Scuba Diving · Competitive diving
Competitive Diving
Springboard, platform and synchronized diving, and how the judges score a dive.
Advertisement
Our words
The sport of diving
Diving is not as common as scuba diving in Nigeria. It involves jumping from a diving board or exploring underwater, usually while performing acrobatics. It is an activity where the diver has to jump headfirst into the water.
It is recognized internationally and is one of the most popular sports of the Olympic Games. Diving athletes possess some of the features of gymnasts and that of dancers. It shares a governing body with the other aquatic sports: World Aquatics (formerly FINA) internationally and the Nigeria Aquatics Federation at home. Some of the elite divers were formerly gymnasts or dancers, with similar features.
Diving comprises different categories: springboard diving (1 m and 3 m), platform or high diving (10 m) and synchronized diving. In the diving competition, divers must be able to perform a set number of dives according to requirements, which include somersaults and twists and are scored on whether and how well they completed all the facets of the dive following the movement of their body and the amount of splash made while entering the water.
Each judge gives a score out of ten, in half-point steps, looking at the approach, the takeoff, the flight and the entry. The highest and lowest scores are dropped, and the total of the remaining scores is multiplied by a degree of difficulty gained from the number and combination of movements achieved. The diver with the highest score following a series of dives is declared the winner of the game.
Checked 30 September 2026
The events
| Event | Height | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Springboard | 1 m and 3 m | The diver uses the spring of a flexible board to gain height for somersaults and twists |
| Platform (high diving) | 10 m (also 5 m and 7.5 m) | Dives from a rigid tower, including armstand dives |
| Synchronized diving | 3 m and 10 m | Two divers perform the same dive together and are judged on timing as well as execution |
Nigeria at the Games
Diving has been on the Olympic programme since 1904 and on the Commonwealth Games programme for decades, but we have found no record of a Nigerian diver at the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games or the African Games. Nigeria’s aquatics athletes have competed in swimming. The Nigeria Aquatics Federation, affiliated to World Aquatics, is responsible for developing the sport.
Quick answers
Competitive diving: quick answers
How are dives scored?
Each judge gives a score from 0 to 10 in half-point steps for the approach, takeoff, flight and entry. The highest and lowest scores are dropped and the rest are added up and multiplied by the dive’s degree of difficulty.
What are the Olympic diving events?
The 3 m springboard, the 10 m platform, and synchronized 3 m springboard and 10 m platform, for men and women.
Does Nigeria have Olympic divers?
We have found no record of a Nigerian diver at the Olympic, Commonwealth or African Games. The Nigeria Aquatics Federation governs the sport.