Diving: Guts. Grace. Glory?

KNOXVILLE, TN - August 17, 2014: Lacey Houser during the 2014 USA Senior Diving National Event Finals at Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Matthew S. DeMaria
Photo Courtesy: Matthew S. DeMaria

By Erin Keaveny, Swimming World College Intern

“Guts. Grace. Glory.”

USA Diving’s motto is short, sweet, and sums up a whole sport in three words. The first two terms are pretty obvious to anyone who has witnessed an athlete voluntarily throwing themselves off of a board or platform, spinning and twisting multiple times, and finding that perfect entry. It’s the glory that’s a little more confusing.

Let’s be honest, diving isn’t a sport most people know, or care a lot about, and if they do claim to know anything about it 50 percent of the time they’re actually talking about scuba. We get a single shining moment every four years when the Olympics roll around, and that’s about it. I’d go out on a limb and claim that most divers have felt unappreciated, misunderstood, or like they don’t get any credit  at some point during their career.

Lexi Held of the University of San Diego relayed her experiences in a way most divers can relate to: “I often get the question ‘Oh, we have a dive team?’ I wish more people knew about the sport in general, and knew that USD actually has a team. People also often ask ‘Oh, so you do swimming?’ No, they are two different sports.”

Mikaela Thompson, the 2016 Ivy League one meter champ from Harvard University, observed “I think that diving gets some recognition, but that the problem is swimming and diving as a whole doesn’t get as much attention as some other sports. There are also a lot fewer people who come to watch our meets than other sports so that can be a little disappointing.” Part of the problem is that swimming doesn’t receive nearly as much popular acknowledgment as other sports. When diving is often lumped in as a minority of another under appreciated sport, it’s a recipe for becoming virtually forgotten.

So where does this whole glory thing come in? It’s not like divers are getting drafted into professional leagues or frequently signing contracts with big brand names.

The kind of glory associated with diving doesn’t come from winning televised championships, or achieving fame and recognition. Although it can come from a big win, there’s definitely some glory in that, the real glory you can find in diving has nothing to do with trophies and titles.

“Obviously there is glory in winning an event, but I think the sport is about much more than winning, and really about the journey which comes along with developing into a better diver,” Held said.

There’s glory in riding the board with timing that has become second nature, in reaching new heights, in kicking out at just the right spot and in breaking the surface of the water at the perfect angle.

There’s glory in the personal achievement that’s such an integral part of any individual sport. There isn’t a better word to describe the rush of emotions that follow overcoming a mental block or conquering a new dive.

There’s glory in competing for your school, for your coaches and for yourself. Even if there aren’t any spectators, the opportunity to represent your school in the sport that you love is something special.

You don’t need a bench mob when you have coaches, teammates and a community of other athletes standing behind you. When you have the camaraderie that divers do, who cares if the general population forgets you.

Not everyone is cut out for the insanity that is diving. It takes guts, it takes grace, and when everything comes together, it’s glorious.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x