Kōrero: Swimming

Gerald (Gerry) Fitzgerald of Gisborne demonstrates springboard diving at the Naenae Swimming Pool, Lower Hutt, in 1957. In the background are the springboard and two diving platforms. In New Zealand, competitive springboard diving began in 1920, and platform diving in 1952. Springboards, being flexible, allowed divers to jump higher, whereas platforms, with their greater height, gave divers the opportunity to perform more acrobatic stunts such as somersaults before entering the water.