Waterbury Democrat., 1900-11-09
NOTIONS ABOUT DIVING.

According to the rules of the Life Saving, society, framed for the pilr- poses of the national graceful diving competition in England 9 dive is de fined as follows: 4 leap is first made ' in the air, the body is then straight ened almost horizontally, the arms are turned at once toward the water and the legs are thrown up for the down ward drop. On entering the water the arms must be extended in advance of the head, the fore1ngers must be in contact, and the palms of the hapds held downward. The thighs and the legs, from the hips to the great toes, must be kept close together, and the feet turned back. No dive is counted in which the competitor when enter. ing the water. turns on his back.
 It is difncult dive to accomplish neatly and gracefully, and should only be attempted after practice at gradual heights, for if the legs are thrown too far upward the body Is likely to turn over, and bad fall will be the result Many swimmers have a habit of lean ing forward in a doubled-up position, and allowing themselves to drop-an ineffective method, generally a sign of nervousness. The bold diver springs out over the water.
  of diving that is eminently useful is ''the dive from the surface" A man who can dive from the surface can go instantly to the bottom feat which most swimmers find difficult but an es- sentIal factor in life saving. The cor rect method of practice is first to | swim few feet with breast stroke to l take breath when the spot is reached | where the dive is to be made, and then a f 4 fl1p1 In hno Irxx a,.I | kick vigorously with the legs and make an upward stroke with the arms
 This will cause the body. to sink be- meath the surface. Once under the swimmer continues to use the legs and arms as in the breast stroke, but with palms turned well toward the surface. l After little practice diving from | the surface can be performed without the use of hands or feet, for it is then sufficient to turn the head and body | downward to make . neat dive. To come to the surface after . dive the hands are turned upward, and the quicker this is done the more rapid | will be the ascent. -... .5.
 l One of the most cultivated forms of low diving is termed 'plunging," and serves the ussful purpose of teaching \ man to enter the water at the proper angle, so that he may skim along just under the surface. With an ordinary l plunge he will travel from thirty to forty feet under the water, but ex- l perts who are able to hold their brea tn for long time will accomplish more | than eighty feet
 The Swedes delight in "combination | diving and two men will perform many clever feats together. One of | the most grotesque of these is when l one man stands upright on the spring board and tightly clasps another mans body around the waist, holding him head downward, and putting his own head through the other mans legs. l When the upright if1an springs from | the board he throws his legs into the | air, so that the two men. each clasp | ing the other tightly around the waist, l turn a somerSault, and when they | reach the water the man who started | upside down arrives feet foremost. The handspring dive is an effective speciality of Swedish swimmers The performer takes eff from the diving board with hands instead of feet. turn ing his body in order to descend feet | foremost or Somersaulting to arrive head downward. Graceful, also is the backspring dive, in which the spring is made backward, the body turning | toward the springboard. Double son. srsault dives are made from the plat forms thirty or fifty feet high. the diver making two turns in the air and entering the water feet foremost
 | One great danger of high diving is the liability that ear troubles will re. suit from the shock; to prevent this it is we'll to use . little medicated cotton wool covered with sweet oil placed. in both ears while diving, and removed afterward when out for swim
 Those not expert in diving, again. are always in danger when ,Springing from height of falling fat. or making what is vulgarly termed 'breaster" This failure is largely due to the habit of stretching out the arms before the dive.-Chicago Tribune.