By Eva Fisher
Staff Writer
“Splash” is a reality series about celebrity diving which recently made its debut on the ABC network. The show is centered on celebrities chosen to compete against other celebrities in a diving competition.
The show consists of stars in various states of fitness and careers. The contestant lineup includes Keisha Knight Pullman, former actress on “The Cosby Show”, comedian Louis Anderson, Detroit Lions defender Ndamukong Suh, Baywatch star Nicole Eggert, and many others including basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“I believe ‘Splash’ has a great cast that varies in all categories. The cast combined with the great coach, Greg Louganis, really makes the show a great hit,” producer J.D. Roth said.
The coach for these inexperienced divers is Greg Louganis. Louganis is an American Olympic diver who has won gold medals at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympic games. Louganis is the only male diver in Olympic history to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic games.
“I like how the judges have actually been in the Olympics themselves, but I think maybe they should have three judges instead of two,” freshman Madi DeVenuto said.
The celebrities perform each week in front of the panel of judges and a live audience in an Olympic-size diving pool. Each week two judges, London Olympic U.S. Gold medalist David Boudia and Australian Olympic athlete and USA Dive team director Steve Foley will critique the contestants’ dives. The two lowest scores will go head to head in a dive-off to determine who will go home.
The celebrities will look fear in the face as they leap off the 10-meter high dive, or higher, to complete flips, twists and spins into the depths of the pool below. Not only do they have to dive separately but they also have synchronized partner dives.
“I really like the show ‘Splash.’ I think it’s really interesting to see how stars react when they are put in situations that create fear,” freshman Hailey Davis said.
The show has had its ups and downs along with celebrity Kendra Wilkinson quitting and star Chuy Bravo getting injured diving. Overall the show consists of amazing and thrilling dives, making people wonder if they could do something like that.
