Competitive diving - why is there water shooting into the pool below the diving board?

Question

I know nothing about diving, so I didn't even know what keywords to research this myself. I just remembered a question watching diving this weekend on TV that's been in my head for years.

I just see water shooting into the pool, like directly under the diving board . . . is that a marker of some sort or some other function? Thanks!

Answer 1

it makes it easier to judge the distance from the board or platform to the water.

Answer 2

well i do competitive diving and it is manly to keep the water presher right and to keep the levle right.  also it helps to lessen the splash when you dive. it is over all there to regulate the water in the pool for timpecher and levilty

Answer 3

Okay I'm going to make an uneducated guess that it has somthing to do with the pressure of the water shooting out giving you less chance of going to the bottom of the pool and cracking your skull.wide open.

Answer 4

If the water is perfectly still, it is very hard to see where the surface of the water is when you look straight down at it. The spray provides just enough turbulence to make the water surface visible. The divers use this to help them time their entry at the end of each dive. It really doesn't do much to break the surface tension of the water.

Some pools have giant bubblers for their diving wells. The bubbles break up the surface tension of the water. This provides a soft landing when practicing new dives. These bubblers are NOT used during competitions, though.