Last weekend saw the biggest event in the Plymouth Diving calendar take place at the Life Centre, with over 150 divers from clubs across the country battling it out for honours at the Pilkington Estates 2023 Armada Cup Diving Competition.
Junior Elite A Boys saw Euan McCabe win gold in the 3m with club mate Archie Waines scooping the silver. In the B boys category Oliver Heath produced some outstanding dives achieving some 9’s (the only ones of the competition) to win the 1m, 3m and Platform events with Theo Stevens earning a bronze in the 1m event and silver in the Platform with all 4 boys qualifying for the National Finals. In the Junior Elites girls events Plymouth divers Scarlett Colbourne, Katie Martin and Maia Pearson dived superbly all weekend with Katie and Maia making the National Finals.
The outstanding performances from Elite divers Euan, Oliver and Amelie Underwood were hot the heels of the Junior divers participating in the British National Diving Cup held in Edinburgh which is a Senior competition. As with all sports at an elite level, injuries are common forcing Amelie to withdraw but Oliver represented Plymouth on 3m and Platform with Euan joining him on 3m. Both boys produced some outstanding dives against Olympians and the experience was invaluable.
Unlike many competitions the Armada Cup sees Age Group divers compete alongside the Junior Elites which makes for a very busy and frantic weekend. The Age Group competition was fierce and there were some fantastic performances from the Plymouth divers. In the A category for 16 to 18 year-olds Ben Hall, Ellie Pearce, Madeleine Elliott and Mathilde Tassart achieved the qualifying score for the National Finals. The best result in this category following some excellent dives was a brilliant bronze in the 1m event for Ellie.
In the B category for 14 and 15 year olds Noah Underwood, Erin Healey, Lexi Davies, Eva Lang and Yvie Tucker all made the National Finals qualifying scores. The divers also walked away with plenty of medals with Noah collecting bronze medals in the 1m, 3m and Platform events following some brilliant and consistent dives. Erin and Lexi battled it out on Platform pushing each other until the last dive where Erin held her nerve and produced an amazing final dive to win gold, pushing Lexi into second. Lexi rounded off her competition with another well-deserved silver in the 1m event. Rose McCabe and Martha Ticehurst were also diving in the B category and came away with some great scores.
In the C category for 12 and 13 year olds Will Heath, Oscar Westbury, Isaac Ide, Poppy Jones, Ava Cowper all made the National Finals qualifying scores. Not to be outdone by his brother Will dived superbly and won gold in the 3m and Platform events following some excellent dives. Lincoln Stephens and Eva Tsianavas also dived in their first Age Group competition performing well and gaining valuable experience at this level.
The youngest divers in the competition are in the D category for 10 and 11 year old divers with Teagan Mousley and Isla Applin achieving National Final qualifying scores. Harry Westbury dived well all weekend and won silver in the 1m, 3m and Platform event. In the girls events Isla produced some great dives to win gold in the 1m and bronze in the 3m and Platform. Teagan and Alice Jones produced some of their best diving when it counted with Teagan winning silver in the 3m and Alice winning bronze in the 1m events.
The competition also saw various synchronised diving events take place where once again Plymouth produced some fantastic results. Katie Martin and Maia Pearson, Oliver Heath and Archie Waines, Ava Cowper and Isla Applin all winning gold in their respective events. The other pairings also fared well with Oscar Westbury and Will Heath winning silver just edging Harry Westbury and Isaac Ide into the bronze medal place. Lexi Davies and Scarlett Colbourne, Madeleine Elliott and Erin Healey also competed and placed well in their events.
The outstanding effort by all the Plymouth divers was rewarded by the club winning the Armada Cup Team Trophy after amassing the most points beating 12 other clubs in the process.
Overall, the weekend was a resounding success with the Plymouth divers once again showing why the city has a reputation for producing some of the best divers in the country. The club would like to thank all those involved in making the event such a success but particularly the amazing coaches Sally Freeman, Fito Gutierrez, Tommy Davis and Harry Mason and Tamar Fresh for the continued support. Special thanks to Jayne Glynn our Chief Recorder who hung up her score pad for the last time after 20 years dedicated to the club.
