The fascination with diving goes back to ancient times, as evidenced by hieroglyphics from 480 B.C. discovered on the ceiling of the Tomba Del Tuffatore in Naples, Italy, depicting a man diving from an elevated Herculean-type platform into a pool of water, according to the ancient Greek and Etruscan art website Hellinica. Contemporary diving began in Germany and Sweden in the mid-1800s and the modern diving board evolved from the growth of competitive diving during the 1900s.
Diving Origins
Diving as a recreational activity first got recognition when the guild of salt boilers in Germany, called Halloren, began a tradition of diving from a bridge into the River Saale, according to Diving Australia. In 1840, the group united with German gymnasts who had developed a kind of water gymnastics, and together they combined tumbling and diving activities to form the first recognized diving association. About the same time, divers in Sweden began the practice of somersaulting from scaffolding built around lakes.
Competitive Diving
Competitive diving began with the emergence of additional swimming and diving clubs in Germany and Sweden. In 1882, Germany's oldest diving club, Neptun, introduced the first international diving competitions. These contests included two basic events; diving from a tower and diving from a low board. The sport of diving began to take off internationally. Another form of diving was initiated in the early 1900s by bridge divers in the United States. The bridge diving practice was quickly shut down, though, due to a number of severe mishaps and injuries.
Springboards
Diving boards had not evolved much with the new sport despite the fact that diving was added as an Olympic event in the early 1900s. The so-called "springboards" used in diving competitions were simple wooden planks with coconut mats on top. Finally, Swedish diving competitor Ernst Brandsten, dubbed "the father of diving in the United States" by Stanford University, where he coached for more than 30 years, invented a laminated board that provided more flexibility. He was helped by fellow coach from USC Fred Cady. The Brandsten board facilitated a better bounce and allowed athletes to perform more challenging dives, according to the FINA swimming and diving website. Inventor Norman Buck made design enhancements to the Brandsten board by replacing the laminated board with aluminum. Buck's "Buckboard" was used for diving competition during the 1952 and 1956 Olympics.
Duraflex Boards
In 1949, American designer and aircraft engineer Raymond Rude used a "rejected aircraft wing panel" to fashion an improved aluminum diving board that provided more flexibility. After testing, Rude refined his design and by 1960 began mass producing a low-cost diving board called the "Duraflex." Mass production allowed for worldwide distribution, and the board was made the official diving board of the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Rude's Duraflex continues to reign as the preferred competition diving board, including new designs: the "Maxiflex," which launched in 1969, and the "Maxiflex Model-B," which was introduced in 1979.
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