Cannonball (diving)

Recreational diver doing a cannonball

A cannonball, also referred to as a bomb, is a diving style where the diver hugs their knees and attempts to enter the water with their body shaped as much like a sphere as possible. The goal is to create a large splash. ^[1]

Known in German as the Arschbombe, the cannonball has been turned into the competitive sport of "Splashdiving". ^[2]

In New Zealand, the dive is referred to colloquially as a Manu - a word from the indigenous Māori language. ^[3]

Variants

• Can opener: a cannonball with one leg extended. This is the standard "bomb" in Australia, involving rocking back at the last minute to trap water under the body for a direction spurt .
• Hammerhead: a cannonball with forward rotation, landing head first.
• Watermelon: a cannonball with forward rotation, landing back first. ^[4]
• Clanfa Triestina (Triestine Horseshoe): a cannonball with forward rotation, landing parallel to the water. Popular in the Italian city of Trieste in the shallow waters surrounding its coastline. ^[5]
• Horsey. Into the water with hands and feet extended, toes pointed, pushing water out with the stomach. Fairly popular in Australia but difficult to execute correctly. ^[6]
• Rabbit. Most popular competitive bomb in Australia. Similar to the Trieste bomb, but diver pulls legs in and clutches with arms at last moment. This often is done from a considerable height, and can send a narrow spurt of water with accuracy even higher than the dive point. Requires daring and skill.
• Chinaman. Arms and legs crossed, leaning back about 30 degrees. By trapping water under the arched back, the bomber can make a very substantial splash even from a pool edge, for heavier proponents.

References

1. "What Is a Cannonball". Wonderopolis. Retrieved Feb 19, 2018.
2. Bílý, Honza. "The Man Who Turned Cannonball Dives into a Sport". Vice. Retrieved Feb 19, 2018.
3. Rolleston, Elisha. "Best water bombs: Nothin' but manus". Stuff. Retrieved Jan 18, 2019.
4. Maloney, Field (August 22, 2014). "Cannonball!". ww.newyorker.com. Condé Nast. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
5. "Clanfa - ::SPIZ.it SPIZ Associazione di Promozione Sociale". www.spiz.it. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
6. "The Horsey". The Art of Bombing. 2020.

External links

• Cannonball photos at Getty Images
• New Zealand Youtube video of Full-manu with baller