How to Win at Cliff Diving (and Survive)

With only one more round (in Mostar) before the finals in Bilbao the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is rapidly reaching its climax and there’s little time left to get a bet on the winner at Unibet. However, whilst the professionals make it look easy, for all our regular amateur thrill seekers, and for those amongst you who are Spanish gambling laws of physics can be so easily ignored, here are our seven tips for how to win at cliff diving and survive to tell the tale.

1. Safety

When looking at how to win at Cliff Diving it’s important to remember that safety must come first, second and third. People die every year trying this sport. Jump from just six meters and you’re hitting the water at 40kph. Get it wrong and it’s game over. The World High Diving Federation thus recommends that if you’re jumping from 20m or more there should be scuba rescue crews in the water and that the landing zone should be at least fifteen meters deep.  

2. Selection

Keep it simple. When selecting both a location, and any acrobatic moves you wish to pull on the way down, it’s vital not to complicate matters. Access to the face, cliff inclination, prevailing weather conditions and water depths all have to be taken into account when figuring out how to win at cliff diving. It is also vital you never dive alone, so selecting a buddy is as important as remembering to bet on sports in Spain the day before El Clasico. Buddies will save your life. 

3. Positioning

This is an often overlooked aspect of how to win at cliff diving. Since to finish first one first needs to finish, the tricky business of getting to the top of the cliff selected has to be viable. Indeed far more people injure themselves in the ascent as do in the subsequent, and far more rapid, descent. Should it be required hire professional climbers to assist you to reach the top in the same manner as you’d hire professional rescue divers to stop you reaching the bottom. 

4. Timing

World Champion Orlando Duque suggests (and if anyone knows how to win at cliff diving it’s him) to aim for the top, or crest, of the waves below. He claims this shortens the dive, breaks up the surface and softens the impact. Of course, estimating the duration of the dive and getting the timing just right so you enter at precisely the right moment is a matter of practice. Just remember if you get it wrong you’ll be falling further, impacting faster and have far less depth to work with.

5. Jumping

6. Swimming

You’ll need to know how. Even if uninjured after your impact with the water the ordeal isn’t over. You’re a long way down and with the adrenaline pumping that oxygen in your lungs is running out fast. For those unsure; you want to be heading up. Exiting the water as rapidly as possible is vital if you want to win at cliff diving because it gives you more recovery time before your next leap, clears the way for the other competitors and allows the recovery crews to relax.

7. Just Bet On Cliff Diving Instead

Gary Hunt goes into the final two rounds of this year’s world series with an impressive lead over Jonathan Paredes and it could well be worth considering that if you want to win at cliff diving it could be far more profitable (and massively more safe) to back him winning than actually trying this ridiculously dangerous sport yourself. Sites like Unibet, one of the best online sportsbook sites in Spain, will offer you books for a whole host of extreme sports bets, each a safer option.