How to Do Tricks on a Diving Board

Summer and pools and diving boards are synonymous with a good time. Any pool, from a recreational facility to a friend's home pool, will work, as long as it is deep enough and there is a diving board. There are a plethora of tricks to try on diving boards, as well as ones that you can make up on your own. To begin, learn how to do some basic tricks to give you a base level on which to improve.

Instructions

    • 1

      Find a short diving board to begin your trick practice. A one-meter board should provide you with plenty of airtime to do basic tricks and more. Make sure the depth of the pool is sufficient and that you don't have any physical ailments that might interfere with diving. Bounce up and down on the board (without getting into the air) a few times to get used to the specific amount of spring that the board has.

    • 2

      Take a few steps, then pop off the end of the board and land in the water. Your first jump won't be a trick; you will land on your feet. This will further familiarize you with the diving board and the amount of airtime you get, which will be of crucial importance when moving on to more advanced tricks. Next, try a dive. Stand on the edge of the board and with a slight bounce, push off the board and into an angled dive into the water with your hands extended over your head and touching each other.

    • 3

      Do a cannonball. A cannonball is a trick that provides maximum splash and laughs. Get as much air as you can by getting a good step and a big bounce. In the air, hold your knees to your chest and rotate slightly to one side to smack the water with a maximum amount of surface area, which will thus make the biggest splash.

    • 4

      Progress to doing tricks involving flips or somersaults. Begin with the front flip by rotating forward one full rotation then landing on your feet. The technique starts like a dive but you rotate all the way around back to your feet. Most people find the front flip is the easiest flip to do first.

    • 5

      Move to the backflip. With the backflip you hang your heels over the edge of the diving board and face away from the water. After a gentle bounce or two, launch yourself off the diving board away from the board while arching your back and tucking your knees into the chest to spur the rotation. Keep your eyes open and look for visual cues such as the water and the sky to help keep your orientation.