@article{ref1,
title="Long term retention of safe diving skills",
journal="Journal of science and medicine in sport",
year="2003",
author="Blitvich, Jennifer D. and McElroy, G. K. and Blanksby, B. A. and Parker, H. E.",
volume="6",
number="3",
pages="348-354",
abstract="This short report describes a 20-month follow-up  of safe diving skills, extending the 8-month retention period previously  published in this journal. Thirty-four recreational swimmers with poor diving  skills were evaluated before and immediately after a diving skills intervention  program. Twenty-two returned for the eight-month follow-up evaluation and 16  returned 20 months post. As with the earlier study, Treadwater, Deck, Block and  Running dives were video-recorded, and maximum depth, distance, velocity, entry  angle and flight distance were compared. Underwater hand and arm positions were  examined. Pre-intervention, a breaststroke arm action before maximum depth  occurred in 18% of all dives and 38% of Treadwater dives. This was eliminated  post-intervention, improving head protection. The Treadwater dive elicited the  greatest mean maximum depth, and ANOVA showed depth for this entry decreased  (improved) following intervention and remained shallower at the eight-month and  20-month post follow-ups. The Block dive also became shallower following  intervention while the Deck dive remained unchanged. As seven 10-minute skills  sessions resulted in shallower dives with safer hand and arm positions, and  these skills were retained over a 600 day non-practice period, it is reliable to  consider that the inclusion of safe diving skills in learn-to-swim programs can  provide a diving spinal cord injury prevention strategy.",
language="",
issn="1440-2440",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}