NFHS Allows States to Determine Number of High School Meet Dives
The National Federation of High School Associations on Wednesday announced that state high school associations can change the number of dives at championship meets starting in the 2026-27 season.
The change is one of five proposals brought by the NFHS Swimming and Diving Rules Committee at its annual meeting in March, all of which have been approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
A change to Rule 9-4-2h allows state associations to increase the number of qualifiers advancing to the semifinal round of diving tournaments and to alter “the number of dives for their state championship series of meets.”
The rule change is in part a response to declining diving participation in many areas, with fewer dives potentially opening up more participation.
“The committee noted that the exception within the note is tightly crafted and limited to state association championship competition,” Sandy Searcy, NFHS director of sports and liaison to the Swimming and Diving Rules Committee, said in a press release. “Allowing championship meet modification is consistent with other provisions in Rule 5-1-1 that allow states to address issues such as scheduling and affect only their own competitions, similar to deciding whether to contest events in other sports.”
Other rule adjustments include:
- Clarification on bonded or taped seams not being subject to permeability requirements, which mirrors World Aquatics standards (Rule 3-3-4b(2))
- Updating a prohibition against competitors wearing audio or video recording devices during a race or dive competition (Rules 3-5-1 and 3-5-2)
- Adjustments to mirror language in the rules of freestyle and butterfly to state that, “Once some part of the swimmer’s head has passed the 5-yard/5-meter mark immediately prior to reaching for the finish, the swimmer may be completely submerged.” (Rule 8-2-4e and Rule 8-2-3g, respectively)
A full list of the rules, with changes, is available on the NFHS website.
