My name is Wayne Oras. I am a former diver and have been a diving coach for some 36 years. As a diver, I was the Big 8 Conference 1 and 3 meter Champion in 1964, '65,and '66 and Collegiate All-America. In 1981 I was a Master's National Champion. My coaching has been in the high schools (District 214 and 211) and park districts in Illinois. I have been the Illinois Swimming Association Diving Chairman for the last 28 years. I was elected into the Illinois Diving Hall of Fame in 1985 and more recently into the Illinois Swimming Hall of Fame.

As you may have guessed, I would like to discuss the Diving Safety issue with you. Diving boards are disappearing from many local swimming pools and I believe it is because of a misinterpretation of the statistical data presented and the fact that the swimming pool industry seems to be focused on water parks. I have been looking at the safety of the sport since 1977. I believe that diving boards are disappearing from swimming pools because of the misconception that the activity is unsafe. For this reason, that misconception makes a decision easy for facilities to remove diving boards and replace them with waterslides and other equipment. All of the statistics I came across were estimates. In Illinois, there has not been a catastrophic injury from the use of diving boards in municipal pools for at least the last 7 years. The estimates that are reported tell a different story. For the last 2 years I have re-researched this area from the recreational perspective and could not find any evidence to support the notion that diving from diving boards in municipal pools is unsafe either recreationally of competitively.

What I did find was a definite need to re-categorize the types of diving injuries and the pools in which they happen. It is easy for any organization to lump all diving injuries under one heading. But because of this procedure, misconceptions arise as to who these injuries are happening to and where they are happening. That confusion makes remedial action almost impossible. When injuries do occur, every one looks to the diving boards. Unfortunately, they are looking at the wrong area of a pool and in most cases even the wrong types of pools. Shallow water is the cause of most injuries from diving. Accidents from diving boards are occurring most frequently in residential, apartment complex and private pools. Divers in these pools miss the deepest part of the pool and injure themselves on the transition slope toward the shallow end. What is missed in these reports is that the diving envelope of a municipal pool is much larger and deeper than that of residential pools. That alone makes municipal (PUBLIC) pools much safer to dive into from diving boards. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's own statistical evidence seems to support this statement. Alcohol appears to play a big part in diving injuries. 50 to 80 percent of all diving injuries have been attributed to alcohol. Alcohol use is not permitted in municipal pools however it is readily available around the others. All of these errors have concealed the success that municipal pool operators have had in the area of diving safety.

This misrepresentation of statistical evidence is affecting competitive diving because of the manner in which these incidents are reported. These injuries have been listed under the heading "Sports Injuries". Diving into a residential pool or shallow water should not be considered a "Sports Injury". Various agencies look at your reports and make assumptions that are having a detrimental effect on the Sport and may cause it to disappear through no fault of its own. People get their exposure to diving in municipal pools. They learn to dive, take lessons and may even join teams at their local pools. Without diving boards, they will no longer have that experience. I beg for your assistance in this matter so that we don't lose the entire activity in the future.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Should there be a need for more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.