After a quick scan of the 2001-2002 NFHS rule book and all of the NFHS and IHSA handouts, it appears that rather than correcting this rule they chose drop it entirely. It appears to have been deleted from the rulebook.
To: The National Federation Of High School Associations Swimming/Diving
Administrator and Beth Sauser Illinois High School Association
From: Wayne Oras Buffalo Grove HS, Illinois
Re: Rule: 9-7-4(b) Deleted Section
Appeared in the 2000-2001 Swimming and Diving Major Rules Changes handout at the Illinois Fall Rules Interpretation Meeting. This would appear on the back of the last page.
9-7-4(b) Delete "the diver uses the tuck position on a twisting dive
listed in free position other than dives 5152, 5221, 5231,5321, and
5331." [In the current RuleBook it is on page 36, 9-5-6(d) ].
Proposal
Reinstate the above Rule. (In writing this proposal I found it rather difficult to reference the material in the handout and the RuleBook because the Rule, Section, Article numbers and letter did not match in the handout, the RuleBook Descriptions or the Situation and Rulings section. Because of this confusion, I highlighted these mis-matches to call your attention to them.)
Rationale
I'm not sure why the Federation has chosen to delete this particular rule from the RuleBook but I am sure that an over-site into the repercussions that follow has occurred. This is a good example of what is termed giving an obvious "unfair advantage" to some competitors which is what the rules are suppose to prevent. In essence what has happened is that kids with lesser talent to do the other twisting dives correctly, have been given an advantage over the divers who can do these dives properly.
The rule for a 5132 Forward 1 1/2 somersault with 1 twist Free is the best example of what I mean. A few years ago the Federation added the rule that didn't allow the tuck to be used during this dive and inserted a penalty that was no more than a score of 2. It is still contained in the RuleBook under Situations and Rulings, Page 64, 9-7-4 SITUATION C. This was the right thing to do.
The RuleBook defines [pg. 36. 9-5-6(d)] the "free position in which a combination of positions may be used to perform twisting dives". In the above dive 5132 free position, it is the pike and straight positions. The degree of difficulty was set on this basis. Allowing the knees to bend makes it easier for a diver to complete this dive. It also displays the unfairness in the rules to the diver who uses the pike and straight positions because whether the knees are straight or bent the same degree of difficulty is assigned. That would mean that they are the same when in fact one is much easier to complete than the other.
Unless you are willing to change all of the twisting degrees of difficulty to reflect that using the tuck makes the dive easier, I would suggest that Rule: 9-5-6(d) be reinstated to remove the obvious advantage deletion of this rule has given to a non-quality diver.
Understanding Free Position and Twisting Dives
When degrees of difficulty are set for twisting dives, many considerations are used. I will try to provide a few simple examples. The first is the position as given for dive 5311 pike 2.2 (Reverse Dive 1/2 twist). As the rule states, the pike position must be shown before the twist can occur [page 38, 9-7-5(e)]. When this same dive is done straight the degree of difficulty lowers to 1.9. Showing the pike position first makes this dive more difficult even though the straight position reflects a higher degree of difficulty on other dives.
When dives like 5331 free (Reverse 1 1/2 somersault 1/2 twist) were initially performed, there was only one way to do this dive. It started as a Reverse dive 1/2 twist straight and then the remaining 1 1/2 somersault was completed in the tuck position. As time went on, another way to perform this dive that kept the same degree of difficulty was to start a Reverse somersault straight, insert the 1/2 twist and then pike down to complete the remaining 1 1/2 somersault. The positions and the moment the twist was initiated were the key to keeping the degree of difficulty the same.
At the highest level of diving, dive 5152 free (forward 2 1/2 somersault 1 twist) is the only dive thus far that has tested the degree of difficulty criteria at the high school level for the free position. The dive for ease of explanation can be done both pike and tuck. The dilemma is that one is much harder than the other but they are both assigned the same degree of difficulty. The question with this dive is how do you set the degree of difficulty to reflect the difference without changing the criteria used in setting up the difficulty charts? It has yet to be determined. Luckily there are not many high school divers that even attempt this dive.
It appears that most people are aware that dives 5233 and 5333 free (Back and Reverse 1 1/2 ss 1 1/2 twist) can only utilize the straight and pike positions. If all coaches and officials knew how twisting dives were supposed to be performed, there would not be a need for this rule. Unfortunately that is not the case. The deletion of rule (page36) 9-5-6(d) in essence turns the twisting group into chaos for those of us that teach these dives and those that have to judge them.