It seems, on average, that men compete harder dives at competition level then women. Is there any reason for this?

I guess men are perceived as able to do harder dives, but I don't know why that would be the case. I think it is because there are certain standards in the rules and regulations that women can only do certain dives.

It is anyone's guess, until someone reads the regulations probably set out 75 years ago and still unnecessarily adhered to.

I would call that discrimination in a way because it is keeping women from achieving what they deserve. It is gender bias.

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Originally Posted by tickle

I guess men are perceived as able to do harder dives, but I dont know why that would be the case. I think it is because there are certain standards in the rules and regulations that women can only do certain dives.

It is anyone's guess, until someone reads the regulations probably set out 75 years ago and still unnecessarily adhered to.

I would call that discrimination in a way because it is keeping women from achieving what they deserve. it is gender bias.

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I don't believe this is true. As far as I can work out divers themselves decide on the dive to do, which then has an associated difficulty rating - I can only assume that the ratings are the same for both male and female divers.

So why then do women choose easier dives?

I think the answer is in the differing ability of the male and female body - I think diving is more of an athletic sport than most people realise. Men can run faster, jump higher, and produce higher force with their muscles, so I think this is why women are less successful at getting a consistently good score at the hardest dives.