Prevention
Diving

Prevention

 

Most in-ground home and hotel pools, even those equipped with diving boards, are not really safe for diving. This is especially true for adult males, who are usually larger. The deep end in a residential or smaller motel or hotel pool is usually too shallow and short, and the diver can strike his head on the sloping surface of the pool that leads up toward the shallow end.

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Diving injuries can result in quadriplegia—paralysis below the neck—for divers who hit the bottom or side of a swimming pool, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It's also the leading sports-related cause of spinal cord injuries. More than 40 percent of spinal injuries caused by careless diving occur in backyard pools. (The Spruce)

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​Tips

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1.  Know the minimum depths for diving.

2.  Never dive into an above-ground pool.

   • Above-ground pools are too shallow. ​

3.  Never dive or jump off the roof of a building.

4.  Never go headfirst down a slide into a pool.

5.  Never drink and dive.

   • Over half of diving injuries and death involve alcohol or drug use.

6.  Don’t dive into the shallow end or from the side of a pool.

   • Always jump into the deepest part of the pool​.

7.  Always wait until other divers or swimmers leave the diving area before diving.

8.  “Look before you leap."

9.  Never allow more than one person on a diving board at one time.

10.  Keep the diving area and pool deck clean and free of toys or pool equipment.

11.  Keep your dive controlled.

    • Never dive towards the shallow end of the pool.

12.  Dive off the end of the diving board or diving platform.

    1. Do not dive off of the side.

13.  Bounce only once. No running dives.

14.  Never hang on the board.

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If you have any questions or additional information that you think could be helpful to this page or drowning prevention in general, please do not hesitate to contact the ​SWIM ON Foundation.