WASHINGTON – Not all flops have to be bad for business. At least that’s what one competition hopes to prove.

Water World Colorado recently hosted its 16th annual contest judging swimmers for applying the bulk of their bodies to the water’s surface in one elephantine splat.

To put it more simply: A belly flop competition.

Collegiate men and women, hoping to win the grand prize of a $5,000 scholarship, made their big splash on July 12 as judges graded the would-be floppers jumping from increasing heights. An audience alternated between cheers and grimaces as the sound of increasingly reddened bellies echoed through the Denver water park.

“I was shaking so hard, I’m still shaking so hard,” one of the winners said after winning the scholarship money.

“There’s a moment when you have to decide: Are you going to go through with it, or are you going to step back?” another winner said.

Check out their performances here:

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