# Olympic stuff **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 23, 2000, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-stuff/34229 "2000-09-23T02:11:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2000, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-stuff/34229/1 "2000-09-23T02:11:32Z")
1. What is the scoring scale for platform diving? I.e., gymnastics are out of 10, mostly. What is it for diving? 2. In equestrian, when you’re over the time limit you get one point per second or fraction thereof. Do you get points deducted if you finish earlier? 3. My father claims that in badminton, the shuttlecock can get upwards of 200 mph. This seems a bit hard to believe, esp. because he said he read in in the _Washington Post_ “A while ago.” Anyone heard about this and have a link? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2000, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-stuff/34229/2 "2000-09-23T02:24:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by iampunha \* > \*\* > 2. In equestrian, when you’re over the time limit you get one point per second or fraction thereof. Do you get points deducted if you finish earlier? > > \*\* This is the only one I know. No, you do not get points deducted if you finish faster than the given time, but if you go too fast you risk getting more rails down. The riders need to keep their horses controlled enough to clear the course and measuring strides is a big part of going clear. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2000, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-stuff/34229/3 "2000-09-23T02:25:36Z")
Well, I’ll take a shot at question #3: The [World Badminton](http://www.worldbadminton.com) web site says that [“In a badminton smash, the shuttlecock has been timed at speeds over 200 m.p.h. in top international competition.”](http://www.worldbadminton.com/badfacts.html) Some namby-pamby site about not putting your eyes out gives a shuttlecock speed of a mere [140 mph](http://www.eyenet.org/public/faqs/sports_faq.html), but perhaps that wasn’t in Olympic competition. ---
**Author:** ![spazo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spazo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spazo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2000, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-stuff/34229/4 "2000-09-23T02:28:11Z")
When I was younger( 30 years ago ),I was a competitive diver,at that time an 8 was considered a perfect score. It still is as far as I know.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2000, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-stuff/34229/5 "2000-09-23T05:04:20Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. What is the scoring scale for platform diving? I.e., gymnastics are out of 10, mostly. What is it for diving? In the current Olympic diving, it’s a 10, and I think it has been for at least a few years. I know they take seven judges, throw out the top and bottom scores, and add the remaining five. After that I think there’s some multiplication factor for difficulty, but I’m not sure of the equation. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2000, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-stuff/34229/6 "2000-09-23T05:11:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mrblue92 \* > After that I think there’s some multiplication factor for difficulty, but I’m not sure of the equation. I would assume they do it they same way as in Gymnastics…the dive is rated a maximum score based on difficulty. So if you’re doing a wussy dive the best you can get is a 9.8, and if you’re doing a super-duper-I-might-as-well-have-wings-and-be-able-to-fly dive, the maximum score you can get is a 10. But that’s a WAG. ---
**Author:** ![Shaky\_Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@Shaky\_Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaky_Jake)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2000, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-stuff/34229/7 "2000-09-23T05:18:06Z")
Diving does it differently than gymnastics. Dives all worth a max of 10 points. Dives are also given a degree-of-difficulty score. Seven judges, top and bottom scores dropped. Remaining scores added together, multiplied by degree-of-difficulty = divers score. Shaky Jake