The story
The cannonball came first.
The sport followed.
It began with a different idea of entertainment in the water. From there grew a format with its own names, competitions and personalities. Oliver Hillebrecht shares the founder’s perspective on Splashdiving.
2003: An early gathering in Bayreuth.
For Oliver Hillebrecht, the Pecklamen Cup is where the story begins. A later sports report also places an early competition in Bayreuth in 2003; there, the name is written as “Pecklaman CUP”. We’re still checking the exact original spelling against the documents from the time. Netzathleten · 08.06.2010 ↗
Looking back, this early competition is more than a year on a timeline: it’s the starting point for asking how a familiar jump became its own event format.
In an interview, Oliver Hillebrecht describes the first “Arschbomben-Weltmeisterschaft” in Bayreuth in 2004. This is his account of what he remembers, not a retold scene with invented dialogue. Nordbayern · interview dated 22.08.2021 ↗
A name that makes sense beyond Germany.
International understanding played a part in choosing the name, Hillebrecht explains in the interview. “Arschbombe” became Splashdiving. Nordbayern ↗
A contemporary report on the World Championships in Dillingen describes the 2006 change of name to the “Splashdiving Worldchampionship”. The early “Arschbombe” competitions and the World Championships under the new name are therefore not the same historical date. STERN / dpa · 14.08.2006 ↗
The Jump Chart sets out the named landing positions. Alongside them, the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation’s coverage shows the movements in the air and the athletes’ freedom to express themselves. It gives the sport a shared language without making every jump look the same. Bayerischer Rundfunk ↗
See the original Jump ChartThere’s no story without the people who were there.
A founder can develop a format. The people who train, compete, take photographs and make events happen show what it feels like. That’s why their names and stories in the Club of Legends aren’t an afterthought; they’re right at the heart of the website.
Sindelfingen is part of this story too. A contemporary report documents the World Championships at its outdoor pool in August 2015. We tell this part of the story without making claims about current licences or partnerships. Credits: SCS. Stuttgarter Zeitung / dpa · 29.08.2015 ↗
Visit the Club of LegendsFROM THE FOUNDER’S ARCHIVE · 2015
The chart. The pool.
A platform for brands.
Campaign documents from 2015 show how the Jump Chart was conceived as a link between sport and brand communication: one board, with separate space for the original chart and a brand. The concepts also covered selecting pools, approaching operators, production and installation.
The event proposals connected the live experience with optional promotions, photography and video, and communication before, during and after an event. It was an approach designed to give a sporting moment a life beyond the pool.
These are historical concepts and offers, not proof that every proposed campaign or service was delivered. Old prices, projected media figures and brand mock-ups are not current offers, measured results or announcements of present-day partnerships.
About these archive sources
Based on original 2015 Jump Chart Tour and advertising-opportunities presentations held in the founder’s archive. Proposed activities, delivery and independently documented coverage are treated separately. The original presentations are retained internally; outdated contact details and price lists are not republished here.
In the spotlight. With a clear record.
Familiar faces. Real TV moments.
From television studios to the pool: familiar faces have encountered Splashdiving in very different ways. We distinguish presenters, active guests, judges and event visitors. A documented appearance is not an endorsement or a current partnership.
2004
Kader Loth
Celebrity guest, not a competing diver
Kader Loth attended the first cannonball World Championships in Bayreuth as a celebrity guest. The contemporary report documents her appearance but explicitly says she did not compete. Being a familiar face at poolside does not automatically make someone a competing diver.
2011
Yuya Tegoshi & Daisuke Miyagawa
Japanese TV guests in a friendly competition
At Würzburg’s Dallenberg outdoor pool, Yuya Tegoshi and Daisuke Miyagawa met the German Splashdiving scene. DER SPIEGEL describes the friendly contest in mid-May 2011. This is evidence of actual participation, not simply an appearance in the same programme.
