First, there is jumping

Diving safely (and stylishly) is all about technique – particularly the take-off.

And the way to get a consistently good take-off, is to practise lots and lots of jumps!

Straight jumps, shaped jumps, backward jumps, jumps with an arm swing, jumps with some rotation, jumps off poolside, off the blocks, off the 1m, 3m, 5m, jumps, jumps, jumps, jumps, jumps!

When a diver enters their first club competition, most of the ‘dives’ they complete, will probably be jumps.

Even at Skills level – the first rung of the national competition stucture – divers compete several simple jumps alongside their dives.

And then, there is diving

We’ll build up slowly, but you might spot any of these in a training session.

Line up off poolside (bending over to point at the water and gracefully falling into a dive), then off the 1m, then the 3m.

Tuck roll (rolling from a tucked sitting position into a dive) from the 1m then 3m.

Pike roll (start in a V-sit, roll forwards into a dive).

Back fall (stand straight and fall backwards into a dive).

Inward (face the board and jump into a forward dive).

Reverse (face the pool and jump into a back dive).

One and a half (face the pool and jump into 1 and a half front somersaults to land in a dive)

As the dives get more complicated, the take-offs become more and more important. National squad divers still drill jumps to keep their take-offs perfect.

 Swim England Diving Awards

We follow the Swim England Diving Award Scheme to progress divers from beginners to a level where they can compete in regional Skills competitions.

Our coaches assess divers during their training sessions and will ‘tick off’ a skill when they feel a diver has mastered it.

You’ll notice that there are jumps in every award up to Diving 6 (I’ve put the dives in italic because the names aren’t always obvious if you’re new to the sport).

Diving 1

1. Forward jump straight from poolside
2. Back jump straight from poolside
3. Forward jump tuck from poolside
4. Forward tuck roll from poolside
5. Forward pike fall from poolside
6. Forward jump straight from 1 metre

Diving 2

1. Back push and glide into back circle from poolside
2. Back jump tuck from poolside
3. Forward dive crouched from poolside
4. Back tuck roll from poolside
5. Forward pike fall from 1 metre
6. Forward jump tuck from 1 metre
7. Back pike roll from poolside

Diving 3

1. Forward jump straight from 3 metres
2. Back jump straight from 1 metre
3. Forward dive straight from poolside
4. Back dive crouched from poolside
5. Back fall straight from 1 metre
6. Forward pike wedge from poolside
7. Back pike sit from poolside

Diving 4

1. Forward jump pike from 1m
2. Armswing forward jump straight from 1m
3. Forward dive tuck from poolside
4. Back dive straight from poolside
5. Forward pike fall from 3m
6. Armswing back jump tuck from poolside
7. Armswing back pike sit from poolside

Diving 5

1. Back tuck roll from 1 metre
2. Inward pike wedge from poolside
3. Armswing forward dive tuck from 1 metre
4. Armswing back jump tuck from 3 metres
5. Sitting forward tuck roll from 3 metres
6. Board timing – bouncing forward jump straight from 1 metre
7. Armswing back jump pike from 1 metre

Diving 6

1. Armswing reverse pike sit from poolside
2. Inward dive tuck from 1 metre
3. Bouncing forward dive tuck from 1 metre
4. Armswing back dive tuck from 1 metre
5. Forward straight fall from 3 metres
6. Forward somersault tuck from poolside
7. Back fall straight from 3 metres

Diving 7

1. Armswing reverse dive tuck from 1 metre
2. Inward dive tuck from 3 metres
3. Forward dive tuck from 3 metres
4. Armswing forward dive pike from 1 metre
5. Inward dive pike from 1 metre
6. Forward somersault tuck from 1 metre
7. Back tuck roll from 3 metres