It should be obvious that good board work, as described in the Back Press, should be mastered to some degree prior to attempting any rotation backward.

In Figure A the diver has completed the back press and arm swing to the reach. As the arms swing up to the reach, they should be kept shoulder width or narrower. It is important that the board work is done in a manner that loads the board with maximum energy and leaves the diver in a good position to initiate the rotation. As the arms swing forward and up to the reach in Figure A, the chin is held in line and a slight lean backwards should occur. Because the arms circle forward and up, the reaction is that the feet push into the board in an equal and opposite direction creating rotation. The slight lean backward mentioned earlier produces the distance the dive will end up from the board and assists in this rotation.

Once the reach and body extension has occurred, the knees are drawn up to the hands after the board unloads its stored energy (Figure B). It can be observed that when the back somersault begins its rotation, the whole dive moves up to where the hands were originally placed. Since this appears to be the case, the diver should stand as tall and reach as high as possible. How quickly the arms move to the reach and how quickly the legs are drawn up to the hands when the board recoils will determine the speed of rotation.

To create good rotation, it is important that the knee be brought up to the hands (Figure B). Every movement the diver makes is applied to the same direction the diver intends to rotate. Over-reaching and the swing reaches should not be taught to the beginner. It should be delayed until the diver has developed a good foundation for this rotational direction.

The mention of the chin being held in line refers to being in a neutral position. It is easier to maintain body alignment on take off with the chin in line. This should be the goal for the beginner. It has been observed that if the beginner attempts to look up at the start, they sag at the waist and create a problem. This problem is called cutting into the board (hipping in). This means they finish the dive too close to the board. It is suggested therefore that they keep the chin in a neutral position until they develop enough body control and sense to move to the next step. Once that occurs, then they can look up between the hands for the reach. Until that time the neutral position should be the goal. A nice advantage to the chin in line technique is that many beginners are able to develop spotting cues easier. Spotting is the momentary sighting or visual reference that occurs during some point in a dive.

Once the knees are drawn up to the hands, an effort should be made to make the tuck as compact as possible (Figure C). To do this the diver must use some biceps strength to pull the knees in tightly. This along with keeping the head in keeps the radius of spin small, which affects the speed of rotation.

When moving into multiple rotations backward, timing for the back press reach and extension should be stressed. If the diver draws the knees up too soon, height and rotation will be affected because the board may not have completely unloaded its stored energy by that moment.

• Finish the back press to a high reach.

• Keep the chin in line for the reach.
• Once the board unloads its energy, draw the legs up to the hands.
• Squeeze the tuck/pike immediately.

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