BY GUNNAR NIXON
Sporting a tight Speedo, Charles Schooler will begin his path to State this Friday at the Cincinnati Hills League Championships. Unlike many of his aquatic teammates, Schooler won’t climb onto a starting block when the competition commences. Instead, Schooler prefers the one-meter springboard to perform his high-flying diving acrobatics.
Impressing judges throughout the competitions, Schooler made his first State appearance as a freshman and placed twentieth among the twenty-four competitors. However, Schooler reveals that the path taken to reach the Ohio State Diving Championships wasn’t a quick one.
Schooler got his start diving at the Terrace Park Swim club during the summers beginning in second grade. “Every time I mastered a dive, I wanted to go further and add another rotation. I’ve loved spinning through the air ever since,” said Schooler.
This year, Schooler will use his years of training on his postseason journey.
“The top sixteen at sectionals,taking place next Tuesday, will move on to districts. And then from there, the top twelve at districts move on to state, which will be held in Canton on February 25th,” he explained.
Now a sophomore, Schooler aims to make his return to the springboard and improve upon last year’s result. “Last year I was still learning a lot of the dives. This year I have been able to focus in on my technique and perfect my dives,” said Schooler, who is coached by former high school diver Ray Noble.
Schooler showcases his front 2 1/2 tuck, a dive he has come to master (VIDEO BY SCHOOLER).
Schooler is now able to complete over eleven dives and has mastered the front 2 1/2 tuck. As of December 15th, Schooler holds the school record for highest score at a dive competition. He is now turning his attention towards setting the pool record here, with an opportunity to do so this Friday.
Scoring is where things get complicated, explains Schooler. “You are judged by three officials who all give a score out of 10. You are judged for your approach, entry, form in the air, and splash size. Those three scores are then added together and multiplied by the difficulty of the dive. Each dive receives a certain difficulty rank. For example, the front 21/2 tuck is ranked as a 2.4.”
Depending on the meet, Schooler will either compete in 6 or 11 dives and will receive a cumulative score.
Schooler reveals that he has one of his top competitors in Indian Hill Brave Noah Vigrin. Both Schooler and Vigrin have outscored each other on two separate equations.“It will be interesting to see how we fair at State,” adds Schooler.
Schooler continues to train four days a week, including a dry land practice on Fridays. “Before taking them to the board, I am able to try my flips using trampolines and harnesses,” said Schooler.
However, his dives don’t always come off perfectly.
