Citation

Langendorfer SJ. Int. J. Aquatic Res. Educ. 2010; 4(4): 359-362.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Bowling Green State University)

DOI

10.25035/ijare.04.04.02

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The lead article in this issue by Andrew Cornett and colleagues is the first study of racing starts conducted during actual swimming competition (Cornett, White, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2010). This research group from Indiana Uni- versity has studied a number of biomechanical variables related to head first dives performed into approximately 3 feet water depth, the minimum depth allowed by USA Swimming. They addressed the important question of how much risk may be involved when diving into shallow depth water. In this essay, I explore the broader question of safe water entry that is not limiting the discussion to racing starts, but to all kinds of water entry.

Between 200,000 and 300,000 living Americans currently suffer from spinal cord injuries (SCI) with an estimated 12,000 new cases occurring each year (National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, 2010). About 1,000 (8%) of those annual injuries are estimated to result from participation in sports and recreational activities (NSCISC, 2010). DeMers (1994) had estimated that about 700 annual recreational diving injuries occurred, but that estimate seems somewhat high when compared to the most recent NSCISC data. Regardless of the actual numbers or percentages, it is easy to acknowledge the seriousness of diving-related spinal cord injuries, both in human suffering, rehabilitation costs and resources, and lost productivity. SCIs are second only to drowning in their seriousness and riskiness within the field of aquatics

Language: en