title: Long term retention of safe diving skills.
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.
authors: University of Ballarat, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
authors: J D
authors: JD
authors: Blitvich
authors: G K
authors: GK
authors: McElroy
authors: B A
authors: BA
authors: Blanksby
authors: H E
authors: HE
authors: Parker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001132:Arm / Q000502:physiology; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004242:Diving / Q000193:education / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010806:Physical Education and Training / Q000379:methods; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012449:Safety; D013995:Time