Area kids take different kinds of dives

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS A local diver gets prepared to enter the water after jumping off of the 20-foot bluff at Crystal Lake June 14.
Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS A local diver gets prepared to enter the water after jumping off of the 20-foot bluff at Crystal Lake June 14.

DECATUR -- Whether plunging off a cliff face or into a pool, diving into cool waters is an enjoyable way to occupy the summer months and beat the heat.

In the Decatur area, some teenagers and young adults choose to brave steep trails to jump off the bluff across from the park at Crystal Lake, and others choose the springboard at Old City Park Pool to take a shorter, safer dive into the water below.

Though diving off cliffs and bluffs has been popular for centuries, in 1934, the La Quebrada Cliff Divers of Acapulco formed a professional high-diving group. A few years later Teddy Stauffer, a big band leader and playboy, turned La Quebrada into a sport. These brave divers climb to platforms at 100 and 135 feet to perform spectacular dives for the public even today. In the 1970s, the La Quebrada high divers became one of the early extreme sports.

While Acapulco may be the place to experience extreme diving at its best, most Northwest Arkansas youth prefer to take it down a notch and enjoy the rush of descending from the 20-foot bluff into the waters below at Crystal Lake.

For younger kids, the diving board at Old City Park pool is a fun and safer way to perform some of the more difficult maneuvers and an excellent way to impress friends (including members of the opposite sex).

General News on 06/20/2018