Investigating the Effects of Different Supporting Structures on the Performance of Competition Diving Boards

Abstract

In the sport of competitive diving, any sources of inconsistency can mean the difference between a first place finish and missing the podium. In an ideal world, the equipment used in competition (i.e. diving boards) would in no way contribute to this inconsistency, yet in reality, many divers often complain about how inconsistent diving boards feel from facility to facility. This research aimed to investigate one potential source of inconsistency in the performance of diving boards: the supporting structure. In the first phase of research, empirical formulas were developed experimentally for the stiffness and effective mass of a competition diving board in an effort to contribute to the relatively small store of knowledge related to diving boards. In the second phase, experiments were conducted to determine if the supporting structures at Denunzio Pool in Princeton, NJ affected the performance of a diving board. The results of these experiments proved to be inconclusive, so additional experimentation is necessary in order to confidently determine the effects of a supporting structure on the performance of a diving board.