Understanding the Dive Numbers and Scoring

“I’m competing a 105B, 303B, 5211A, and some other difficult dives”.

Confused?

Dive numbers can seem complicated, but they become easier to understand with time. Each dive is labeled with a numerical code that tells you what kind of dive it is and how many somersaults and twists it has.

Generally, the code consists of three or four digits and one letter. The first digit indicates the dive group:

  • 1 = forward,

  • 2 = back,

  • 3 = reverse,

  • 4 = inward,

  • 5 = twisting, &

  • 6 = armstand (platform only).

The second digit tells you if it's a flying dive (1) or not (0), though these are rarely performed. The third and fourth digits tell you the number of somersaults and twists, respectively. For example,101 is a forward dive; a 102 is a forward somersault 5331D is a reverse twisting dive with one-and-a-half somersaults and one-half twist.

After the number is called, each dive has a specific body position that the diver may select. The letter indicates body position: A = straight, B = pike, C = tuck, D = free.

Examples:
103B = Forward dive with 1 1/2 somersaults in a pike position
305C = Reverse dive with 2 1/2 somersaults in a tuck position
5253B = Back dive with 2 1/2 somersaults and 1 1/2 twists in a pike position

Why are there these complicated numbering systems?

It has to do with our scoring system. Each dive and variation of a dive has a degree of difficulty (DD) assigned to it for scoring. Lets compare two front dives

  • 101C and 101B

These are both front dives, but competed in two different body positions. What makes one dive more advantageous than the other is the DD of the dive.

  • 101C = 1.2DD

  • 101B = 1.3DD

Now this doesn’t look like much of a difference, but let’s look at the math of the scoring process. If two divers are competing with these dives, and they each earn 5’s from three judges the scoring system works as such.

  • 5+5+5 = 15 x DD

So our divers will have earned a raw score of 15 points on the dive, however, as you can see, the raw score is multiplied by the DD, so one diver will earn

  • 101C will earn 18 total points (15x1.2=18)

  • 101B will earn 19.5 total points (15x1.3=19.5)

Thus the diver with the higher DD of the same dive will outscore a competing diver.