15.2.14 Splash! The Final

Well I am flabbergasted at how pathetic the input is - but from the divers but the hosts and the judges.  Vernon announced: "The phone lines are now open!" before anything had been done by anyone.  How can that be appropriate unless people were getting votes in immediately for their chosen winner irrespective of any merit or performance.

We then learned that the judges' scores were being provided "for guidance only".

Round 1

Perri Kiely: 10 + 10 + 10 = 30

Keith Duffy:  8 + 8.5 + 8.5 = 25

Richard Whitehead:  9.5 + 10 + 9.5 = 29

Dan Osborne:  9 + 9.5 + 8.5 = 27

This was a completely confusing load of tosh, as the judges simply DID NOT perform appropriately at all, and as for fucking "guidance", there was none - only misdirection.  Perri was simply excellent, and so worth the 30 pints. Keith went next, and it was a bit messy with some over-rotation, so I thought 25 was okay for that.  Then, everything started to unravel.

I am struggling because it is simply impossible to compare dives by Richard with the other three.  This is not discriminatory, and I have every respect for him and his undoubted hard work etc.  Nevertheless, he started with a handstand, and a half-somersault - which was rather less than Perri's double somersault, yet gets just a single point less overall, 29/30.  This simply makes no sense at all, and proves that it is not a level playing field.  This might sound like an obvious statement, but what has happened is the infiltration of an extra "allowance" for Richard, along with comments about 'centre of gravity', and so there is in effect a patronising effect being aired.  It is simply NOT possible to fairly compare his efforts with those of the other three.

Dan was rewarded with 27 points, which was unbelievable considering he was so fucking untidy!  If Hong Kong Phooey had jettisoned him into the pool with a super throw, then he would have looked no less of a mess, with legs akimbo, and a twist to boot.  How he scored more than Keith is just proof of how useless the judges were/are.

Round 2

Perri Kiely:  9 + 9.5 + 9 = 27.5

Keith Duffy:  8.5 + 9 + 8.5 = 26

Richard Whitehead:  9 + 9.5 + 9 = 27.5

Dan Osborne:  9 + 9.5 + 9 = 27.5

The synchronised dives were variable in their success with synchronisation. The scores varied hardly at all.  Perri's dive was quite complicated, although the synch was out a bit.  Richard (in my opinion) seemed just to fall off the board at the same time as Tom, but the synch was good, just as it was for Keith.  Dan was 100% in time with Tom, and was easily the best for that, even if the dive itself was not the hardest.

Result

4th Dan
3rd Keith
2nd Richard
1st Perri

The right man won.

...