Hitting the board is not something that any diver wants to happen, but in our imperfect world, it does occur. Very few divers have been through their career and have not hit the board in some manner. For most, this involves the feet, but for an unlucky few, this can be a bit more extreme and dangerous, involving the head and the hands.
Not to belittle the importance of hitting the board, but what I want to concentrate on here is what the repercussions are with regard to judging a dive, and a diver, that hits the board. The reason this is important is that other than the obvious error, the rules that surround this are different depending on what type of contest you are judging.
FINA, USA Diving and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Rules
According to FINA rules - the rules that govern competitions run by USA Diving, the AAU and all international competitions, there is no mandatory deduction if a diver hits the board. That's right, NO mandatory deduction! Now remember, this is different from high school rules, but according to FINA, any deduction in the score is up to the discretion of the judge.
The reason for this is that according to FINA, there are degrees of difference when hitting the board. The rules allow a judgment to be made by the judge as to how severe this error is.
Hitting the tips of your toes is much different than crashing your heels into the board on an inward 1 ½, or smacking both hands when reaching for the entry on a reverse 1 ½.
For example, if a diver hits the board with their heels on an inward 1 ½ in pike, it will obviously disrupt the dive and the overall impression. On the other hand, if the tip of the big toe barely touches on the same dive, it will more than likely not disrupt the dive and should not receive a major deduction.
In either case, the rules do not specify a penalty, and allow the judge to use their own discretion as to how much the diver should be penalized.
FINA Rule With Respect to Diving Safety
If the diver touches the end of the board or platform, or dives to the side of the direct line of flight, each judge shall exercise personal opinion regarding the deduction to be made. Properly executed dives should be a safe distance from the board or platform and should enter the water directly in front of the board or platform. (Source: FINA Judging Manual)
High School Rules
The rules for high school diving, while similar in many aspects to FINA rules, differ on this point.
High school rules, set forth by the National Federation of High School Athletics give very little leeway to the judge when a diver hits the springboard. According to the rule, the judge must score the dive in the unsatisfactory range – ½ to 2 points, if the diver hits the board. This score is mandated to the judge by the event referee who makes the judgment as to whether the diver hit the board or not.
If the referee does not make that distinction, then the judge who believes that the diver did hit the board, may consider that dive unsatisfactory and award a score from ½ to 2.
High School Rule on Awarding Points:
Section 7 ART. 4 …A dive is unsatisfactory if, in the diving referee’s opinion:
b. a diver hits the diving board; (Source: NFHS Swimming and Diving and Water Polo Rules Book)
