Competition Write-ups

South East Region Skills 2023

Congratulations to our team of seven divers who competed at the South East Region Skills at K2 in Crawley.

This was the last regional skills qualifier to be held in the southern half of the country – and this year’s biggest – with divers getting one final opportunity for more competition experience before the National Skills Finals in July.

More than half our team won medals here, with three divers scoring ‘personal bests’ out of the three regional skills qualifiers we have attended.

Scarlet and Isla competed first in B+ Girls (14/16 years), coming 10th and 12th in the open, and seventh and eighth in the closed, on 281.15 and 280.20 respectively.

In E Girls (8/9 years), Pollyanna came ninth in the open and claimed a bronze in the closed on 250.50.

In D1 Girls (10 years), it was gold for Lily and silver for Libby in both the open and closed. Lily finished with a PB of 307.75 and Libby scored 289.20. In D2 Girls (11 years), Florence claimed silver in both the open and closed with a final score of 306.65 – a PB for her. In C2 Girls (13 years), Katarina came 19th in the open and fifth in the closed on 259.80 – her best final score from all three qualifiers.

The detailed results are available here.

East Region Age Groups 2023
Well done to our team of four divers who competed as guests at the East Region age groups. The two-day competition in Southend provided another opportunity for our divers to prepare for this year's National Age Group Championships.
Sophia competed first here, finishing fifth as a guest in the C Girls (12/13 years) 1m event on 167.85. In C Boys (12/13 years), Leo claimed a guest bronze in the 3m event on 189.05. In the girls’ platform events, Sophia came fourth as a guest in C Girls on 170.70 and Tegan was fifth as a guest in B Girls (14/15 years) on 181.80. Rounding off the first day on a high, Tegan won the B Girls 1m event as a guest on 222.35.
Day two began with a string of boys’ 1m events, with Alex winning a guest gold in the A Boys (16/18 years) on 255.70 and Leo a guest gold in C Boys on 199.30. In the C Girls 3m event, Sophia came guest fourth on 169.05. In the boys’ platform events, Alex won a guest gold in the A Boys on 206.15 and Leo a guest bronze in C Boys on 186.85. In the final session of the weekend – the A & B girls’ 3m events – Tegan won a guest silver in B Girls on 233.65. With some marked improvements on the previous regional age groups, the final ‘guest’ medal count in Southend was two bronze, a silver and four golds.

The detailed results are available here.

South East Region Age Groups 2023
Congratulations to our team of six divers who competed at this year’s South East Region age groups. The meet, held over two days at the Quays in Southampton, also featured Group A Skills 1m and 3m test events for girls and boys.
South East diving competition results have two categories: open (all clubs) and closed (South East clubs only).
All our divers here went on to the podium after their events to collect well-earned medals, with an impressive final haul of 25.
In C Girls (12/13 years), Sophia was fourth in the open and first in the closed of 1m on 159.40. She went on to win the 3m event in both the open and closed on 174.30. On platform, she came sixth in the open and second in the closed on 161.60.
In C Boys (12/13 years), Leo was runner-up in the open and first in the closed on 1m, 3m and platform, scoring 179.25, 175.65 and 164.60 respectively.
In B Girls (14/15 years), Tegan won two golds on 1m – one for the open and one for the closed – on 247.70. On 3m, she came seventh in the open and second in the closed on 214.95.
In A Boys (16/18 years), Alex was runner-up in both the open and closed of the 1m and 3m events, scoring 247.95 and 273.35 respectively. He was fifth in the open and fourth in the closed on platform, scoring 183.40.
In the A Skills (17/18 years) girls’ test events, Lexi came second in the open and won the closed on both 1m and 3m, scoring 147.10 and 163.00 respectively. In the boys, Joel was second in the open and first in the closed on 1m (160.35) and also 3m (159.95).
The detailed results are available here.

London Region Skills 2023
Well done to our team of ten divers who competed at the London Region 'Open' Skills at the London Aquatics Centre.
This regional meet was the first to also trial new 1m and 3m events for a proposed Group A skills age category to be introduced nationally in 2024.

Half of our team here won medals, with six divers improving their performances on the previous skills qualifier.

In E Girls (8/9 years), Pollyanna, who was competing at regional skills level for the first time, came sixth on 256.80 – a score within the national qualification standard. In DI Girls (10 years), it was gold for Lily and silver for Libby, who finished on 302.85 and 297.20 respectively. Florence took the silver on 293.80 in D2 Girls (11 years).

In C2 Girls (13 years), Abigail achieved the national qualification standard, finishing seventh on 276.10. Katarina’s performance in London was significantly better than last month, coming 16th on 248.65.

In B+ Girls (14/16 years), Isla ranked fifth on 272.75 and Scarlet was right behind her in sixth on 270.00.

