The Art of Serene Diving-bombing

It may not be an Olympic discipline yet. But while athletes from around the world gather in Athens, another group of contestants will converge today in the small Bavarian town of Bayreuth for what they see as an equally important competition.

Some 21 contestants from countries as diverse as Ukraine, Holland and Britain will be taking part in the world's first championships in dive-bombing, a sport affectionately known in the host nation Germany as arschbombe - literally arse-bombing.

All contestants have to jump off a 10-metre high tower. In the first round they are expected to perform the classical bottom-first cannonball jump.

In two later rounds they are free to experiment with lesser-known dive-bombing positions, including the potato and flying squirrel.

The most important thing, organisers say, is to keep a "serene expression" at all times.

"You have to keep a neutral face even if your bottom hurts like hell," Florian Spiske, the German coach, said yesterday. "You have to keep smiling. The ideal is to look like an Indian cow."

To minimise injuries, all contestants wear two pairs of dry swimming trunks and a gum-shield. Despite precautions, however, the sport can be painful, veteran dive-bombers admit.

"After three jumps your bottom is red," Mr Spiske, 22, said. "And if you jump with wet trunks it's much much worse."