Back To Current TopicsLet’s clear up the Confusion!
I feel the need to write this article because coaches still seem to be hashing out old diving safety information with no mention of the latest misconceptions. Recently I listened to a coach talk about Diving Safety in regard to shallow water diving accidents. It was wonderful just as is US Diving’s information on Diving Safety. But again they only discuss shallow water diving.
It is true that most diving accidents occur in shallow water and not even from the use of diving boards. However that information is dated and applied mainly to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. With the studies that surfaced at that time, I believe that most people are aware that shallow water is not safe to dive into. The Sport dodge extinction at that time when that information became public. Yes there are still shallow water diving accidents but it appears that number has dropped substantially because the general public and the swimming industry were educated to the difference between the sport and shallow water.
What is not mentioned is that the latest test for diving was information pertaining to catastrophic diving injuries occurring from the use of diving boards. The confusion that took place was the type of pools where these diving accidents were happening. Residential (back yard) and apartment complex pools with diving boards were giving the sport a black eye in the late 1990’s. These pools have much smaller diving areas as compared to public pools. The injured diver (usually a young adult) was able to dive past the deepest part of the pool and land on the slope to or in the shallow end. These pools with diving boards usually pose little difficulty for small kids but fully-grown young adults jump stronger and are able to dive further out than the smaller children. The other factor contributing to these accidents was the use of alcohol. Over 80% of these accidents involved the use of alcohol. Alcohol is not permitted in public facilities.
No diving contest or practice that I am aware of has ever been held in a residential or apartment complex swimming pool. These are the facts that must be brought out when talking about diving safety. As coaches we should be including this information along with the shallow water scenario as a part of our safety education program for the general public. If we don’t do this, it will come back to haunt us just as the shallow water incidents have done.