Everything you need to know before your first practice.

Welcome to Alpha Diving Club. Before your diver attends their first practice, work through these steps so registration, insurance, scheduling, and communication are all ready.

1. Get AAU membership: All divers need an active AAU membership before practice for insurance coverage. Register under Alpha Diving Club.
2. Complete club registration: Submit your diver's information through our registration portal. Your spot is confirmed once registration and membership steps are complete.
3. Review tuition and session options: A session is one water practice or one dryland practice. Families may mix water and dryland sessions each week.
4. Check the team calendar: Review your diver's practice times before attending and watch for schedule changes, closures, and meet updates.
5. Join communication channels: Google Chat, Facebook, and email are how families receive schedule changes, meet information, and announcements.

A session refers to one water practice or one dryland practice. Families may mix and match water and dryland sessions each week. Your coach will help confirm the best training group and schedule for your diver.

Divers participating in meets should have the right team gear before competition. SwimOutlet orders usually take about 3-4 weeks to arrive, so order early before major meets.

Older Alpha T-shirts are allowed. Other team store items are optional unless your coach says they are needed for a specific meet.

Full practice schedules are provided at enrollment and updated via our team calendar and Google Chat group.

Our program is built on three pillars:

• Listen to your coach. Coaches give instructions for safety and skill development. Athletes are expected to be attentive during instruction.
• Safety first. No running on pool decks. No diving without a coach present. Follow all pool rules at every facility.
• Respect and teamwork. Alpha is a community. We support each other and treat every athlete, coach, and facility with respect.

Meets are registered through DiveMeets.com or DiveLive. Your coach coordinates entries, dive lists, and deadlines. Families typically sign a commitment form before each meet season.

• Register the diver’s information for meets, not the parent’s information.
• Coaches assist with warm-ups, dive preparation, dive-list details, and scoring discussions.
• For each meet, Alpha may create a meet-specific Google Chat for schedules, last-minute changes, and parent coordination.
• Meets can run ahead of or behind the posted timeline, so check the meet chat and stay connected with families on deck.

Meet fees vary by event. When coaches travel with the team, a coach travel fee applies and is communicated in advance.

The primary communication channel is Google Chat. All meet schedules, updates, and result links are posted there. Most meets publish results the same day.

AAU is the most common meet path for Alpha divers and welcomes both novice and JO athletes. Future Champions events sit inside AAU and give novice divers a lower-pressure way to compete while they build skills.

USA Diving is the national JO pathway for divers with a complete JO list, moving through qualifying meets toward Junior Nationals.

Your coach will help choose the right meets for your child based on readiness, experience, and goals. For the full breakdown, see the competition page.

Coaches make the final recommendation based on readiness, experience, and goals, but this is the usual progression families can expect.

Families with AAU-qualified divers can review the current AAU Nationals score chart on the competition page.

Your child’s competitive age is their age on December 31 of the current year. If your child turns 10 in November, they compete in the 10-year-old group for the entire season — including meets held before their birthday.

• Google Chat — primary team communication, schedules, meet info. Email us to be added.
• Facebook group — club announcements and community
• Email — info.myalphadivingclub@gmail.com for all direct inquiries

Check the team calendar for upcoming meets, regular practice schedules, closures, and announcements. Notifications are shared through email and team communication channels so families can stay current as plans change.

The calendar is the best place to confirm water and dryland sessions before heading to practice.

Every dive in competition has a number that describes what the diver is doing. Here’s how to read it:

• 1st digit — dive group (1=forward, 2=back, 3=reverse, 4=inward, 5=twisting, 6=arm stand)
• 2nd digit — flying or group indicator
• 3rd digit — number of half-somersaults
• 4th digit — number of half-twists (for twisting dives)
• Letter — body position (A=straight, B=pike, C=tuck, D=free)

Examples:

• 107B — Forward dive, 3.5 somersaults, pike position
• 305C — Reverse dive, 2.5 somersaults, tuck position
• 5253B — Twisting dive, reverse, 2.5 somersaults, 1.5 twists, pike position

Novice — entry-level meets, shorter dive lists, lower difficulty. Great for School path divers getting their first competitive experience.

Junior Olympics (JO) — USA Diving’s standard competitive format, with age groups and regulated dive lists. Coach invitation required.

Requirements can vary slightly by competition type or governing body. Coaches confirm the final list for each event.