Vinny Bray's Fancy Flips
This morning i worked with Vinny bray and after all the swimmer exited the water we talked about our swim and dive season, which lead me to this thought. As my practice last night continued and a kick set presented itself, I took the time to watch and mess with Vinny Bray, the top diver at IHS. Vinny this year is trying to break the school 11 dive record of 431 points at sectionals, and this year he has worked on dives of increasing DD (Degree of Difficulty) this year. But what is he really doing once leaving the board, some would say just some flips but, oh no, he is mastering physics. In high school diving, divers dive off a one meter high board instead of the Olympic 10 meter, but that doesn't matter. A classic dive style for Vinny includes the tuck position, in which he would compact his body, decreasing his moment of inertia, allowing him to complete more flips before entering the water. As Vinny's moment of inertia decreases, his rotational speed increases to conserve angular momentum. Then, there is the pike position. This also helps to decrease moment of inertia, however the divers legs are kept straight, granting less control over angular velocity and increasing degree of difficulty.
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