Ok, so are you ready to become an Olympic diver? Well the first thing to do is do find a pool. A pool with a diving board would be even better. Once you find that pool with the board, it's a good bet that someone uses it to teach lessons. And there you go, your first step to becoming an Olympian.

So what if you don't have a pool with a diving board? Your best bet is to contact one of the governing bodies listed below and they should be able to help you find that elusive pool, diving board, and all important coach and diving program.

Governing Body for the Sport of Diving

USA Diving is the national governing body for the sport of diving in the United States and is responsible for training, selecting and preparing teams that represent the United States at the Olympic Games, World Championships and FINA World Diving Cup. Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) is the international governing body for aquatics, which includes diving, swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo. FINA writes and enforces the rules used in the Olympic Games. The Amateur Athletic Union sponsors youth diving programs throughout the country and is a great resource for beginner divers.

Minimum Requirements to Compete For A Spot on the U.S. Olympic Team

All divers that are chosen for the Olympic team must be qualified to compete in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Diving. They earn that right by being named to specific development squads, qualifying for and competing at an international competitions, or by finishing among the top divers at specified domestic competitions.

Any diver chosen for the Olympic team must be a United States citizen.

How to Qualify for the Olympic Diving Team

Divers can qualify for the Olympic Team by winning or placing second in one of the four individual events contested at the Olympic Trials - men's and women's 3-meter springboard and men's and women's 10-meter platform.

In the individual events, there will be three rounds - preliminaries, semifinals and finals, with all the divers qualified performing one list of dives in each round. Following the preliminaries the field will be reduced to the top 18 divers. Following the semifinal round, 12 divers with the highest cumulative score will advance to the finals. The top two divers with the highest cumulative score at the conclusion of the finals will be nominated to the United States Olympic Committee as members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team.

To qualify as a synchronized team, a team of two divers must win the trials in one of three events - men's and women's synchronized springboard and men's synchronized platform. The U.S. did not qualify a team to the Olympic Games in women's synchronized platform.

All qualified synchronized diving teams will compete in both the preliminary and semifinal rounds, with each team of two divers performing two list of dives. At the conclusion of the semifinals, the top 8 teams with the highest cumulative score will advance to the finals. At the conclusion of the synchronized diving finals, the team with the highest cumulative score will qualify for the 2012 Olympic Team.