Background Information

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=69 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="8e5f65a3.jpg"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="177" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 47 WIDTH="171"><div> <B>Alex - Diving</B></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Alex & Linda's Site</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" >back to:</FONT> <A HREF="http://alexandlinda.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://alexandlinda.com/"><B>Home</B></A><B>  ></B> <B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alex Diving"><B>Alex - Diving</B></A><B>  </B><B> </B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=195 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="8e6c3e83.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alex Diving">Alex - Diving</A></div> <div> <A HREF="photos.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photos">Photos</A></div> <div> <A HREF="video_clips.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Video Clips">Video Clips</A></div> <div> <A HREF="competition_results.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Competition Results">Competition Results</A></div> <div> <A HREF="upcoming_meets.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Upcoming Meets">Upcoming Meets</A></div> <div> <B>Background Information</B></div> <div> <A HREF="links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links">Links</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=411 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Background Information</B></div> <div> <B><U>Events</U></B></div> <bR> <div> Masters competition is held on 1m springboard, 3m springboard, and platform.  In the platform event, the diver may choose the 5m, 7.5m or 10m platform for each dive (each dive may be from a different height).  At Masters Nationals, the springboard events are contested in 5-year age groups and platform in 10-year groups; in International events generally all events are in 5-year groups.</div> <bR> <div> At the two Masters Nationals meets each year, there is also synchronized diving.  Separate awards are given for men's, women's and mixed synchro, generally in 15-year age groups.  Divers may use any boards (1m, 3m, platform) for any dive, subject to safety.  At the 2005 World Masters Games, men, women and mixed pairs all competed together in 5-year age groups, and on 3m only.  There is no synchro event at the FINA World Championships.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Dives</U></B></div> <bR> <div> There are five groups of dives on springboard: forward, backward, reverse (facing forward, rotating backward), inward (facing backward, rotating forward), and twisting.  On platform, there is a sixth group of armstand dives.</div> <bR> <div> At Nationals and in the World Masters Games, divers in my age group perform nine dives on each springboard: five “required” or “voluntary” dives with one from each group, limited in total difficulty, plus four more “optionals” from different groups without difficulty limitation.  On platform we do two dives from different groups limited in difficulty, and three more from different groups without limit.</div> <bR> <div> At the FINA World Championships, men in my age group will do seven dives on each springboard and six on platform without difficulty limits and without any group requirements - any seven or six different dives.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Scoring</U></B></div> <bR> <div> Judges score divers from 0 to 10, then the scores are multiplied by the Degree of Difficulty of the dive (three scores are used; with five or seven judges, the high and low scores are dropped, then with seven judges either another two are dropped or the remaining five scores are multiplied by .6 to get an equivalent for three scores).</div> <bR> <div> Degree of difficulty ranges from 1.0 for a front jump or 1.2 for forward dive tuck on up to 3.8 for backward 2 ½ somersaults with 2 ½ twists pike from 10m platform, and even 4.1 for inward 4 ½ somersaults tuck from 10m.  The best divers at the Athens Olympics mostly did dives in the 3.2 to 3.8 range.  My hardest dives right now are 3.0 DD (back 2 ½ tuck from 5m platform and 1m springboard, and I hope soon I'll be using a forward 2 ½ pike with 1 twist from 3m springboard).</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Juniors, Seniors and Masters</U></B></div> <bR> <div> In the diving world, Senior competition means open competition regardless of age - the best divers compete Seniors, the best Seniors go to the Olympics and the ongoing Grand Prix events.  A diver needs a minimum total degree of difficulty for a list of dives to be eligible to compete.</div> <bR> <div> Junior Olympic (JO) divers are competitive divers 18 and under, and there are also novice and high school divers who do not necessarily compete at the JO level.  JO competition is by age group.</div> <bR> <div> Masters diving is also by age group, starting at 21 for U.S. Diving events and 25 for international events.  There is a new AAU program for Adult diving, which is everyone over 18, to fill the age gap for people who don't dive Seniors (or want to compete outside  college meets).  Masters divers (and JO divers) may also compete in Seniors if they have the dives.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>The Stanford Masters Program</U></B></div> <bR> <div> We have what may be the world's largest Masters diving club, with 30 current registered divers.  17 of our divers will be competing in the FINA Masters World Championships this August.  Most dive on Saturday afternoons, but practice times are available six days a week diving with a JO club.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="tanja.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tanja"><IMG SRC="9d0d28f0.jpg" border=0 width="210" height="143" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A>Our coach is Tanja Gerchoun, who has been coaching for the last 18 years in Finland and the United States.  As coach of Finland's Senior and Junior National Teams, she coached in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and has coached a many-time NCAA Champion and numerous medalists in Senior and Junior World and European Championships and Senior Grand Prix events (and, of course, gold medalists in the World Masters Games and Masters Nationals).</div> <bR> <div> If you're interested in diving (or have kids or friends who might be), contact me, or you can reach Tanja directly at  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="mailto:tanjavau@yahoo.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:tanjavau@yahoo.com"><U>tanjavau@yahoo.com</U></A></FONT> or 650-796-1189.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>