ASA Elite Junior Nationals
Cambridge divers take top 6 placing at the Elite Junior Nationals. Matthew Roberts, Daniel Goodfellow and Lucy Cliff all dived well to finish amongst the best divers in the country for their age groups.
In the Boys A Group, Matthew Roberts (aged 15) had two top eight finishes on the 3m springboard and 10m platform but his best result of the week came on the 1m springboard. Matthew finished 5th after diving a consistent list in both the prelims and finals. A decent set of required dives left Matthew in 6th place going into the finals with everything to play for with nearly all the divers in the finals performing similar lists of dives. Matthew started well with his forward 2½ somersaults piked scoring 48.1 points and an inward 1½ somersaults piked scoring 42.0 points. Continuing through his list with confidence, Matthew then performed his newest dive, a reverse 2½ somersaults with tuck scoring 5½s from the judges. Unfortunately, after some fantastic diving Matthew was unable to break through into the medals but scoring a new personal best and showing that with another two years in this age group he will certainly be improving on his 5th place finish in years to come.
Both Daniel Goodfellow (aged 11) and Lucy Cliff (aged 11) dived in the Group C age group. They dived their way to the most surprising results of the week long competition as (in the respective gender groups) they gained the recognition of a top 6 finish each in the highboard event, which is remarkable considering Cambridge is limited to just a 5m platform at its training pool at Parkside. Lucy showed her superior control and defining lines to dive a massive score of 146.15 after just 4 required dives. The highlight of these dives was her forward 1½ somersaults piked which scored 7s and 8s from the judging panel. Lucy continued her through her optional dives and finished a spectacular performance with an inward 1½ somersaults piked that disappeared through the water with no splash giving her a final total of 263.05 (a new personal best!) and a 5th place finish. Daniel also dived well throughout the week but, like Lucy, put in his best performance in the highboard event. Although this is Daniel's least favorite event he stepped up within the notoriously hard Boys group C age group and pushed the leading divers in the country all the way in the competition. Daniel's required dives looked stylish and with some ripped entries gained the scores from the judges that were well deserved. A standout dive for from Daniel's requireds was his inward 1½ somersaults piked which scored 6½s from all judges. A small mistake on entry from his inward 2½ somersaults with tuck left Daniel outside the top six. But showing his fighting spirit, Daniel finished with a back 1½ somersaults piked that floated through the air with ease giving him a final total of 254.6 points and 6th place overall.
The Cambridge divers performed consistently well throughout the very grueling week of competition and held their own amongst the country's very best. The results are a credit to the divers' hard work and determination and should be a starting point to build upon for the new coaching staff within the club. Both Sam Buck and Josh Karshen enjoyed not only the level of competition but also the attitude and spirit with which the Cambridge divers expressed throughout the week. A big WELL DONE goes out to these divers and a GOOD LUCK goes out to all those divers traveling to America for the upcoming summer camps.
Posted 20/06/2008