In-Depth Look at 2017 NCAA Division I Zone Diving

The 2017 NCAA Zone Diving events will take place across the country this week. We’ll be following each meet but before it all starts, let’s take a closer look at how the divers qualify for the NCAA Championships.

NCAA ZONE QUALIFYING PROCEDURES

There are five zone meets spread across the country that allow divers to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Based on performances at the previous NCAAs each zone earns a set number of qualifying spots.

Take a look at the qualifying spots for each zone and each event:

WOMEN

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According to the rules set in 2015 that allowed more divers into the meet, any diver who lands in the qualifying spots for their zone earns a spot to compete in the NCAA Championships. If the diver earns eligibility in one event, they can automatically compete in any of the other two events at NCAAs as long as they finished in the top 12 in their zone in that event.

The NCAA made a distinction between “eligible” and “reimbursed” athletes. Divers qualifying outside of the reimbursement spots will not have their travel, lodging, or meet expenses covered by the NCAA.  Instead the individual school must decide if they’re willing to pay the bill themselves to give that diver an opportunity to participate in the NCAA Championships.

A priority chart determines who gets the reimbursement spots. The first priority spot is taken by the winner of each event beginning with the 3-meter champ, followed by the 1-meter champ and then the platform champ. If an athlete wins two events, they will still only take up one slot which means the NCAA will keep adding rows to this chart until the zone meet reimbursement quota is met.

Here’s how the first 20 priority spots are taken. The list continues on  in the same order through 48 spots.

The Pre-Championships Manual that shows all of the NCAA qualifying procedures can be found here.

ZONE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETS

Northern Arizona will host Zone E again and Zone C will stay in Indiana (last year it was hosted by Purdue). The other three Zones changed states. While four of the zones start competing March 6, Zone C won’t begin until March 9.

Here’s a breakdown of each zone, dates of competition, the host of each zone, and where you can find results.

• Zone A – March 6-8, Virginia Tech (Results)
• Zone B – March 6-8, Auburn University (Results)
• Zone C – March 9-11, Indiana University (Results)
• Zone D – March 6-8, University of Missouri (Results)
• Zone E – March 6-8, Northern Arizona University (Results)

As competition begins for these divers starting on March 6 and wrapping up March 11, we will be paying close attention to how the results from Zones will impact the team scores at the NCAA Championships later this month.