The NCAA approved changes to the qualification procedure for Division III diving regionals last July, but some coaches say they weren’t informed until November.
Effective this season, divers must achieve two qualification scores on a board at separate meets across the regular season, including conference championships, to compete in that event at their respective regional meet. Previously, an athlete could either qualify with two qualification scores at any two meets or a single qualification score at conference championships.
There are four regional meets held in Division III: Central, Midwest/South/West, Northeast/North, and Northeast/South. Each site is allocated an amount of qualifying spots for the NCAA Championship, which are determined by athlete placement across both boards.
The committee also changed rules around last chance meets and how regional meets can be run. Qualification scores achieved at last chance meets will no longer be accepted. Facilities that have the ability to run two diving events simultaneously are now permitted to do so, as long as they have the necessary personnel.
The changes were presented and approved at the annual meeting of the NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Committee, held July 29-30, 2024.
Despite this change becoming official over the summer, multiple coaches have told SwimSwam that they were only informed in November via email, well after the start of most regular seasons.
80% of divers who qualified for Regionals in the 2023-24 season achieved a qualification score at their conference championships. Though a specific number is not given, the report says that “for more than half” of athletes, their only qualifying score was at a conference meet. The previous rule was written under the assumption that it was far more difficult to achieve a qualification score at a conference meet, but the committee decided that this is no longer the case.
According to the DiveMeet rankings for the 2023-24 season, there were 193 divers who competed across four regional meets. The committee report implies around 80 of those divers achieved a qualification score at their conference meet. The report provides no information on athletes qualifying from last chance meets.
Division I only requires one qualification score at a bona fide competition to compete in that event at NCAA Zones.
There was also a change in the championship event schedule but coaches didn’t find out until this month. Who cares about the athletes I guess