How do you get scratch your sports itch? Perhaps you play in a softball league at work? Maybe you play in rec league games at the Y? In Norway there are the “Death Diving Championships,” which are precisely what you’d think.
‘Death Diving’ is belly flopping off a tower, and it’s your new favorite sport
For the belly flopper in your life ...
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The concept is simple: Jump off something very tall into a body of water, and try to make it look as painful as humanly possible. The sport, which is also referred to as “deathing”, had its world championships on Friday and winner Emil Lybekk took home the crown with a twisting, horizontal corkscrew, which ended in a belly flop.
If you’re wondering how competitors do this without killing themselves, well it’s all about the entry. While most enter the water stomach-first, they also tuck at the last second to make their knees break the water instead of their midsection. This makes the dives look painful, when in reality it’s all calculated risk.
Dives are judged on several criteria:
- Running speed.
- Jump height.
- Jump length.
- Acrobatics.
- Degree of difficulty.
- Holding a pose before entry.
- Entry style.
- Splash size.
So now there’s the perfect sport for the belly flopper in your life.
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