This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 7th, 2014at 1:44 pm by zoe.leahy@activenation.org.uk

Young Divers Compete For The First Time

Hard work and commitment paid off for a group of young divers as they took part in their first competition.

Youngsters who were selected for the 2013 Talent Identification Group for springboard/highboard diving this summer, took to the boards at the Quays Swimming and Diving Complex in Southampton for their first competition since taking up training with the Active Nation TID-13 Squad.

Two in-house events were staged to allow the youngsters to use some of their skills in the competitive environment and to challenge one another to reach the highest possible standards.

The first event on December 8^th was open to children in the younger age groups chosen (Mini TID Squad) and to those in the under-pinning Runners-Up Squad.

In the 8 years and under group, Leila Coupal (8) took gold in the girls’ event and Jamie Akerman (6) in the boys’. Making good use of her back jump Leila performed consistently from all three stations to take first place just ahead of her rivals. Jamie maintained a high standard throughout his competition, scoring up to 8.5 on his forward jump tucked from the poolside.

Megan Lees (10) and Zack Lanham (10) were the gold medalists for the 9 years and older divers. Never scoring below a 7 Megan just pipped her nearest rival to the post with less than half a point between them. Zack did particularly well to score a 9 on his forward fall from the 3m board, giving him a commanding lead of almost 7 points ahead of the rest of the field.

The second event on December 14^th catered for the main TID Squad and the older divers selected to train under the TID banner.  These divers were divided into events for 9 years and under or 10 years and over.

In the younger age group gold medalists were Poppy Chandler (9) and Nathan Bull (8). Taking her title with an impressive display of high quality skills Poppy commanded a 9 for her back jump with tuck from the poolside. Nathan picked up useful points with an effective use of a forward fall from the 3m board, one of the more difficult dives performed in the event.

The older groups were topped by Alice Baxter (12) and Alfie Dudson (11). Alice’s back fall from the 3m board particularly impressed the judges and is an important skill to have mastered in her bid to compete at Regional level in 2014. Alfie dived consistently well throughout the competition, showing that his recent break in training due to injury had not affected his ability to remain at the top of the game.

Senior Coach, Jack Clewlow, who heads up the Talent Programme was delighted with the outcomes.  “We have seen some very nice performances from the divers across these two days of competition,” he said.  “The hard work and commitment of the children really showed throughout the events and I am confident that we will have a number of contenders to make a National Qualifying Standard for the Skills Final in 2014.”

In the New Year the squads will be training hard to be ready to enter their first inter-club competition, which will be held at the Quays in February. For more information about this event or for details of how to get involved in the diving programme please email divingatthequays@activenation.org.uk.

Full results:

Sunday 8^th December

Girls’ 8 & under: Leila Coupal, gold; Hattie Platt, silver; Daisy Yeats, bronze; Amelia Connelly, 4^th; Meadow Way, 5^th; Sara Elgammal, 6^th; Niamh Baulf, 7^th

Boys’ 8 & under: Jamie Akerman, gold; Liam Richards, silver; Thomas Gilson, bronze; James Nicholson, 4^th; Bevan Woolley, 5^th; Kai McDonald, 6^th

Girls’ 9 & over: Megan Lees, gold; Erin Friel, silver; Zoe Harris, bronze; Emma Baker, 4^th; Kelly Van Hoof, 5^th; Niamh Savage, 6^th; Chloe Bradley, 7^th; Jessica Tompkins, 8^th; Jessica Fryer, 9^th

Boys’ 9 & over: Zack Lanham, gold; Kai Lanham, silver; Joshua Boneham, bronze; Joshua Bascombe, 4^th; Callum Buckler, 5^th; Samuel Stevens, 6^th; Samuel Robinson, 7^th; Benjamin Barber, 8^th

Saturday 14^th December

Girls’ 9 & under: Poppy Chandler, gold; Olive Ullyatt, silver; Maya Kutty, bronze; Mutyat Anibaba, 4^th; Simone Habben, 5^th

Boys’ 9 & under: Nathan Bull, gold; Finley Hughes, silver; Oliver Cazaly, bronze; Oakley Clarke, 4^th; Robbie Lee, 5^th; Jack Hinton, 6^th; William Newman, 7^th; Bryn James, 8^th; Leon Baker, 9^th

Girls’ 10 & over: Alice Baxter, gold; Lucie Hill, silver; Ellen Cull, bronze; Olivia Perera, 4^th; Kate Baxter, 5^th; Shannon Willis, 6^th; Libby Hoare, 7^th; Paige Burt, 8^th; Holly Hopgood, 9^th; Honor Appleby-Mell, 10^th

Boys’ 10 & over: Alfie Dudson, gold; Hamish Lindsay, silver; Peter Sutherland, bronze; Alex Everett, 4^th; Alexander Griffiths, 5^th; Thomas MacFadyen, 6^th