Hot on the heels of the of last weekends’ success it was the turn of the Plymouth Diving Skills Divers to test their ability against the best in England at the National Skills Diving Finals in Leeds. The competition required all divers to attain a tough qualifying score to be eligible and Plymouth Diving sponsored by Pilkington Estates travelled with a strong squad of 11 divers.
Day One saw the Group D2 boys open the competition with 12 boys battling it out for the honours. The competition was fierce at the top with the lead changing with every dive but some superb diving from Isaac Ide allowed him to scoop a well-deserved bronze, his first national level medal.
Next up was the Group C1 girls, where hopes were high, with 3 divers due to compete. Unfortunately, Poppy Jones had to withdraw from the competition with injury but despite her disappointment she was happy to take up the role of chief cheerleader. Spurred on by some fantastic support Abigail Bishop and Ava Cowper produced some solid diving on all boards against some very talented divers. Abigail finished in 11th place overall, but it was Ava who produced an outstanding set of dives to take a brilliant silver medal for Plymouth.
Day Two presented Plymouth with several more chances to claim more medals and started with the Group D1 girls. Once again, the competition for the podium places was tough but the 3 young Plymouth divers more than held their own. Although a medal wasn’t to be, the trio walked away with their heads held up high and having gained some valuable experience. Teagan Mousley finishing 12th just behind her teammate Alice Jones in 11th and Isla Applin in 7th. Eva Tsianavas was the only diver competing in the D2 group and dived well throughout but the competition for the top places was intense and she finished 20th overall.
Group C1 boys had Kaiwen Dun and Lincoln Stephens diving and they both produced some very consistent diving to finish in 6th and 7th respectively, only separated by a single point. Having watched his teammates face some tough competition it was finally time for Louie McCue to try and secure a top 3 medal. Despite the excellent opposition he remained calm and composed and produced some outstanding dives to finish in 3rd and walk away with the bronze medal.
The divers enjoyed their first ever national competition and were coached by Fito Gutierrez, Lucy Freeman-Gutierrez and Ebony Colbourne. With Mark Jones gaining valuable experience as a level one judge at his first major competition.
The weekend’s success again highlights that the future of diving in Plymouth is looking good and with the ongoing support of Plymouth Active Leisure and Pilkington Estates, Plymouth Diving is hoping for continued success.
