How Synchronized Diving is Scored

Follow the guidelines below to help you understand how synchronized diving is scored. Judging panels for synchronized diving may consist of seven, nine or eleven judges. The FINA standard - that used in the Olympics or world championships, is eleven judges. The only changes for a seven-judge panel are that only three judges are used to score the synchronization instead of five.

The Judges

• The preferred number of judges is eleven and the minimum is seven.
• Three judges (two if nine judges are used) score each of the divers on the execution of the dive for a total of six execution scores.
• Five judges score the synchronization of the dive.

Computing the Score For The Dive

• The high and the low score for each diver in execution is dropped when eleven judges are used leaving two scores for calculation. If using nine judges the highest and the lowest of the four execution scores are dropped leaving two scores that are added together.
• The highest and the lowest of the five synchronization scores are dropped leaving three scores that are added together.
• The execution scores and the synchronization scores are added together for the raw score.
• The raw score is multiplied by the degree of difficulty.
• The total score is then multiplied by 3/5, or 0.6 for the total award on the dive.

As an example, let’s compare the scores from the 2008 Olympic Games for the U.S. team of Jevon Tarantino and Chris Colwill, and the Ukrainian team of Illya Kvasha and Oleksiy Prygorov. During the 2008 Games only nine judges were used, while the FINA standard now is for using eleven judges.

Jevon Tarantino and Chris Colwill – Reverse 3 ½ Somersaults in Tuck – Degree of Difficulty of 3.5

1. Tarantino received execution scores of 4 and 5.
2. Colwill received two scores of 7.
3. The 4 and 7 were dropped for a total of 12 on the execution.
4. The pair received synchronization scores of 7.5, 7.5, 8.5, 8, and 8.5.
5. The high and the low were dropped for a total of 24.
6. The execution score (12) and the synchronization score (24) are added together for a total of 36, and then multiplied by the degree of difficulty of 3.5 for a total of 126.
7. The score of 126 is multiplied by 0.6 for a total award of 75.6 points

Illya Kvasha and Oleksiy Prygorov – Reverse 3 ½ Somersaults in Tuck – Degree of Difficulty of 3.5

1. Kvasha received execution scores of 4.5 and 6.5
2. Prygorov received two scores of 7.5
3. The 4.5 and 7.5 were dropped for a total of 14 on the execution.
4. The pair received execution scores of 8, 7, 8, 8, and 7.5.
5. The high and the low were dropped for a total of 23.5.
6. The execution score (14) and the synchronization score (23.5) are added together for a total of 37.5, and then multiplied by the degree of difficulty of 3.5 for a total of 131.25.
7. The score of 131.25 is multiplied by 0.6 for a total award of 78.75 points