The research behind the numbers
Every target range this app scores you against is either taken from published swimming biomechanics research or clearly marked as our own estimate. Below is both lists, and the papers themselves.
What’s measured against published research
These targets come from the studies below, using the same anatomical landmarks the papers did — an angle only transfers if it’s measured between the same points.
- Entry angle
- Front knee angle
- Back knee angle
- Forward lean
What’s still our own estimate
We couldn’t find a published measurement for these that matches how we measure them, so the target ranges are our best engineering judgement rather than research. They still affect your score — we’d rather tell you that than imply a precision we haven’t earned.
- Takeoff angle
- Block time
- Hand pull-back
- Front hip angle
- Back hip angle
- Head/gaze angle
- Head below hips
- Back leg bend
- Foot above head
The papers
A word on what a score can tell you
Filming conditions alone — camera angle, lighting, video quality — move the score by around 10 points on the same dive. So treat a small change between sessions as noise, not progress. That’s why the progress page leads with the mistakes you keep repeating rather than a score trend line: a repeated fault is a far more reliable signal than a few points either way.