Diving

About Diving

Diving is separated into many events including Springboard (1 and 3 metre) and platform (5, 7 and 10 metre), and may include synchronised events for both men and women.
Competitions may last for up to 6 days with usually preliminary rounds being held in the morning and finals being held the same night. Up to 11 dives may be required which must be performed including numerous combinations of starting positions, flight movements and twists which determine the degree of difficulty.
Training sessions may range from 1-2 sessions/week to 1-2 sessions/day on average. These may cover water work, dry land training and weight training.
A divers training focuses more on skill and technique rather then kilojoule burning aerobic exercise.

Training Diet

Playing any sport will increase your requirement for energy, carbohydrates, fluids and many other nutrients to maintain the training volume required. Plenty of carbohydrate-rich and low fat foods should be included to ensure energy levels are maintained.

Fluid Needs

A diver's training and competition environment on pool deck is often warm and humid, and can increase fluid loss from the body. At least 2-3 Litres of water should be consumed regularly during competition, dry land and pool training, as dehydration can be detrimental to a diver's performance as it affects their concentration and skill level.
Sports drinks are suitable fluids during long training sessions or competitions as they provide electrolytes and carbohydrate along with the fluid.

What Should I Eat Pre-Event?

Divers should have a small, high-carbohydrate snack about one hour prior to competition, and include a drink of water or sports drink. If eating solid foods pre-event causes discomfort whilst competing, carbohydrate rich fluids may be required such as:

Sports drinks
Low fat milk
Smoothie
Juice
Liquid meal supplement such as Sustagen sport

What Should I Eat/Drink During Competition?

Divers need to ensure they eat enough food and take advantage of opportunities to eat and drink during dives. Divers should develop an eating plan that fits in with their competition schedule and that includes foods that are familiar with them that will not affect their performance. Practising competition eating during training sessions will help to identify food choices that will suit them best.

Some suitable snacks may include:

Sandwiches with low fat fillings (honey/jam/salad/banana etc)
Pasta/rice/noodles with low fat sauce
Low-fat yoghurt
Liquid meals such as Sustagen sport or fruit smoothie

What About Recovery?

Recovery after an event is very important for divers especially if there are upcoming finals the same day. Having a high-carbohydrate snack (crackers, bread, banana, energy bar, yoghurt etc.) immediately following competition or practice will help the refuel the body's muscles and increase recovery prior to the next event/training session.

After competition or practice a high-carbohydrate snack should be followed by a more substantial meal containing carbohydrate and protein. It is also a good time to encourage plenty of fluids.

Other Nutrition Tips

It is important for divers to be organised and have suitable transportable snacks on hand for pre and post training/competition. These may include foods such as cereal bars, fruit, low-fat yoghurt, low-fat muffins and sandwiches.
Frequent consumption of water and/or sports drinks during dives is a good strategy for maintaining hydration.
Making sure that energy intake during competition periods accounts for a reduced energy requirement because of a decreased training load may be required to avoid unwanted weight gain.
Many divers can struggle to maintain low body fat levels. Athletes watching their body fat levels should follow a low-fat diet to maximise performance and help promote long-term good health.

How To Get Involved

For more information on Diving, visit the Diving Australia website at www.diving.asn.au which has links many to state and territory associations and clubs.

Click here to download Diving factsheet (49KB)