It is commonly agreed that entries put the finishing touch on a dive. It is also the last impression that is left with the judges. Entries can be splashless or look like a nuclear explosion. To make a splashless entry it is necessary to understand a few basic principles regarding the path of an entry along with body position at and after impact with the water. The objective is to complete a dive so that the parabolic arc of this dive finishes its path in a straight down line to and through the water surface. It can be likened to releasing a rock from a stationary position. When released, it falls straight down. That would be the ideal finish for any dive.

Figure 1 demonstrates the parabolic arc (dotted line) a dive will travel to and through the entry. It should be noted that the straighter down the dive goes upon entry, the higher the score will be for the dive. How vertical the entry is doesn't necessarily mean a splashless entry is impossible to achieve. The objective of an entry is to get the entire body to pass through the same opening in the water that the hands or feet create (letter B of both Figures). This path should be continuous until the body passes through the surface. If the arc of this path is still traveling forward at the point of entry (Figure 1 solid line) and the diver tries to fulfill the above goal, the dive will not go in the water vertical at point B. Even if the diver is vertical at this point, the dive will end up past the vertical line. As the hands open a spot in the water, the arms, head, shoulders, hips, legs and feet elongate the original opening the hands created. Water will be splashed forward and with the increased water resistance acting upon the body, the dive will rotate past the vertical line. When parts of the body are in the water and others are still in the air, water resistance creates rotation, moving the dive past vertical. With this in mind, the diver must attempt to get every dive to travel the arc in Figure 1 (dotted line) and align the body parallel to that line Figure 2.

This over-simplified version of entries does not consider the rotation of a particular dive. Rotation does not stop just becasue the diver kicks out. It does slow down dramatically because of the changes in body position but it never stops completely. The diver must come out early enough to allow this rotation to place the body alignment vertical at point B in Figure 2.

The letters C and D in this figure denote the directions possible for saving dives (steering away from the bottom of the pool). A save is a continuation of the already established rotation of a dive as it goes underwater. The save can be initiated as early as that moment when the diver is waist deep to being completely submerged in the water. How early or late a save is initiated depends on the depth of the pool. If the diver is going to do a forward roll under water, he/she should not begin until the hips have passed through the surface. If done too early, a bend at the waist can be detected above the water line. The same is true for the scoop save. The initial move should not be made until the knees are underwater. This is discussed further in Saves and Underwater Steering on this site.

Once the path of the dive is established, the diver can begin proper body alignment for the entry. When the body enters the water, it should form a straight line from hands to toes paralleling the bottom of the parabolic arc in Figure 2. This allows the entire body to pass through the same opening in the water. Shooting an arrow or throwing a broomstick into the water is a good example to demonstrate entry dynamics. I you throw a broomstick into the water like a spear, it will go in without a splash. The reason is fairly simple. It will follow the line of force by which it was tossed. The original hole made when the tip touched the water is not allowed to close abruptly because of its length. This splashless (rip) entry can be observed whether it is thrown straight down or at any angle down. Because the stick is rigid it can be observed that it continues to travel the same path under water.

Squeezing the biceps against the ears removes slack in the shoulders and adds stability to the head and neck on impact at point B. Most of the splash and some injuries occur when the head, arms and shoulders are not properly aligned. The body must be held firm and in line through impact. Collapsing at impact not only destroys the dive but may cause serious injury to the diver. The diver should imagine a point at the surface of the water and another directly below it on the pool bottom. After touching the surface point, the diver should hold that same line to a corresponding point on the pool bottom. [IT SHOULD BE NOTED HERE THAT THE DIVER WILL NOT ACTUALLY HOLD THIS LINE ALL THE WAY TO THE POOL BOTTOM.] Once the entire body is under water, the diver can begin an underwater save (steering away from the bottom as shown in Figure 1 C or D). Distorting the original alignment as much as possible will cause rapid deceleration and/or rotation under water to avoid the pool bottom. Whatever a diver does underwater is not a criterion for judging any dive.

• The more vertical the line of entry (Figure 1 dotted line), the better the chances for a high score and potential splashless entry.
• Align all body segments so that they form a straight line from hands to toes.
• Hold firm on the line of entry and through water impact.
• Once underwater, begin a save (steering away from the bottom).

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