DIVING: Flip it, Rip it, Win it. That’s the ultimate goal of a diver, but how does this all work, what are the mechanics that create diving? Torque and the Laws of Motion created diving that’s what. To each and every dive there is a routine. And each routine begins with changing the fulcrum. The purpose of the fulcrum is to change the flexibility/bounciness in the board. By moving the fulcrum all the way back the board is at maximum flexibility, this can be explained through the idea of torque. The equation for torque is fdsinθ, given the equation proves that farther back the fulcrum is, the greater the torque. This is because with fulcrum all the way back the distance of movement is greatest, and the force is a constant and theta is always 0 in this case hence an increase in torque. Next the diver sets up to dive, if the diver is moving in the forward direction then he/she will use a series of steps and “hurdle” off the board. Next they flip. When a diver flips forward off of the diving board, he or she may begin by throwing into a pike position to gain angular speed in a flipping direction while his or her feet remain on the board as long as possible. Almost all of a diver’s “work” is done on the diving board – by putting energy into the board, a diver harnesses the “equal and opposite” Newton’s Third Law of Motion, with that energy eventually being transferred back into projecting the diver up and forward away from the diving board. When a diver is not graceful and stomps on the board, energy is lost before the dive could begin and the board stops making the diver out of synch with the board. This can become dangerous because that means the board will not project the diver off the board properly. So to receive the maximum height off the board and to stay safe the diver must stay in synch with the board!