Plymouth Diving were awarded the Dawdon Shield Trophy for top club at the Swim England Diving National Age Group Championships 2023. As the competition reached the later stages, it looked to be between Plymouth and home club, City of Sheffield. But with a total of seventeen medals won overall across the four days, it was Plymouth who got their hands on the trophy. Plymouth (249.00) and City of Sheffield (217.00) were the only clubs to break the 200-point mark – and Southend Diving were the third placed club with 162.00.
On winning the trophy, Plymouth coach Fito Gutierrez, said: “It’s pretty good. It gives us incentive to keep doing what we’re doing. I think since surviving the pandemic as a club, I’m so glad that all those kids were able to come here and compete. We kept them going for so long and it was so difficult, so I’m very pleased. As a club, it’s like the cherry on the top, it’s fantastic! To see the athletes on the podium is great, but to see them doing their best is what counts and that’s what we’re trying to do – to push them to that level that they might get on the podium or in the top six. That was our target and we achieved that.”
The 4-day competition saw divers from 10-16 years old competing for medals in the 1m, 3m and Platform categories with divers from across the UK. Plymouth Diving selected a team of 17, who had all qualified through regional events were keen to represent their club and demonstrate their ability.
The youngest divers at the event were the D Group Boys and Girls with Harry Westbury, Isla Applin and Alice Jones looking to secure medals. Harry had dived at the finals before and showed his experience with a 4th place in the 1m event and some excellent diving to finish with a bronze medal on 3m. Isla and Alice were competing at this level for the first time and were not fazed at all. Alice produced some solid diving across all three boards finishing 9th on 1m, 7th on 3m and 8th on Platform. But it was Isla who produced the best performance in this group, with some brilliant dives to go super close to a medal with 4th on 1m and Platform. However, she went one better on 3m winning bronze after some great dives.
The Group C events saw Will Heath, Oscar Westbury and Isaac Ide for the boys and Ava Cowper for the girls. Isaac diving in his first finals produced some solid dives to finish 10th on 1m, 12th on 3m and 9th on Platform. Oscar and Will as they have done in previous competitions battled hard on all boards with Oscar winning bronze on 1m and coming 8th on 3m and 4th on Platform. But it was Will who topped this group for Plymouth winning a brilliant silver on 1m, bronze on 3m and coming 5th on Platform, a superb performance. Ava also at her first finals showed her skills and produced good dives all round finishing 9th on 3m and 8th on Platform and just missing out on a medal in 4th on 1m.
Not to be outdone by the younger divers, the more experienced Group B divers of Alex Whittaker, Noah Underwood, Eva Lang, Erin Healey, Rose McCabe and Lexi Davies held their nerve to win a total of nine medals between them. Alex dived well throughout the competition and finished in 8th on 1m, 6th on 3m and 5th on Platform. Noah was the star of the show for the boys with some brilliant diving across all boards. He finished 7th on 1m and won a splendid silver on Platform narrowly missing out on gold. However, on his last dive on 3m he produced arguably the best dive of the whole event with an excellent back 2 ½ somersault in tuck dive scoring a 9 in the process to win a superb gold on 3m. It was the highest score for a single dive during the event and the only one to be awarded a 9 from the judges. The girls also rose to the occasion with Eva, Erin, Rose and Lexi producing more great dives on all boards. Eva finished 16th on 1m, 14th on 3m and 15th on Platform. Rose finished 13th on 1m, 20th on 3m and 17th on Platform. Erin finished 6th on 1m, 7th on 3m and 9th on Platform, with all 3 girls showing their skill with some fantastic dives. However, it was Lexi who stole the show in this group with some excellent diving across all the boards. She won bronze on Platform and a brilliant silver on 3m and was crowned National Age Group Champion on 1m with an outstanding last dive.
Plymouth were aiming for more success in the Group A events with divers Ben Hall, Madeleine Elliott, Tilly Tassart and Ellie Pearce trying to add to the teams’ impressive medal collection, and they didn’t disappoint. Ben produced a string of excellent dives to finish 5th on 3m with a super bronze on both 1m and Platform. Madeleine finished 17th on 1m, 10th on 3m and narrowly missed out on a medal on Platform finishing a brilliant 4th. Tilly only competed on Platform finishing a very respectable 12th. This group also had a sensational diver in Ellie who produced some outstanding dives to finish the event as National Age Group Champion on 1m and 3m.
Aside from the individual success Plymouth also tasted more success in the synchro events with Ava and Isla teaming up to finish 4th in the C/D girl’s competition. In the C/D boys event Will and Oscar won a super silver medal with some amazing synchronisation. Not to be out shone by the younger pairings Ellie and Rose finished 6th in the A/B girls’ event with Erin and Lexi winning bronze. But the A/B boys pairing of Alex and Noah proved too strong for the opposition and won a fantastic gold with yet more excellent diving.
The club would like to say a huge thanks to all the divers, parents and volunteers that have worked tirelessly to help the divers reach their potential. A special thanks to Plymouth Active for the ongoing support and sponsors Pilkington Estates whose financial assistance is invaluable. Finally, to the coaches Tommy Davis, Harry Mason and Fito Gutierrez who have mentored all the divers over the last four days.
Fito was also awarded the Margaret Davies Trophy as the Top Coach of the competition. On winning the award, he added: “You don’t expect it, it’s just something that when it happens, it happens. I’m very pleased and happy that it was me for this competition.”