In the A Girls (17/18 years) test events, Lexi claimed silver on 1m (156.10) and then another silver on 3m (168.35). And in the A Boys (17/18 years) test events, it was two bronzes for Joel – scoring 165.20 on 1m and 166.30 on 3m.

Guests included Olympic gold medal winner Matty Lee and Commonwealth gold and European medallist Noah Williams.

The detailed results are available here.

East Region Skills 2023

Congratulations to our team of seven divers who competed at this year's East Region Skills competition in Southend.

This was the first of three opportunities for our divers to try to qualify for the National Skills Finals being held in Leeds in July.

With the majority of our team here stepping up to regional skills level for the first time, five divers made the qualification standard and secured themselves a place on the trip to the nationals in the summer.

Florence, Libby and Lily competed first in D Girls (10/11 years), with Florence winning a guest silver medal on 292.65. Lily came fourth as a guest on 276.25 and Libby was right behind her in fifth as a guest on 272.20.

In C Girls (12/13 years), the biggest event of the meet with 36 competitors, Abigail came 11th as a guest on 269.55 – just half a point away from the qualifying standard. Katarina came 29th as a guest on 231.25.

In B+ Girls (14/16 years), Isla finished fifth as a guest on 282.10 and Scarlet was 13th as a guest on 261.35. Both their scores fell within the national qualification standard.

The detailed results are available here.

Armada Cup 2023

Congratulations to our team of six divers who travelled to the South West to compete at this year's Armada Cup.

Hosted by Plymouth Diving across four days at the Plymouth Life Centre, this long-running open club competition stages events for both age group and elite junior divers.

In all but one day here, individual events ran with preliminaries in the morning, with the top six progressing to finals in the afternoon.
On the opening day, Lyra and Eva competed first in the A Girls (16/18 years) age group 1m prelim. Lyra qualified in fourth on 249.50 and Eva in fifth on 241.55. In the final, Lyra came fifth on 102.05 and Eva was sixth on 97.15. In the A Boys (16/18 years) age group 3m prelim, Alex qualified in fifth place on 236.60. He went on to take the bronze in the final on 111.60. In the C Boys (12/13 years) age group 3m prelim, Leo qualified in fifth on 177.80 and went on to finish sixth in the final on 84.15.
On day two - when events had to be run as straight finals due to time constraints - Alex came fifth in the A Boys age group 1m on 227.75. In the A Girls age group platform, Lyra won the event on 255.75 – around ten points clear of the runner-up. Later in the day she paired up with Caitlin for the A/B Girls 3m synchro, finishing sixth on 184.92.
Leo dived first on day three, qualifying in third place on 175.60 in the C Boys age group 1m prelim. He went on to take the silver in the final on 101.70. Tegan also competed that day, ranking 13th in the B Girls (14/15 years) age group 3m prelim on 194.75. Her score was inside the recommended performance standard for this year’s national age groups. In the A Girls age group 3m prelim, Lyra qualified in first place on 268.75 and went on to win the final on 118.75.
On the last day, Leo qualified in third place in the C Boys age group platform prelim on 192.15. He finished fourth in the final on 104.70. Ending four busy days of competition, Leo teamed up with Joshua Saxton from Dive London in the D/C Boys 1m synchro, winning the event on 186.96.

The detailed results are available here.

Surrey Diving Skills 2023
Well done to our team of 13 divers who got the new year competition programme underway with some good performances and results at the Surrey County ASA Diving Skills at Guildford Spectrum.

Some of our team here were representing the club ‘externally’ for the first time.

Pollyanna got the team off to a solid start in the first session with a win in the E Girls (8/9 years) on 137.55. Also competing in session one was Lily, who claimed a Surrey gold in the D Girls (10/11 years) on 151.50. Ella claimed the Surrey silver on 121.30 and Lucia a Surrey bronze on 111.90.
In session two – C Girls (12/13 years) - the biggest event of the meet, the results were split afterwards into individual years: C1 (12 years) and C2 (13 years). In C2, Abigail won on 153.60 and Katarina claimed the Surrey silver on 136.30.
In the third and final session, George claimed a Surrey silver in the C Boys (12/13 years) on 125.30. In the B+ Boys (14/16 years), Matthew won the event on 144.30 and Seth took the silver on 136.40.

In B+ Girls (14/16 years), it was one, two and three on the podium for Scarlet (154.95), Sophie (148.75) and Isla (146.25) respectively. Mable came fifth in the Surrey results on 140.90.

Any idea who from our team got the highest raw score (three judges' scores added together, before being multiplied by the degree of difficulty)? Abigail's V-sit hold scored 26 points, which also happened to be the highest raw score of the entire meet.

There was friendly competition this year from 'guest' clubs Albatross, Amersham, Crystal Palace, Luton and Maidstone. Also competing here were South West London Diving – a club at the London end of Surrey.

