:
1. Approach
2. Takeoff
3. Flight – Stage 1
4. Flight – Stage 2
5. Line Up
6. Entry into the water
Have you thought about the six building blocks that a diver must put together?
These are the six blocks of information that you, the judge, must know in your mind before the dive is done. For this purpose, we have separate the flight into two stages. 16 16

17. The Approach – The Purpose
To get to the end of the board !
To display controlled balance.
To set the direction of take-off.
The Approach
Starting Position - The forward starting position includes good posture, eyes focused on the end of the board with arms in a position of the diver’s choice. The backward/inward starting position requires an upright head and body with arms straight and in a position of the diver’s choice. The diver may move the arms to various preparatory positions provided there is no obvious attempt to start the dive.
Smooth flowing approach - The motions should be smooth and continuous towards the end of the springboard. The forward approach shall consist of at least 3 steps followed by a jump off one foot to a landing on both feet at the end of the board. The forward takeoff shall be from both feet simultaneously to an adequate height to perform the dive.
Balance on forward approaches - The diver should be balanced and in control of his/her movements during the approach and hurdle. 17 17

18. The Hurdle Step – The Purpose
Hurdle & Takeoff
The Hurdle Step – The Purpose
To get to the end of the board!
Question: What do you do if the diver does not get to the end of the board?
Hurdle - The hurdle should be strong and from one foot with a landing on both feet at the end of the springboard.
What do you do if the diver does not get to the end of the board – what kind of deduction should be taken? 18 18

19. The Take-Off – The Purpose
Hurdle & Takeoff
The Take-Off – The Purpose
To gain maximum height.
To set the dive in motion.
Take-Off should be balanced and controlled so as to allow the diver to achieve good height;
The dive should be performed at an appropriate distance from the board 19 19

20. The Flight Stage 1 – The Purpose
To start the execution of the dive.
In an upward direction (including the stationary point or crest).
The Flight
Adequate height - The height achieved should provide enough time in the air to complete the rotation and allow the dive to travel a safe distance from the board.
Safe distance - The dive should clear the end of the board by a safe distance.
Too distant / Too Close - The distance should allow a good technique.
Body Position - The form should be tight and precise according to the dive description. 20 20

21. The Flight Stage 2 – The Purpose
To complete the execution of the flight.
To initiate the start of the line-up.
Stage 2 of the flight is the motion of the body moving downward. 21 21

22. The Line-Up – The Purpose
For the body to be in a straight & vertical position.
With the arms in or moving to the appropriate position. 22 22

23. The Entry – The Purpose Arms in the specified position.
Body stretched, vertical, unbroken until fully immersed.
Entry completed.
The Entry
Angle of Entry - The dive should enter the water vertically.
Body line and alignment of arms and head - The position of the diver’s head, arms and body should give the appearance of a straight line as the diver enters the water.
Distance - The dive should not be too close, too distant or off to the side of the board or platform.
Twist on Entry - The dive should be square (without any twist) as it enters the water.
Amount of Splash - A properly performed dive will result in an entry with a minimum splash. An exceptionally good entry will result in what is called a "rip" entry with almost no splash. 23 23

24. The Six Building Blocks
Now the dive is announced and the diver is ready. You are ready to judge the dive.
Let us SEE how you look at the dive using the six building blocks! 24 24

25. SEEING - The Approach On-balance.
Did the diver get to the end of the board with both feet symmetrical?
Did both feet / toes remain on the board?
Any shuffle? 25 25

26. SEEING - The Takeoff Leaning forward ? Leaning back ? Just right ?
Forward / Inward / Back
Leaning back ?
Just right ?
Arms reaching to set ?
Good height (power) ?
On-balance & fluid ? 26 26

27. SEEING - The Flight Stage 1
Too far out ?
Too close ?
Just right ?
Specified body position ?
Power & grace ?
In line with board ? 27 27

28. SEEING - The Flight Stage 2
Continuing body position - tight & precise.
Any give away at this stage - split; too low, crossed feet, under-rotated, over-rotated. 28 28

