1957-58

75
2
SWIMMING (DIVING)
beyond the head, the body must be straight and the toes must be
pointed. In a " feet first " entry the arms must be at the sides, with
head erect and chest lifted.
THE GROUP OF DIVES IN THE INTERNATIONAL TARIFF
FOR SPRINGBOARD DIVING. (Table
A)
The dives which may be performed from springboards have been
divided into five groups as follows :
Group I. Forward dives from a forward take-off.
(The Forward Group.)
Group II. Backward dives from a backward take-off.
(The Backward Group.)
Group III. Backward dives from a forward take-off.
(The Reverse Group.)
Group IV. Forward dives frcm a backward take-off.
(The Inward Group.)
Group V. Dives in which the body turns laterally in addition
to-the forward or backward movement.
(The Twist Group.)
In order to illustrate the basic principles on which the dives of
each group have been built up a typical dive has been selected. As
the majority of people will tackle a plain dive first a rather full
description is given of Dive No.
2
(a).
Group r. Header, Forward, Straight. Dive No.
2
(a)
Standing
The diver should take up a position at the end of the board with
toes overlapping and gripping the end of the board. He should not
stand a few inches back from the end as is permissible in standing
dives from firm boards. The body should be erect, chin in, chest
out, stomach in, legs together, arms hanging straight and close to the
sides, fingers slightly curved—that is, a general position of "Atten-
tion." The weight of the body should be distributed evenly over
the whole of both feet. As soon as the diver feels that he has a
correct balance, the arms should be raised, forwards and upwards,
to the level of the shoulders and kept shoulder-width apart. Each
arm should be in a straight line from the shoulders to the finger tips
but without strain. The thumbs should be close to the forefingers.
With the arm muscles still relaxed the arms are now swung down-
wards. This downward swing continues until the hands reach the
thighs, when the direction of the movement is reversed and the
arms are swung outwards and upwards until they reach a position,
level with or slightly above, and in front of the shoulders, care
being taken that the shoulders are not allowed to drop forwards.
The arms are now swung downwards and at the same time the
whole weight of the body is used to depress the board. This is
accomplished by bending the legs slightly as the arms descend but
keeping the body upright. As the hands reach the thighs the
board should be fully depressed. Then, with the forward and
upward swing of the arms, the legs are straightened and the fullest
use made of the ankles to assist the upward spring as the board
I