How does diving scoring work? Rules and points explained

Starting on July 31, the European Championships in Swimming, Diving, Artistic Swimming and Open Water Swimming will get underway in Paris, running for two weeks until August 16. Most of the competition will take place at the Centre Aquatique Olympique in Saint-Denis, which already hosted events during the 2024 Olympic Games, while the Seine will provide the backdrop for the Open Water Swimming events at Bras de Grenelle, as well as the high diving competition, with athletes launching themselves from Pont de Bir-Hakeim.

Organized by the European governing body of World Aquatics, the event returns to the French capital for the first time since 1931, while also celebrating the centenary of the first European Swimming Championships, held in Budapest in 1926. A special edition that deserves a closer look at one discipline in particular: diving, arguably the most constantly evolving and technically unique of them all.

The different diving events

When talking about diving, it's important to distinguish between the different disciplines based both on the type of event and the height from which athletes dive. At the European Championships, the main categories will be:

1. Individual diving: divided into the 1-metre springboard, 3-metre springboard and 10-metre platform events.
2. Synchronized diving: divided into the 3-metre springboard and 10-metre platform events.
3. Mixed team event: combining both individual and synchronized dives from the 3-metre springboard and the 10-metre platform.

Further distinctions are made between the men's and women's competitions. In the individual events, the main difference lies in the number of dives required: six for men and five for women. The same applies to synchronized diving, although there are several disciplines: men's pairs, women's pairs and mixed pairs, consisting of one man and one woman. The mixed team event brings everything together, requiring a team of up to four athletes with at least one man and one woman. The format includes one individual 3-metre dive for both the men's and women's competitions, one individual 10-metre platform dive for both men and women, and finally one mixed synchronized dive from both the 3-metre springboard and the 10-metre platform.

Understanding the degree of difficulty

Every dive is identified by a code, consisting of three or four digits followed by a single letter. In the official dive numbering system, the first digit always identifies the dive group, with six categories describing the type of movement performed by the diver: forward, backward, reverse, inward, twisting and armstand, corresponding respectively to Groups 1 through 6. For dives in the first four groups, the second digit indicates whether a flying somersault is included, represented by the number 1 (or 0 if absent), while the third digit indicates the number of half somersaults performed, increasing by one for each additional half rotation. Finally, the letter identifies the body position: straight (A), pike (B), tuck (C) or free (D).

The numbering system changes slightly for the final two groups. In Group 5, which includes twisting dives, the second digit specifies the direction of take-off, using four subgroups: forward, backward, reverse and inward. The third digit still represents the number of half somersaults, while a fourth digit indicates the number of half twists. In Group 6, dedicated to armstand dives, the fourth digit is only used when half twists are included.

All of these factors — half somersaults, half twists, body position and take-off direction — contribute to the dive's degree of difficulty, assigning a coefficient to every dive. The only additional factor taken into account is the naturalness of the water entry, although this does not apply to twisting dives.

How the final score is calculated

Before the competition begins, divers must submit a list of all the dives they intend to perform, known as the Statement of Dive. Each dive is then evaluated by the judges, with scores ranging from 1 to 10, including increments of 0.5 and the possibility of awarding a zero. Judges evaluate not only technique, grace and overall execution, but also the correctness of elements such as the starting position, approach, take-off, movements in the air and water entry.

For individual events there are between five and seven judges, while synchronized events feature between nine and eleven. In synchronized competitions, five judges assess the synchronization between the two divers, while the remaining four evaluate the execution of each athlete individually, working in pairs. The larger judging panel is closely linked to the scoring system, as the highest and lowest scores are discarded.

Taking a five-judge individual event and a nine-judge synchronized event as examples, the procedure becomes clearer. In the individual competition, the highest and lowest scores are removed, leaving three valid scores. In the synchronized event with nine judges, the highest and lowest scores from the four execution judges are discarded, along with the highest and lowest scores from the five synchronization judges. The remaining scores are then added together and multiplied by the degree of difficulty. At that point, the Secretaries record and announce the official score for the dive.

Penalties and disqualifications in diving

Alongside the judges, referees oversee the competition to ensure athletes comply with the rules and that each event is conducted correctly. For example, if a dive is incorrectly announced by the officials, the referee may order an immediate repetition without any penalty. They also have the authority to remove anyone disrupting the proper conduct of the competition and, if necessary, may even replace a judge whose performance is deemed unsatisfactory with a reserve official.

Referees may also intervene directly in the scoring process in the event of infringements or mistakes. For instance, if a diver performs the dive in a body position different from the one indicated in the official dive code, the maximum score allowed is 2.0 points per judge. Should any judge award a higher mark, the referee is responsible for correcting it before the score is officially announced. The same principle applies to mistakes during the flight phase or the water entry, where the maximum score is limited to 4.5 points. A maximum of 2.0 points is also applied if both the referees and judges believe the dive poses a safety risk to the athlete. If the diver performs an entirely different dive, fails to execute it correctly or does not complete it, the referee will declare the attempt failed, resulting in a score of zero.

Finally, every athlete is given sufficient time to prepare and perform the dive after the referee's signal. However, if the delay becomes excessive, a warning may be issued. Should the diver fail to begin within sixty seconds, the attempt will automatically receive zero points.