Have you ever seen a cliff jumper standing on a ledge tossing rocks to the water below and wondered why? Its common misconception that cliff jumpers are attempting to break the surface tension of the water but that’s not the case.
In reality throwing rocks helps cliff jumpers in two ways:
First, just seeing how long it takes the rock to land helps gauge height and hang time (toss rock and visualize yourself in the air landing at the the same time as the rock). Great way to internalize timing.
Second, the last rock thrown just just prior to jumping will generate ripples in the water that create a visual reference point to let jumpers know when the surface is approaching. This visual reference is particularly crucial on days with flat light and anytime you are rotating flips as its easy to misjudge how far you are from the water.