2017
Jan Hempel
A judge at the World Championships
Jan Hempel’s connection to this website is not limited to the foundation. A contemporary report on the 2017 World Championships names the former diver as a member of the judging panel. This specific role belongs in the event archive, separate from present-day positions or partnerships. Credits: SCS.
PUR+ · KiKA / ZDFtivi
Eric Mayer
A presenter trying Splashdiving with Nico
In “Die perfekte Arschbombe”, Eric Mayer tries the sport himself: Splashdiver Nico gives advice, while the programme also follows Dario’s World Championships preparations. The official KiKA listing is dated 6 July 2026. A separate ZDF item covers Dario’s 2019 World Championships; that year describes its content and does not automatically establish the premiere date of the whole programme.
KiKA · Die perfekte Arschbombe ↗ · ZDFtivi · Dario bei der Splashdiving WM 2019 ↗
2023 · BR freizeit
Schmidt Max
Training with Oliver Hillebrecht
“Schmidt Max und der Sprung ins kalte Wasser” goes straight into training. BR describes Oliver Hillebrecht coaching Max as well as the national team. The related clips are dated 25 June 2023; the programme calendar records a repeat in 2025.
BR · Anlauf, Absprung, Fontäne ↗ · BR · Sendungs- und Clipnachweis ↗
13.08.2026 · BAYERN 3
Marc Seibold & Sebastian Meinberg
Presenters in a cannonball challenge
BAYERN 3 documents a cannonball challenge with Marc Seibold and Sebastian Meinberg. This is an encounter with the sport; it does not establish a production role for Oliver Hillebrecht.
From the founder’s archive.
Some encounters live first in personal memory. The following two accounts are attributed to Oliver Hillebrecht and are not yet independently matched to an original programme or a dated production record.
Berlin · founder’s recollection
Barbara Schöneberger at the WildBadeTag
Oliver Hillebrecht recalls an encounter with Barbara Schöneberger at the WildBadeTag, with ice bathing at Berlin’s Monbijou pool. The precise year, her role and the link to the Splashdiving production still need to be matched to the original event records. This is not presented as a verified Splashdiving jump.
ARD news · founder’s recollection
Ingo Zamperoni’s introduction
Oliver Hillebrecht remembers a Splashdiving item that he refers to as a “Tagesschau” appearance, introduced warmly by Ingo Zamperoni at 20:15. Programme title, date, time and original clip have not yet been independently verified. This memory is not assigned to the separate Regio TV film from 2018.
This is an expanding, source-based archive, not a claim to list everyone who has ever encountered the sport. Recording dates, broadcast dates, repeats and present-day streaming listings are kept distinct. External videos load only after following a link.
From the TV archive: Sindelfingen 2018.
External film · Regio TV · 2018
A look at the people around the competition.
The Regio TV feature covers the World Championships and Super Dive in Sindelfingen in 2018. It is a separate, later archive source; not footage from the 2003 beginnings or the 2015 World Championships. Credits: SCS. Watch Regio TV on YouTube ↗
The film opens externally. No YouTube player loads automatically on this page.
The archive, year by year.
Events, selections, interviews and television features. These are newly edited retrospectives, not original live reports.
- 2003
- 2004
- 2006
- 2008
- 2011
- 2013
- 2015
- 2017
- 2018
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
THE PERSON BEHIND THE FORMAT
A diver first.
A founder with a vision.
Oliver Hillebrecht’s own sporting background is in springboard and platform diving. He became Bavarian and Southern German champion; his international results include seventh place at the European Championship in Ponte Brolla and second place at the High Diving Cup in the Czech Republic.
He is a coach in springboard and platform diving, trampoline and high diving, and national coach for Splashdiving. His experience as a diver and coach is part of the founder’s personal background and the development of the format.
- Bavarian and Southern German champion
- 7th place · European Championship, Ponte Brolla
- 2nd place · High Diving Cup, Czech Republic
- Coach: springboard and platform diving, trampoline, high diving
- National coach for Splashdiving
About this profile information
Sporting biography and image identification supplied by Oliver Hillebrecht. No specific competition years or additional federation affiliation are asserted.
