Judging High School Diving
Best Practices
Judging Philosophy
BE PREPARED
JUDGE WHAT YOU SEE
BE INDEPENDENT
IGNORE OUTSIDE INFLUENCES
NEVER PRE-JUDGE
OVERCOME BIAS
TREAT EVERY ROUND OF DIVES EQUALLY
TREAT EACH DIVE EQUALLY
JUDGE THE COMPLETE DIVE
USE THE FULL SCORING RANGE
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.

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.
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.
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

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.
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.
Judging Philosophy
 Your
overall impression of the dive should
be your first indicator.





Wow! That was great!
• Excellent or Exceptional Grouping
That was nice!
• Good Grouping
Hmm,Ok.
• Satisfactory Grouping
Umm, what was that?
• Deficient Grouping
Uh Oh! (Judge flinches)
• Unsatisfactory Grouping
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NFHS Scoring Scale







Failed
Unsatisfactory
Deficient
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
Exceptional
0
½ to 2
2 ½ to 4
4 ½ to 5 ½
6-7
7 ½ to 8 ½
9 - 10
What is the difference between Excellent and Exceptional?
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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.
Elements of a
Dive
1
There are five elements of
a dive to consider when
judging
3
2
1. Starting position
2. Approach
3. Takeoff
4. Flight
5. Entry into the water
4
5
16
Building Blocks of a Dive
 The
Approach
 The Takeoff
 Flight Stage 1
 Flight Stage 2
 Line Up
 Entry
17
The Approach
18
The Approach – The Purpose
 To
get to the end of
the board !
 To display
controlled balance.
 To set the direction
of take-off.
19
Hurdle & Takeoff
20
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?
21
The Take-Off – The Purpose

To gain maximum height.

To set the dive in motion.
22
The Flight Stage 1
23
The Flight Stage 1 – The Purpose
 To
start the execution of
the dive.
 In
an upward direction
(including the stationary
point or crest).
24
The Flight Stage 2
25
The Flight Stage 2 – The Purpose
 To
complete the
execution of the
flight.
 To
initiate the start of
the line-up.
26
The Lineup
27
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.
28
The Entry
29
The Entry – The Purpose

Arms in the specified
position.
 Body stretched,
vertical, unbroken
until fully immersed.
 Entry completed.
Rip?
30
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!

31
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?
32
SEEING - The Takeoff

Leaning forward ?


Forward / Inward / Back
Leaning back ?

Forward / Inward / Back

Just right ?
 Arms reaching to set ?
 Good height (power) ?
 On-balance & fluid ?
33
SEEING - The Flight Stage 1

Too far out ?
 Too close ?
 Just right ?
 Specified body position ?
 Power & grace ?
 In line with board ?
34
SEEING - The Flight Stage 2
 Continuing
body
position - tight &
precise.
 Any give away at this
stage - split; too low,
crossed feet, underrotated, over-rotated.
35
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 ?
36
SEEING: Do You See Anything?
 What
 Else
 Do
 You
 See

?
37
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
38
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.
39
A State Association Perspective
What Are We Looking For ?
40
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.
Deduction of ½ to 2 points at judges discretion.
41
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.
42
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.
43
NFHS Defined Deductions
Not holding the straight position on flying somersaults
until the body is horizontal to the surface of the water.
Deduction of ½ to 2 points at judges discretion.
Note: this type of dive is rarely, if ever done in
this era.
44
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.
45
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.
46
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 !
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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.