A Requiem For Diving In The United States
Most people are aware that I have had differences with members of the United States Diving Governing Board. My objections are all over this web site. The results of the Synchronized diving events verify what I have always believed.
This Organization has endorsed divers who were past their prime to continue their diving careers. The idea may have started with good intentions but ended in complete failure. The people in charge figured that our best hopes, for multiple medals, were the synchro events. Our divers were not even close to the medal rounds.
USA has missed all medals in the Synchronized Diving and individual events this year. The only reason the USA won a Gold Medal back in 2000 was our diver didn’t falter like the 3 that were ahead of her. If they had not faltered, this would be the second Olympic Games the USA would have walked away without any medals.
The goal of the organization has been to win medals internationally. The fact is that USA Diving has fallen further away from that goal. My objection to all of this is that the more we have focused on and emphasized winning medals, the further away from them we have gotten!
What affect will our poor showing have on the growth of the activity? As an outsider it appears that the number of participants in diving has fallen. The same seems to be true of the coaching numbers. One of the organization’s objectives was to increase the number of participants. They have not stressed the importance of the entry levels and its value to strengthening the competitive level in the sport. I have asked where the next Champion will come from if they don’t start becoming more vocal in support of the sport on the lower levels. The sport under USD has become smaller and turned into a sport for the rich. All one has to do is look at the cost of membership for both the divers and coaches. With the way the economy is membership fees are too expensive.
Diving has lost its luster under the present system. Instead of being near the top, we have been deceived and are getting closer to the cellar. I believe that certain people manipulated the membership into trying something different for their own gratification. In doing so, they effectively strangled our diving production. Where are all those medals we were told would come if we followed their lead? We followed the "Chinese Way" but didn’t get the same results. US Diving has become a closed activity where nobody’s opinion matters except that "god of Diving", whomever he/she might be. He/she (they) deserve a raspberry award for successfully crippling the sport.
"When there is an extremely small base, the competitive level at the top is not very good." I wrote that statement back in 1999 and here we are! Also near that time I wrote that "diving will begin in many third world countries and somewhere in the future they will beat us." Well, the future has arrived.
The idea of a Synchronized diving event sounded good when first introduced. Tom Gompf did not foresee the affect it would have by limiting the number and quality of the divers at the Games. Whatever transpired since the last Olympics was not complimentary to the Sport. Every country had the same dilemma to face. The result is diving was not represented by the best divers in the world. How did synchro come to overshadow the individual events?
The title describes my belief that the increase in certification requirements and membership fees has driven divers and coaches away from the sport. The only focus appeared to be on those divers who were Nationally and Internationally bound along with the idea of training centers and the use of roughly 18 coaches. I feel that was the intention of those who came up with the "Plan" a few years ago. The intent was for a certain group to have control of the sport. Everything leading up to this year’s (2004) Olympic Games seemed to be moving according to the "Plan". However the proof is in the results… no medals won by a USA diver. The last twelve years have proven to be a debacle.
The leadership has successfully chipped away competitive diving’s base and now may fall in on itself. Through all of this I keep hearing about all the medals we have won in the past. They are living past glories when present failures are the result of changing a process that was once successful. They ignored the old adage, "If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it". Now it’s broken! How are they going to fix it or can they?
I will be interested to see what happens after the games are over. Will a change be coming or will it be business as usual? I believe that if the same course is pursued the activity will be dead, not just crippled and I surely hope I don’t see that happen in my lifetime.
Postscript:
It appears now that the membership fees will soar for both divers and coaches who register as clubs. It's interesting to hear that this came up at the end of the convention which didn't allow for much discussion. I believe that there will now be an exodus from USD. I believe that the Junior and novice levels will disappear under USD. The price has become prohibitive.
For those who are unaware, I have been the only person writing articles attempting to change the mentality that diving is truly a safe activity both recreationally and competitively. USD has seen the loss of diving boards across the country but has done little to curb that trend. I got a call from the convention asking for any suggestions I might have. My answer was that USD has diving safety information but has not put it out to others outside of USD.It also has to address the recreational side of the activity because those are the pools aspiring young divers develope the interest in diving. Those pools are also the ones where many diving programs operate. Without diving boards in those and many other pools, the activity will become extinct.
I have also written articles where I believe so called experts voice their opinions about the safety of the sport and really have no idea what they are talking about. I have said many times that I can't do it alone and I shouldn't have to. I always thought that USD's Director of Education and Safety was responsible for that. Obviously I was wrong. If Diving is going to be a lasting activity, everyone must get involved in spreading the word and intervening when someone says the activity is unsafe.
Since writing the above Ray Rudd has passed away. He will be missed by all. His generosity to diving has been something amazing. Unfortunately he left funds to US Diving and its administration. These are the same people that I have been complaining about for years. They have endorsed and enforced all of the proceedures and education that have led us to our first non-medal winning performance in the history of the USA Olympics. That funding will continue the downward trend in our International success because the people in charge still think they have the answers to success. With new position titles the same old people with the same old ideas will be trying to do the same old things that have not been successful. With Ray's contribution they will be able to do it longer now. We have already missed the medal rounds and may be closing in on missing the finals completely. The future looks bleak from here.