The purpose of the approach and hurdle is to afford the diver a consistent means of getting to the end of the diving board to be able to safely perform a dive. The design of the hurdle is to change most of the linear momentum (walking motion) to vertical motion (the jump from one foot). This can be achieved consistently if the diver learns how to set up a hurdle. The accompanying drawing demonstrates this notion.

Speed of the walk, length of the walking steps and length of the step before the hurdle will affect a good hurdle and ultimately take-off into a dive. The diver must find a comfortable starting point. Where he/she starts must not over-exaggerate the size of any of the walking steps. To gain the most consistent hurdle, the diver must be able to walk at the same rate of speed, using the same size steps every time the approach is performed.

Once the above is mastered, setting up the hurdle can become the focus of attention. As with the approach, a decision as to the length of the hurdle must be made. As a rule of thumb, I have divers take 3 baby steps as the measurement for hurdle length which seems to coincide with their height and walking gate. From this point we can make any fine adjustments as needed. Hurdle length is a crucial element but must be comfortable and not over-exaggerated. The length of the hurdle step helps define the distance a dive ends up from the from the end of the diving board. All things being equal, a dive will be two and one half to three times the hurdle length (distance) from the end of the diving board.

An analogy of what happens here would be to imagine a van going 5 miles an hour. You are in it, the sliding door is open and you decide to jump out. What happens? Because you're in the van, you are moving at 5 mph. When you jump out, you are still traveling 5 mph because air resistance at that speed has a negligible affect. Once your feet touch the ground, friction stops their movement forward. However your shoulders are still moving at 5 mph and thus you must take a few steps to maintain your balance so you don't fall on your face. The same principal holds true for the hurdle except you are not traveling at 5 mph. When you jump from point C to D in the diagram, you are moving forward at a much slower speed. When your feet touch the end of the board, they stop because of friction with the board surface. The shoulders however are still moving forward. This along with the bending of the board upon landing establishes a body lean forward that produces the distance from the end of the board.

In recent years, I have allowed certain divers to shorten up the hurdle step length because of the newer cheese boards. Over the years they have become more flexible. This increase in flexibility seems to toss divers a little further away from the end of the board. Shortening the hurdle step length a bit seems to remedy this by-product of newer technology.

In the drawing, when the diver reaches point C, he/she has shifted body alignment from the heel to the ball of the foot at the same time as the knee and arms move upward simultaneously. The diver's body forms an upside down number four. The most important concept here is that the entire body is aligned over the rear leg and on the ball of the foot (The jump leg). As the diver extends into the hurdle, he/she should continue to reach upward, toward point A which is high over the end of the board. This action seems to help stabilize the upper body by not allowing the shoulders to drift behind the center of gravity. That would cause the diver to land at point D leaning backwards. U.S. Diving Safety Certification focuses on the up and out principle of safety. When a dive goes up and out, there is no chance of a diver colliding with the diving board. When a diver sets up the hurdle reaching for point A, he/she in essence is setting up a basic foundation to insure that the landing at point D will allow the dive to travel up and out. When a diver reaches and extends to a point in front of his/her position, it is next to impossible to lean backward.

Once the hurdle is airborne, the diver should lower the knee pointing the toe on that foot directly toward the end of the board and at the same time bring the trail leg forward next to the hurdle leg. The arms will stay up and out to the sides, slightly in front of the shoulders, in preparation for landing at point D. The knee down action should occur as the diver nears the top of the hurdle arc. This lever action raises the body's center of gravity on the parabolic arc giving the diver the sensation of remaining in the air longer on the hurdle. The diver will be descending from the top of the hurdle with both feet next to each other well before the landing takes place. This position affords the diver the luxury of knowing if he/she is in a good position to do the dive.

How a hurdle is set up will carry over to the end of the board and have a direct affect on the performance of any given dive. How well the board work is mastered will determine what type of dives a diver can perform. It is the basic foundation for all dives using the approach and hurdle. The harder the dive to be performed, the more exact and consistent the board work must be.

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