Additions to Voting
Each time I finish an article, something else seems to pop up. This time is no exception. US Diving has recently sent out a mailing, which contained an abbreviated financial report and a questionnaire regarding member use of the training sites. I believe it was sent to the general chairperson of each local association.
I looked at the financial statement with great interest searching for any indication of improprieties. Unfortunately, the summary version that was mailed doesn't get into much detail so one can't find signs of impropriety. However, the real question is why was it only a 5-month summary. The year-end is September 30 for the US Diving financial report. Why did they send it out only showing 5 months instead of 8 months? Is there something they don't want the membership to know? Why would one have to write and ask for a complete financial statement? All members should get one just for being a member. Why isn't one complete statement sent to at least each local association? I don't feel too bad about this because there are people in US Diving that are supposed to know where and how the money is being spent and they can't figure it out either. What kind of organization operates with very few people who know much about its financial affairs? Could this be an Enron/Anderson type of management?
I've been thinking about the uses of the training sites for a long time now and can answer only for myself. I didn't buy into it when it was discovered that the sites were subsidized by USD and again when our best divers refused to train there. It appears that the intended training site goals are not being met financially. These centers were supposed to be self-sustaining but they are costing a fortune to operate. That being said, I see the Training Site questionnaire as a way for US Diving to cover some of that expense by offering programs like START and JUMPSTART. It's classified as more education for you as a coach with the intent to run it at the training sites and maybe eventually at the local association.
Somehow I don't see any of this as being free for members if you buy into the concept. More of your money will be spent to keep the training centers opened. These centers have saturated the local areas and still can't support themselves. If you live on the East coast (Maine) will you travel to Indianapolis or Oklahoma to be involved in these programs? I live 2 to 3 hours from the Indianapolis site and I haven't had a need to be there in the last 10 years. There are others in my association, who have never been there. That's 6 hours just on the highway, round trip plus the cost of the courses and an overnight stay, if necessary. I can't justify any of that in my own mind.
Since the Education idea was mentioned by US Diving in this mailing, I feel that I should relay some information to them. As far as I can see I am already over-educated for the levels I coach. There is much information I have gained over my years of coaching and am not able to use because of the type of divers I see on a day to day basis. Some of the info mandated by USD is useless, time consuming and too expensive considering I only coach under USD for six to eight weeks during the year.
All US Diving coaches are safety certified which was the beginning of this education process. If these certifications were really that important, our insurance rates would be much cheaper and the certifications would be accepted everywhere without question but that's not the case. The objective was to make the sport safer by having everyone follow certain basic diving fundamentals. It appears that some of these USD certified coaches are teaching what I consider to be dangerous techniques. In the past I would have never thought of questioning teaching techniques or progressions used by various coaches. The reason was that there are many acceptable ways to get divers to do dives even though I might not agree with the progressions or techniques used. However at this point I feel it is necessary to say something because some good divers are at greater risk because of bad coaching. We have people who pass this education class and still have no idea of how to coach diving. Sometimes they do more harm than good both for the sport but more importantly to the diver. Some use no progressions and have their divers attempting dives that are obviously well above the diver's skill and capability range. Below are 3 more examples I have seen.
Why are USD coaches teaching a "crow hop" to their divers? I understand that there may be something to gain by doing this but slipping off the board or tower is not worth the risk when dealing with safety. Why do they teach this? Because the Chinese are doing it, that's why! At the most visible diving event, the Olympics, the Chinese did it in both the springboard and tower events with no penalty assessed. Why have a rule if it's not going to be enforced? The lack of enforcement may be the reason coaches teach this. It appears also to be a case of "unfair advantage" for those that utilize it, which the rules are supposed to prevent in the first place.
In an effort for a diver to get better rotation on an Inward 2 1/2, a coach was heard telling the diver to lean in toward the board. That diver was already too close. Is that good coaching? Does that suggestion keep this diver safe? How about the coach who is trying to get better reverse rotation? After explaining the C position at takeoff, the diver is told to lean back a little more for a Reverse 2 1/2. These are US Diving safety certified coaches. I'm sure that US Diving didn't teach them this. It appears that there are coaches sacrificing good technique and safety in order to increase a diver's degree of difficulty. These are not the beginning coaches either. Some are at the collegiate level. I find this whole situation unimaginable with all of the education and safety emphasis. There is a difference between being certified and educated. Being certified means that USD is guaranteeing that each coach is using acceptable coaching progressions and techniques that insure the safety of the divers. That guarantee looks questionable to me.
Consider all of the above issues before casting your vote at this convention. In closing I find this statement very appropriate for the future of US Diving. "If you always do what you've always done, you will always get the same results or worse." Are you happy with the way things are and have been? Re-electing the same people with the same ideas will produce the same results or worse. Please think before you vote but get to the convention and vote!