Recreational Diving - frequently asked questions

WHO DECIDES WHAT IS TAUGHT IN EACH LESSON?

All our teachers work to a set session plan which is written by former International Coach and Plymouth City Sports Director Sam Grevett.

Sam has been teaching within and running this lesson programme for 15 years now. (You can find more information on Sam on the coaches profiles page on our website). Regular feedback from the teachers means these session plans are reviewed on a termly or bi-monthly basis.

All session plans relate to the particular grade(s) that class are working towards, although the plans are never set in stone and there is scope within the framework, for teachers to go back to earlier progressions if divers appear to be struggling, or to progress on further if divers are learning rapidly.

WHY DON’T THE DIVERS DO MORE WORK ON THE SKILLS FOR THEIR NEXT GRADE?

We try and give the children a rounded diving experience during these courses.

The lesson is split, so they spend time on the boards and on the poolside. Different children struggle with different skills and if we spent all their lesson time practising the skills they were having problems with, the course would be very boring and there would STILL be no guarantee of passing that award. At least this way, they may not pass an award, but they can still feel they have achieved something, by jumping off the second board for the first time, or trying a back dive from the board for example.

WHY DO DIVERS WHO HAVE PASSED ALL THEIR POOLSIDE GRADES STILL PRACTICE SKILLS FROM THE POOLSIDE?

Even our divers who went to the Commonwealth Games, still do extensive work from the poolside – so this is nothing unusual.

Many progressions to more complex skills, are performed from the poolside. Also, it is important for divers to consolidate what they have previously learnt on a regular basis to ensure the base of the “skills pyramid” remains in place and secure, so that as they develop further up the “skills pyramid” they are still able to perform all the basic elements that make up the more complex skills.

WHY DO SOME DIVERS DO DIFFERENT THINGS TO OTHERS, EVEN THOUGH THE SESSION PLAN IS THE SAME?

The session plans allow teachers to work within a “framework” and will occasionally give them options based on what grade the divers is currently working towards, or what that child specifically needs to work on within a skill group (for example, when working towards the back dive tucked from 1m, divers may do a back fall straight, a back jump tucked or a back dive tucked, depending where they are in the development of that skill).

WHAT GRADES DO THE DIVERS GET ASSESSED ON AT EACH LEVEL?

Beginners - Preliminary, Grade 1 and Grade 2

Improvers - Grade 3 & 4

Intermediate - Grade 5 and Board skills 1 and 2

Advanced - Board skills 3 and bronze

MY CHILD DIVES IN THE SAME GROUP AS THEIR FRIEND BUT THEY PASSED DIFFERENT AWARDS.

In the Intermediate Group this is quite common. On assessment days, divers are initially assessed on Grade 5 depending which they are working towards. If they fail that grade, or if they already have Grade 5, they will be assessed on Board Skills 1 or 2. Some divers may therefore have Board Skills 2 before they pass Grade 5, others may pass Board Skills 2 after they pass Grade 5. It doesn’t really matter exactly how they progress through these, it’s just to give everyone as great an opportunity as possible to pass an award.

MY CHILD SEEMS AS GOOD AS THE DIVERS WHO PASSED THE NEXT AWARD UP, WHY HAVEN’T THEY BEEN ASSESSED ON MORE GRADES?

It’s important to consolidate learnt skills. Occasionally a teacher will feel it would benefit the child to “fast track” them through the class grades, however in 90% of cases, it could actually be detrimental to the child’s progress to skip through basic skills. It is also better for example, to pass their grade 1 during one term and then their grade 2 during another, rather than rushing them through 1 and 2 in one term, only for them to struggle on grade 3 and fail their next assessment. Slowly and steadily often sees the diver progress further. Even our young diving superstar Thomas Daley (National 18 & under champion at 10 years of age) went through the learn-to-dive programme and the awards scheme with everyone else in his group.

. . . . and remember, you might be looking at a different aspect of the skill to what our teachers are looking at. Diving can look very different from the balcony and skills can look very different to a trained teacher who might be looking at one certain part of the skill (for example, what the diver is doing under the water).

WHY CAN’T MY CHILD BE ASSESSED OUTSIDE THE DATES GIVEN FOR ASSESSMENT WEEK?

There is so much paperwork and administration involved in the assessment week (diving assessments usually coincide with Gym and Trampolining assessments too), so we are assessing around 3-400 children in a week within the various activities.

We have to be strict with assessment week as it is just not feasible or practical to assess all those who miss their own assessment class, outside of the dates given. If we allowed one person to do this, we would have to allow everyone – the chaos that would ensue doesn’t bear thinking about!! We do try and cater for those who cannot make their own session, by offering another session for assessments, as long as it is within the assessment dates given.

MY CHILD WILL MISS THEIR ASSESSMENT AND WE CAN’T COME TO A DIFFERENT CLASS – WHAT WILL HAPPEN?

They will have to continue coming to the same level course. Alternatively, you could book them in for a private lesson (£12 for half an hour) and they can practice their skills and be assessed, or a holiday course, where they can be assessed at the end of a week long course. The programme is simply too large for us to offer alternative assessments to those who miss them.

CAN MY CHILD COME TO A DIFFERENT SESSION IF THEY MISS THEIR NORMAL CLASS?

No – the only exception is during assessment week. Classes that are missed are simply lost. This is the same policy throughout all our activities. The reason being that many classes are full and it would not be fair to overfill classes for make up sessions.

MY CHILD WAS ASSESSED ON A SKILL THEY HAVE NOT LEARNT DURING THEIR COURSE

There will only be 2 reasons for this. Either your child was not quite ready to progress onto this skill during their course, or they were away on the occasion this was covered during the term. Session plans are designed to ensure that all grade skills are covered, relevant to that particular group, but obviously divers will not be taught a skill during a course if their progressions are not ready and there is a risk of them hurting themselves.

MY CHILD WAS ONLY GIVEN 1 OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM THE SKILL THEY FAILED DURING THE ASSESSMENT.

Assessors will take into account whether the diver has been able to perform the skills at all during the previous sessions. If they have performed the skills satisfactorily previously, they will be given another opportunity, however if they have never been able to perform that skill, there is no benefit to giving the diver multiple chances to perform the skill.

MY CHILD HAS FAILED THEIR AWARD FOUR TIMES NOW, WHY IS THIS?

There is no hard and fast rule as to how long the various grades will take. As with everything in life, some children find certain skills easy, others find them incredibly difficult. As the grades get harder, particularly from Grade 4 onwards, it can take several attempts to pass their award. We have even had divers who took 3 or 4 years to pass Grade 5, who are still on the programme, still enjoying it and still progressing through the award scheme.

It is of absolutely no benefit to the child (in fact it can be detrimental to your child's confidence and skill development), to skip progressions and to rush through awards if they are not ready for the next step.

Back to recreational diving page

Programme Overview - diving groups and key skills within each group

Plymouth Diving

Specialists in springboard & highboard diving

Menu

Recreational Diving - frequently asked questions