You don’t need a big name to get started.

When we talk about Splashdiving today, we also look back to the years before it. Oliver Hillebrecht points to the 2003 Pecklamen Cup as an early starting point in the history of the format. A later report by Netzathleten also mentions a competition in Bayreuth that year, spelling its name “Pecklaman CUP”. Netzathleten · 08.06.2010 ↗

This takes us back to Franconia. According to the same report, the name comes from the Franconian word “Peckla”, meaning a small bundle. At this point, what is now a sport with its own visual identity still went by a different name in public. Netzathleten ↗

What came next is only part of the story. The old records could also show us who came together, how the competition was advertised and which rules had already been written down.

Not every detail has made it back into the archive yet.

The regional competition in Bayreuth in 2003 preceded the first cannonball world championship in 2004, as described in SPIEGEL’s contemporary coverage. These are two distinct steps in the development of the format, not interchangeable dates for a single event.

An original poster, start list or clearly dated photo can tell us more than an embellished look back. If you have material from the time, we’d love to hear the story behind it.