29. SEEING - The Line-up Is the body straight?
Is the body vertical? & in a straight line?
Is there a bent hip?
Is there a twist?
Is it short?
Is it long ? 29 29

30. SEEING: Do You See Anything?
What
Else Do
You
See ? 30 30

31. Once Again – A Reminder
Various divers will use various flight paths
But notice that the line of flight is always through each of the dimensions
There is enough flexibility within the size of the rooms to accommodate the various flight path styles 31 31

32. Philosophy
A judge must keep each element in mind when viewing a dive, yet in the end, the dive should be judged as a whole, without overemphasising any single area.
This is especially true when it comes to the entry. It is very easy to forgive earlier flaws if a dive enters the water vertically and without a splash.
Although a good entry is very impressive, all parts of the dive are to be judged. 32 32

33. A State Association Perspective
What Are We Looking For ? 33 33

34. NFHS Common Deductions
Excessive oscillation - More the 4 oscillations BEFORE arms move. Deduction of ½ to 2 points at judges discretion. Not stopping the oscillation of the board just before or after the starting position is assumed. 34

35. NFHS Defined Deductions
Foot/Feet leaving the board on Back/Inward Takeoffs “Crow Hop”. Deduction of ½ to 2 points at judges discretion. Note: this is not a mandatory 2 point deduction. Deduction is based on how major the violation was. 35

36. NFHS Defined Deductions
Spreading knees in tuck position (knees should be inside the shoulders). Deduction of ½ to 2 points at judges discretion. Note: many divers will squeeze into very tight tucks and their knees will split yet remain inside the shoulders. This should not be a deduction. 36

37. NFHS Defined Deductions
One somersault - require the straight position be maintained from the takeoff until the body has rotated to the horizontal position (1/4 rotation) One and one half somersault – require the straight position be maintained until the body has rotated to the vertical position (1/2 rotation) Deduction of ½ to 2 points at judges discretion.
This change clarifies the requirement for maintaining the straight position in flying dives demonstrating one and one half somersaults.
In all flying dives, a straight position shall be clearly shown and that position shall be assumed from the takeoff. The straight position should be shown for at least one quarter (1/4) rotation, horizontal, in dives with one (1) somersault, and at least one half (1/2) rotation, vertical, in dives with more than one (1) somersault. The NFHS scoresheet lists only two flying dives that permit 1 ½ somersaults – 113 and 413. 37

38. NFHS Defined Deductions
112C Forward Flying Somersault Tuck
Notice the straight position being held for the ¼ rotation or horizontal on this dive. 38

39. NFHS Defined Deductions
413C Inward Flying 1½ Tuck
This change clarifies the requirement for maintaining the straight position in flying dives demonstrating one and one half somersaults.
In all flying dives, a straight position shall be clearly shown and that position shall be assumed from the takeoff. The straight position should be shown for at least one quarter (1/4) rotation, horizontal, in dives with one (1) somersault, and at least one half (1/2) rotation, vertical, in dives with more than one (1) somersault. The NFHS scoresheet lists only two flying dives that permit 1 ½ somersaults – 113 and 413. 39

40. NFHS Defined Deductions
Entering to the side of the board. Deduction of ½ to 2 points at judges discretion. This is often missed at this level. It is rather easy to see on inwards and reverses where it occurs most often. 40

41. NFHS Defined Deductions
A diver does not attempt to come out of a twist. Unsatisfactory dive - award ½ to 2 points if declared by the diving referee. In a twisting dive, the divers shoulders are twisted past 90 degrees before the feet leave the board. Failed dive if declared by the diving referee. If not declared by the diving referee, diving judges may deduct ½ to 2 points for twisting manifestly from the board. 41

42. Final Thoughts
Score RELATIVE to the field High School divers are capable of Exceptional (scores from 9 to 10) Good Judging brings about Great Diving ! 42

43. Credits:
FINA - presentation content and educational opportunities
USA Diving – consultation, training, and education of coaches and officials
IHSAA - rules and presentation materials
Starz Diving - consultation and material presenters
NFHS - rules governing the high school diving
It is through cooperation of the various experts in the sport of diving that we become better and provide the best experience for our athletes of all ages and skill levels.