British Elite Junior Diving Championships 2022
Sporting the new kit kindly provided by Pilkington Estates, a small team of Plymouth
divers and their coach Sally Freeman headed off last week to Southend for the British Elite
Junior Diving Championships. Hosted by the Southend Swimming and Diving Centre, the
competition ended on Saturday after a gruelling four day event. Showcasing the best
talent on offer in the UK, this is a tough competition for the select few and a real sense of
achievement for those divers chosen to represent Plymouth Diving.
In group A, Euan McCabe qualified for the final on the 3m board in first position. After a
close fought final with the top four boys each scoring over the magical 500 points Euan
finished with the bronze medal. In the platform final there were only two contenders
battling for gold. Euan and Robbie Lee from Southampton Diving Academy outclassed all
of the other finalists in what was a thrilling event, full of top class dives. It concluded with
Euan winning the silver and Robbie the gold.
Whilst there were no medals for the group B boys their results were a success. Theo
Stevens just missed out on the 1m final in seventh position beating his personal best score
to do so. Ollie Heath was thirteenth and Archie Waines in fifteenth. Ollie also performed
well on 3m beating his personal best score to finish tenth; Theo was fifteenth and Archie
seventeenth. Ollie frustratingly missed the platform final by 5.2 points to finish seventh.
Not to be outdone Archie also beat his personal best score on platform to finish eleventh.
This was Archie’s first British Elite Championships which provided a wealth of experience
to build upon.
In the group A 1m event Katie Martin finished in thirteenth place. A large group of thirty
divers took part on the 3m board which resulted in Katie finishing in a respectable tenth
position. With an improved score of 56.85 points since her last competition it was a very
encouraging outcome.
Group B girl Amelie Underwood was lying in fourth place going into the 1m final. With
points to make up Amelie was undeterred and with a fighting spirit claimed the gold. In
true champion style Amelie also won the 3m gold medal rounding off two great events
which could not have gone better. Scarlett Colbourne finished in eighth on 3m and ninth
on platform. Katie and Scarlett teamed up for the 3m synchro event along with Theo and
Ollie with both teams improving on their previous score to finish in sixth.
Overall the six day trip resulted in personal achievements for all of the divers which they
can be proud of.
