Dive Meets 101
The Commonwealth Cudas Dive Team is a member of the Northern Virginia Swim League (NVSL), one of the largest swim and dive leagues in the country. NVSL has a separate Dive side which is comprised of over 48 teams located divided into 8 divisions, 6 teams each. NVSL seeds teams every year by competitiveness; Commonwealth is competing in Division 6 in the 2026 season.
Rules Governing Meets
Meet rules are determined by the NVSL/Diving and stroke and technical rules are made by USA Swimming. NVSL publishes a yearly handbook; copies are available from the team rep. A link to the USA Swimming and Diving Rulebook is available on our resources page.
Meets are conducted and officiated entirely by volunteers. Certain meet officials require specialized training: Referee and Judges. Each home meet requires 1 Referee, 2 Judges,1 Announcer, 2 Table Workers and Concession Workers. Away meets require 3 Judges and 2 Table Workers.
Events
All dives are performed on a low board (one meter). Dives for dual meets are performed in the following order:
Freshmen (age 10 and under) 2 required dives (101 and 201) and one optional. Front or back jump may be used as an optional. 001 may be substituted for the 101 as the required dive. 002 may be substituted for 201as the required dive. There is no position specified for dives 001 and 002.
Juniors (age 11-12) 2 required dives (101 and 201) and two optionals. Each from a different group of dives (2 optionals from 5 groups). A total of 4 dives.
Intermediates (age 13-14) 2 required dives (101 and 201) and three optionals, each from a different group of dives (3 optionals from 5 groups).A total of 5 dives.
Seniors (age 15 and over) 3 required dives (101, 201and 401) and three optionals, each from a different group of dives (3 optionals from 5 groups). A total of 6 dives.
Meets
Dual Meets:
The NVSL Diving Committee publishes a dual meet schedule, based on six team diving divisions.These meets are held on Tuesday evenings, starting at 6:00pm. All dual meets must be completed prior to the Division Individual Championship Meet.
In a dual meet, each team can enter 32 divers. In each age group, girls and boys compete separately, and the top three in each event (boys and girls) score points for the team. (1st place - 5 points, 2nd place - 3 points and 3rd place - 1 point) At the end of the meet the team receiving the most points wins the meet.
The winning team in each dual meet receives five points. The losing team receives three. In case of a tie, each team will receive four points. No points are credited to a team that forfeits a meet, while the other team receives five points. If neither team can meet within the agreed upon period or reach agreement on another day and time, both will score zero. A trophy is awarded to each Division champion based upon total points earned during the season.
Other Meets:
The Wally Martin 3m Meet - is an individual meet where all dives are performed from the 3m board. All participants must have a coach. More information regarding this meet will be provided once the meet details have been announced. Divers interested in this meet should have some 3 meter experience with a qualified coach.
The Crackerjack Meet - The Cracker Jack meet is intended to provide a skill-appropriate championship for beginning divers who have not exceeded the following cut-off scores at an A meet this season: FG 67 JG 99 IG 136 SG 155 FB 65 JB 95 IB 129 SB 155 All participants in this meet must currently be on a family membership at an NVSL pool and listed on the 2025 dive team roster. All divers must dive in their own age group. Age is determined as of June 1 of the current season. NOTE: Competing in the Cracker Jack meet disqualifies a diver from the divisional meet.
The Wally Martin 1m Synchro Meet - is intended to introduce and develop basic skills of synchronized diving. Age groups are 12 & under and 13 & up. More information about this meet will be provided once the meet details are announced.
The Divisional Championship Meet, or "Divisionals", concludes the regular season of competition. It takes place on the Sunday morning following the final Dual Meet of the season with all six teams of the Division. The Division Champion Team is recognized with a trophy and the Sportsmanship Award (voted on by the division team reps) is announced. Divers compete within their age groups and complete the same required dives as the regular season. Each team may enter 16 divers in total (combined boys and girls) and divers must dive in their assigned age group. In each age group, the top five finishers receive a plaque and the top two finishers qualify for Individual All Stars (third place is an alternate in case first or second place cannot attend).
Individual All Stars is the season ending NVSL/Dive league championship meet held on the Sunday following the Divisional Championship Meets. Individuals qualify for the IAS meet based on their placement in Divisionals. Divers compete within their age groups and complete the same required dives as the regular season.
Spectator's Guide to Diving
How do I know what the Diver is going to do?
Dives are described by their full name (e.g. reverse 3 1/2 somersault with 1/2 twist) or by their numerical identification (e.g. 5371 D), or dive number. Most dives use three digits and a letter. Twisting dives utilize four numerical digits beginning with the number 5 followed by three digits and a letter. The position of the numbers within the dive number will tell you the direction of the dive, the number of rotations (if somersault or twists measured in half rotations, e.g. 2 is one full rotation) and the letter indicates the position (see position descriptions below). Rotations/Somersaults - Number of head to toe rotations. If the number of rotations is listed as 2, it means one full rotation.(Example: 7 = 3 1/2 somersaults). Twisting - Number of twists (Example: 3 = 1 1/2twists).
Dive numbers are created using these guidelines, see examples below:
- Forward Dive - 102B: Forward (1) one somersault (02) pike position (B)
- Back Dive - 201C: Back (2) dive (01) tuck position (C)
- Reverse Dive - 302C: Reverse (3) one somersault (02) tuck position (C)
- Inward Dive - 401C: Inward (4) dive (01) tuck position (C)
- Twist Dive - 5231D: Twist dives always begin with a 5, Back (2) 1 1/2 somersaults (3), 1/2 twist (1), free position (D)
