Diving Safety measures to be noted

Every summer, newspapers report diving accidents and fatalities occurring during dives. However, experts in aquatic sports feel that practically all diving accidents can be avoided if the sport is approached with a modicum of common sense. Analysis of diving indicates that there are 3 points at which a diver faces the possibility of injury: 1) striking the board as he passes it; 2) impact on the surface of the water; 3) contact with the bottom of the pool or diving area.

If the diver keeps visually aware of the board tip, he can minimize the possibility of striking it with his body. Even in the hurdle, the tip can be observed with peripheral vision. Many beginners seem to make the mistake of looking straight ahead, which makes it difficult for them to be accurate in landing or balancing. Beginners should take their first board jumps under the supervision of a qualified instructor. A smooth, controlled walk on the board, with the weight carried quickly from heel to ball of foot should provide a proper take-off. Heavy pounding on the heels and lack of transfer of weight forward, jerkiness, distortion of body position, and speed variation in steps, are all practices which may result in the driver’s striking the board. They may cause a too vertical rise or an actual cutback which brings the diver’s body too close to the tip of the board.

Injuries from impact with the surface of the water are often the results of a diver’s overestimating his ability. Divers should be restrained from using boards higher than the one-meter board until they are proficient at the low board. A shallow or flat entry from a low board may cause minor contusions, some physical discomfort and possibly loss of breath. From a higher board, injuries may be more severe-for example, broken blood vessels, black eyes and bloody noses, and possible vertebral injury. Back, neck and shoulder injuries may result from the type of water entry in which one part of the body is stopped by the impact with the surface and the other continues in the direction of rotation. This may be caused by leaning too far forward on take-off, or lack of body tension in flight, and also by a strong effort to correct a dive which is going over by an overpull in the opposite direction.

Underwater recovery is important as a safety factor. The diver must hold his position, since relaxing tension too soon, rising to the surface before the momentum of the dive is spent, or landing on the bottom, may cause injuries similar to the strains imposed by an entry impact. An observer should watch the beginning diver’s underwater position. Should his arms separate widely under water or drop beneath the body, the head is vulnerable to striking the bottom. The landing impact must be controlled by the arms and shoulders beneath the total body weight, or by the feet and legs in case of feetfirst entry.

In natural water diving, perhaps the most frequent cause of accident is unfamiliarity with the water depth or the

Proper standing take-offs and water entries

1. Starting position for all standing forward dives
2. Starting position for oil back dives
3. Body and limb position for straight up and down entry all reverse dives with body straight, or double reverse with tuck or pike, requiring this entry.
4. Proper position of head, arms and legs, on all back dives requiring feetfirst entry.
5. Proper position of head, arms and legs, on all forward dives calling for a feetfirst entry.
6. Proper position of head, arms and legs, for all back dives calling for a head first entry.
7. The straight up and down entry, correct when making inward dive or inward 1 somersault.
8. Proper position of arms, head and legs on forward dives calling for a headfirst entry.

existence of rocks and other dangerous debris at the bottom. A commonsense approach would rule out diving in unfamiliar water before the bottom has been carefully explored.

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