The detailed results are available here.

Swim England Talent Games 2022

Well done to our two divers Florence and Sophia who competed at this year's Swim England Talent Games, held at the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds.
Here, divers competed across a variety of dry-land and pool-based activities over two days.
Dry land comprised three elements: a floor routine, dry boards and physical competitions – testing power, speed and control.
In the pool, the divers performed a number of skills, dives and forward and back line-ups from the 1m and 3m springboards and 3m platform.
On dry land, Florence came 13th on 112.67 and Sophia was fourth on 133.56. In the pool, Florence was 12th on 197.35 and Sophia claimed the bronze on 242.25.
In the combined results, Florence ranked 12th on 178.45 and Sophia claimed a second bronze on 214.31.
The Talent Games are open to divers who are 11 years and under and serve as the selection event for the Swim England Diving Team Z squad.

The simple results are available here.

Santa Skills 2022

Congratulations to our team of nine divers who went up to Yorkshire to compete at this year’s Santa Skills.
When we were last there in 2019, the meet was held on its usual day at its usual pool: on a Saturday at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.
This year, however, the itinerary in the run-up to the competition took a couple of unexpected turns. Firstly, the date was moved from Sunday back to a Saturday; and secondly, the meet had to be relocated at the 11th hour to the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds.

Hosts City of Sheffield Diving Club – together with City of Leeds Diving Club – did a great job to avoid a cancellation by securing another pool at very short notice. And thanks to our chaperones for supervising the change impeccably. Pre-booked pool training at Ponds Forge on Friday afternoon turned to dry-land training there instead.

The following morning our team set off from Sheffield, travelling further up the M1 to Leeds.
Santa Skills is run as a circuit-style competition, with the top six from the prelims going through to a three-round final. More than half our team here made it through to the finals, with four of the divers impressing the judges and scoring some nines!

In the E Girls (8/9 years) prelim, Lily qualified in third on 229.40 and Libby was fourth on 213.20. In the final, Libby came fourth on 81.20 and Lily was fifth on 80.15. In the B+ Girls (14/16 years) prelim, Lexi qualified in sixth on 218.65 and finished fifth equal in the final on 83.75. In the C Girls (12/13 years) prelim, Abigail qualified in fifth on 229.45, Scarlet was 12th on 204.20, Mable 14th on 202.20, Isla 15th on 201.60 and Sophie 18th on 192.30. Abigail went on to finish runner-up in the final on 89.05. In the Girls’ Mini F (7 years) prelim, Pollyanna qualified in second on 120.30 and went on to win the final on 74.20.

As ever, big thanks to our volunteer chaperones – who on this occasion were Rusty, Gaby and Justine – for helping to make this team trip possible. The detailed results are available here.

Southampton Invitational 2022

Well done to our team of seven divers who competed at the three-day Southampton Invitational at the Quays.
This year saw a welcome return to the competition being allowed spectators again following the lifting of Covid restrictions.
More than half our team here were competing for the first time at this age-group level competition, which also included some elite junior divers as guests.
The top six in the morning and lunchtime prelims – plus two guests – went through to the afternoon finals, comprising three rounds of optionals. All the Group D (10/11 years) events this year had prelims only - no finals.
Leo competed first on day one, making it through the C Boys (12/13 years) 3m prelim in fifth on 191.85. He took it up a notch in the final, finishing fourth on 99.95.
In the B Girls (14/15 years) 1m prelim, Caitlin qualified in first place on 226.15, Eva was 12th on 199.45 and Lyra came 13th on 197.10. Caitlin went on to win an eagerly anticipated final on 113.65.
On day two, Lyra qualified in sixth on 231.85 in the B Girls platform prelim. She went on to finish sixth in the final on 102.05. Sophia won the D Girls 3m on 135.85. In the A+ Boys (16+ years) 3m prelim Alex was eighth on 239.60. Leo, who competed in two events that day, came ninth in the C Boys 1m prelim on 161.00 and then 11th in the platform prelim on 169.00.
On the last day, in the B Girls 3m prelim, Lyra qualified in third on 243.30 and Caitlin was sixth on 223.80. Tegan came 17th on 205.70 and Eva 21= on 190.85. In the final, Lyra claimed the silver on 122.00 and Caitlin the bronze on 118.05. Sophia finished fourth on 126.15 in the D Girls 1m. Alex came eighth in the A+ Boys 1m prelim on 228.05.

Also worthy of a mention here was Lily, who competed for Southampton on this occasion as a guest in the A+ Girls (16+ years). In the finals, she was first on 1m (119.80) and platform (139.60) and runner-up on 3m (122.35).

In what amounted to three jam-packed, hot and busy days at the Quays, well done again to everyone for some great diving. The detailed results are available here.

