start diving, 28 years old

[thisweirdthing1985]

do you think , being 28 years old, is too late to star olympic diving. of course I'm not dreaming of being the best olympic diver or join the olympic team. just think that sport is too cool

[Byron]

28 is ten more than 18 but you are at your physical peak and Pete Waterfield has only just retired in his thirties. There was much nervousness amongst the celeb. participants in TD's Splash tv show - many well beyond 28 - but nevertheless expressing their exhiliration when getting their first dive right after coaching.
A bit like snow skiing I guess - you topple over day after day to begin with and then suddenly realise you have completed a run without a fall.

[Torchwatch]

Have you a background of gymnastics and or trampolining? If you have and you can swim and have no fear of heights then you can start this sport.
Just go to a swimming pool and start diving from the side, then move to the spring board and finally to the tower.
Don't expect to be a champion, just work on making good clean dives. Once you can do good clean dives off the top board it may be time to meet the diving coach. Your enthusiasm must inspire the coach to adopt you, he will naturally be looking for younger students.

[50 Free]

It's kind of a dead sport where I live, huge bummer. It's been decided that it's too dangerous, the old pools I remember have removed all diving boards low and high, and new pools don't have diving boards. Our local pool even forbids diving from the side, considers racing starts from the blocks as diving and forbids it, even if you are a masters swimmer, total card carrying member of USMS.
Competitive Diving was part of high school swimming when I was a kid, it was big, it was fun. All gone.

[Torchwatch]

Before attempting the high board you may need to see this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_bX_jX9O8w

[Byron]

Know that pool well (I should say knew as it is demolished this year). A perfectly good public amenity for SWIMMING and the local authority now offers as an alternative a ridiculously small pool nearby as part of a new development of a "leisure centre" but which provides nothing more than a kids' paddling pool

Btw recognise the pool attendant with with Rowan Atkinson? (Nicholas Lyndhurst?)
PS: Pool also hired sometimes by BA for cabin crew training in emergency evacuation procedures.