World High Diving Federation

The World High Diving Federation with head quarters in Avegno, TI, Switzerland is an
independent international sport federation, founded in February 1996. Responsibilities of the
WHDF include:

• presenting professional information about the sport of Cliff Diving / High Diving
• organizing and carrying out national and international competitions
• supporting and promoting new generations of divers, in co-operation with national Olympic Diving Federations
• WHDF is recognized by the Swiss Olympic Committee and is a member of ISF (International Sport Federations).

The History of Cliff Jumping

Cliff Diving’s birth place is on the tiny Hawaiian Island Lana’i. At the island’s South Western
point lies Kaunolu which was an inhabited village, but is now a sacred ruin place. Verified by
documents are the first Cliff Dives from Kahekili, chief of four Islands, who “flew” from the 63
feet Cliffs at Kaunolu in 1770. To prove loyalty and courage, Kahekili forced his warriors to
follow his example. Legends say that Kahekili, nicknamed “birdman”, was flying from cliffs up
to 400 feet (122 meters). Later, under King Kamehameha I, there were Cliff-Diving
competitions held at Kaunolu. The Hawaiian expressions „lele kawa“ (diving without splash)
and „lele pahu“ (diving with a lot of splash), testify to this past.

What is Cliff Diving?

Cliff-Diving is the acrobatic perfection of diving into water from elevate heights. This sport
demands tremendous physical and psychical fitness. After their launch from 22 meters,
athletes have approx. 2.5 seconds to execute their dives before entering the water with more
than 80 km/h.
Performing multiple somersaults with twists from capricious heights demands absolute body
control, self-confidence, concentration and courage. To be a successful Cliff Diver, one must
have at least ten years of experience as an Olympic diver (springboard or platform) or in a
similar sport discipline. Cliff Divers must have perfected the ability to complete technical diving
maneuvers before attempting jumps at elevated heights. The demanding nature of this sport
might be one reason why only a limited number of around 200 athletes worldwide perform this
extreme sport. Since Cliff Diving’s establishment as an official sport discipline and with the
WHDF’s support for young talent, the number of active Cliff Divers is world wide increasing.