ESSA South East Division Trials 2022

Congratulations to our team of six divers - one of them competing as a 'guest' - who represented their schools at the ESSA South East Division Trials held this year at Guildford Spectrum.

The meet also doubled up for this year's Surrey Schools Diving Championships, with separate rankings extracted for Surrey-only pupils.

Half of the team at this divisional qualifier placed in the top three of their events, making South East Division team selection for the English Schools National Championships at the London Aquatics Centre in December.

Tegan competed first in the intermediate girls, the largest event of the meet, finishing sixth on 189.95.

Lily, Eva and Alex dived next in the seniors. Lily won the girls' event on 248.85 and Eva was 'guest' runner-up on 206.00. Alex placed second in the boys on 194.85.

In the juniors, Leo won the boys' event on 147.30 and Sophia came fourth in the girls on 118.50.

For Tegan, Lily, Leo and Sophia - all of whom attend Surrey schools - each ranked top county school winner in their event.

The detailed results are available here.

Amersham Invitational 2022

Well done to our team of 19 divers who competed at the Amersham Invitational at the Chilterns Lifestyle Centre.

More than half the team won medals at this new pool, with a final haul of six gold, four silver and two bronze.

Katarina, our only diver in Group 3, got us off to a good start with a win in C Girls (12/13) on 97.20.

In Group 2, it was gold and silver in E Girls (8/9) for Lily (111.70) and Libby (98.70) respectively. In C Girls (12/13), Scarlet took the silver (112.30) and Isla the bronze (111.10). Sophie was fifth (105.05) and Mable came seventh (100.55). In B+ Girls (14/16), Lexi claimed gold (119.35) and Charlotte was fifth (100.20). In B+Boys (14/16), it was another one-two on the podium: Isaac took gold (110.00) and Matthew the silver (106.35).

In the Female Novice Masters, Elsbeth won the event on 110.95 and Justine was fourth on 101.40. In the Male Novice Masters, Joel won gold (125.40), Simon came sixth (106.90) and Luke was seventh (98.55).

In the Female Masters, Helen claimed silver (229.90), Amy the bronze (227.55) and Laura was sixth (204.10).

The detailed results are available here.

National Skills Finals 2022

Congratulations to our squad of eight divers who competed at the two-day National Skills Finals, hosted this year by the North East Region at the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds.

The team came away with two golds and two silvers - plus three other top 10s.

Libby was our only diver competing on the first day, coming ninth on 254.85 in the E Girls (8/9 years).

Florence, whose first national skills finals this was, competed first on day two, finishing sixth on 270.40 in the D1 Girls (10 years). Sophia dived next in the D2 Girls (11 years), taking silver on 292.25. Leo competed next in the C1 Boys (12 years), winning the event on 322.00. In the B+ Girls (14/16 years), Eva took gold on 360.85, Tegan the silver on 356.80 and Rebecca was 23rd on 237.35. In the final event of the meet, Alex came eighth in the B+ Boys (14/16 years) on 287.35.

Big thanks to Carl and to Gaby, our volunteer chaperones over the weekend, for making it an enjoyable team trip for all concerned.

The detailed results are available here.

Swim England National Age Groups 2022

Well done to Lyra who competed at this year's Swim England National Age Group Championships in Plymouth.

Having dived in all three individual events - 1m, 3m and platform - plus 3m synchro, she medalled in them all.

On the opening day, she paired up with Lucy Parker from Luton Diving Club for the A/B Girls 3m synchro, taking silver on 193.44.

On day two, she claimed a second silver in the B Girls 3m, finishing on 276.85. On the third day she came away with a bronze on platform (219.80). On the fourth and final day of competition she was runner-up on 1m (237.30), adding a third silver to her haul.

The detailed results are available here.

South West London Diving Invitational 2022

Well done to our team of 10 divers who competed at the inaugural South West London Diving Invitational at Putney Leisure Centre.

Nine of the ten divers came away with well-earned medals, which were presented by Great Britain Olympic diver at Tokyo 2020, Scarlett Mew Jensen.

In Group 4, Lily got the team off to a super start by winning (88.50) the E Girls.

In Group 3, it was gold, silver and bronze respectively for Scarlet (88.90), Isla (86.70) and Mable (83.40) in the C Girls. Did you know that Scarlet was the only diver throughout the whole competition to be awarded a nine from one of the judges (for her forward jump piked from poolside)?

Three more golds followed in Group 2, with Florence winning the D Girls (113.45), Abigail the C Girls (119.20) and George the C Boys (101.55).

In Group 1, Lexi was runner-up in the B+ Girls (116.75) and Rebecca came seventh (103.30). In the B+ Boys, Isaac took the silver on 123.00.

The detailed results are available here.