Overview of Parklawn Dive Team and Expectations for Meets

The Parklawn Dive Team is a member of the Northern Virginia Swim League (NVSL), one of the largest swim and dive leagues in the country. The Parklawn dive team was reinvigorated in the summer of 2021 after many years of dormancy.

The dive portion of NVSL is comprised of over 48 teams divided into eight divisions with six teams in each division. NVSL seeds teams every year by competitiveness.

Rules Governing Meets

The dive team participated in both “A” meets and “B” meets, with the former serving as the team competition and the latter serving to enable individuals to practice in a meet environment.

A Meet rules are determined by NVSL/Diving. Dive and technical rules are made by USA Swimming/Diving. NVSL publishes a yearly handbook with copies available from the team rep or via a link to the USA Swimming and Diving Rulebook on the Parklawn resources page.

Meets are conducted and officiated entirely by volunteers. Referees and judges require specialized training, which is provided via NVSL over the summer. Each home meet requires one referee, two judges, one announcer, two table workers to mark down/calculate the judges scores and concession Workers. Away meets require three judges and two table workers. In total a meet has one referee, five judges, an announcer and four table workers.

Events

All dives are performed on a low board (one meter). Dives for dual meets occur in the following order unless the coaches agree otherwise:

Freshmen (age 10 and under): two required dives (101 and 201) and one optional, for a total of three dives. Front or back jump may be used as an optional dive. A diver may substitute 001 for the 101 as the required dive , 002 for 201 as the required dive. There is no position specified for dives 001 and 002.

Juniors (age 11-12): two required dives (101 and 201) and two optional dives, for a total of four dives. Each from a different group of dives (two optional dives from five dive groups).

Intermediates (age 13-14): two required dives (101 and 201) and three optional dives, for a total of five dives. Each from a different group of dives (three optional dives from five groups).

Seniors (age 15 and over): three required dives (101, 201and 401) and three optional dives, for a total of six dives. Each from a different group of dives (three optional dives from five groups).

Meets

Dual Meets (“A” Meets): The NVSL Diving Committee publishes a dual meet schedule, based on six team diving divisions. These meets occur on Tuesday evenings, starting at 6:00 p.m. (June and July). The meets typically end by 8:00/8:30 p.m. unless there is a weather delay. All dual meets must be completed prior to the Division Individual Championship Meet. There are 5 dual meets each season.

In a dual meet, each team can enter 32 divers. In each age group, girls and boys compete separately, and the top three in each event (boys and girls) score points for the team (1st place = 5 points, 2nd place = 3 points and 3rd place = 1 point). At the end of the meet, the team receiving the most points wins the meet. Coaches may enter more than the “math” allotted divers by gender and age group (16 divers by gender, 4 per age group) as long as the total divers does not exceed 32. In theory a coach could enter 32 male divers in the 10 and under age group if the coach thought that was the best strategy (which would likely be never!)

From a Division scoring perspective the winning team in each dual meet receives five points. The losing team receives three. In case of a tie, each team receives four points. No points are credited to a team that forfeits a meet, while the other team receives five points. If neither team can meet within the agreed upon period or reach agreement on another day and time, both will score zero. A trophy is awarded to each division champion based upon total points earned during the season.

B Meets: There are two to three developmental “B” Meets over the season, based on team availability. B Meets occur Thursday evenings beginning at 6:00 pm and conclude around 9:00 pm. Volunteers are also needed for the B Meets, similar to those delineated under the A/Dual Meets, but the meet is less formal and is a good place for volunteers to try a new job.

Other Meets:

The Divisional Championship Meet, or “Divisionals”, concludes the regular season of competition. It takes place on the Sunday morning following the final Dual/A Meet of the season with all six teams of the Division. The Division Champion Team is recognized with a trophy and the Sportsmanship Award is announced. Divers compete within their age groups and complete the same required dives as in the regular season. Each team may enter 16 divers in total (combined boys and girls) and divers must dive in their assigned age group. In each age group, the top five finishers receive a plaque, and the top two finishers qualify for Individual All Stars (third place is an alternate in case first or second place cannot attend). In terms of volunteers, the most experienced judges and referees are chosen from across the division.

Cracker Jack (Sunday mid-July) – This is an individual dive even for divers at a certain dive skill aptitude yet who are unlikely to participate in the Divisional meet. This is not a required event to attend but the Dive Coaches may request your divers participate to continue to improve their skills and experience. Divers who dive in Cracker Jack cannot compete in the Divisional meet.

Wally Martin Memorial Event–The Wally Martin Memorial Event (Sunday early July) is an individual event on the 3 meter board, also known as the “high” board. The NVSL Dive uses a 1 meter board and Parklawn Pool does not have a 3 meter board (most pools don’t). Both Parklawn Pool boards are 1 meet boards. The Wally Martin is a USA Dive event meant for more seasoned divers who practice in the off-season or otherwise during the summer on 3 meter boards. If your diver does this our coaches are more than happy to enter them in and support them in the event. Please notify your coach if you think your child is qualified to participate in the Wally Martin.

Individual All-Stars (IAS) is the season ending NVSL/Dive league championship meet held on the Sunday following the Divisional Championship Meets. Individuals qualify for the IAS meet based on their placement in the Divisional meet (top two). Divers compete within their age groups and complete the same required dives as in the regular season. In terms of volunteers, the most experienced referees and judges are chosen from across the league.

Spectator's Guide to Diving

How do I know what the diver is going to do? Dives are described by their full name (e.g. reverse 3 1/2 somersault with 1/2 twist) or by their numerical identification (e.g. 5371 D), or dive number. Most dives use three digits and a letter. Twisting dives utilize four numerical digits beginning with the number five followed by three digits and a letter. The position of the numbers within the dive number will tell you the direction of the dive, the number of rotations (if somersault or twists measured in half rotations; e.g.; “2” is one full rotation) and the letter indicates the position (see position descriptions below). Rotations/Somersaults - Number of head to toe rotations. If the number of rotations is listed as 2, it means one full rotation. (Example: 7 = 3 1/2 somersaults). Twisting - Number of twists (Example: 3 = 1 ½ twists).

Dive numbers are created using these guidelines, see examples below:

• Forward Dive - 102B: Forward (1) one somersault (02) pike position (B)
• Back Dive - 201C: Back (2) dive (01) tuck position (C)
• Reverse Dive - 302C: Reverse (3) one somersault (02) tuck position (C)
• Inward Dive - 401C: Inward (4) dive (01) tuck position (C)
• Twist Dive - 5231D: Twist dives always begin with a 5, Back (2) 1 1/2 somersaults