The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has released its swimming & diving rule changes for the 2026-27 school year.
The most notable rule change affects state championship diving, where state associations may now adjust the number of dives required in the competition.
“By state association adoption, the number of qualifiers advancing to the semifinal round may be increased,” NFHS said in a release of what Rule 9-4-2h now states. “By state association adoption, states may alter the number of dives for their state championship series of meets.”
The rationale from the NFHS Swimming and Diving Rules Committee is that, with participation in high school diving declining, reducing the number of dives might entice athletes to participate in the diving event.
“The committee noted that the exception within the note is tightly crafted and limited to state association championship competition,” said Sandy Searcy, NFHS director of sports and liaison to the Swimming and Diving Rules Committee. “Allowing championship meet modification is consistent with other provisions in Rule 5-1-1 that allow states to address issues such as scheduling and affect only their own competitions, similar to deciding whether to contest events in other sports.”
There were four other rule changes handed down by the committee.
- Under Rule 3-3-4b(2), “wording was added to clarify that bonded or taped seams on suits are not subject to permeability requirements.” The change is meant to mirror standards World Aquatics has established.
- Rules 3-5-1 and 3-5-2 were also updated “to state that no competitor shall wear any audio (microphone) or video (camera) device during a race or dive.”
- In butterfly and freestyle, language was added to allow swimmers to be fully submerged at the finish, aligning with “national trends in sports.” The official rule states: “Once some part of the swimmer’s head has passed the 5-yard/5-meter mark immediately prior to reaching for the finish, the swimmer may be completely submerged.
Will we see swimmers dolphin kick in from the flags? Probably not on free or back because of arm position, but with butterfly, the hands can naturally come together into streamline and the swimmer can more quickly dive into a streamlined dolphin kick. Will be interesting to see people experiment.