Cambridge Diving Development Centre recently hosted the annual Harley Winster event where divers of all levels and abilities took part to make the event one of the largest in the club’s history.
This year’s event saw the diving spread over four categories; the first being the ‘Minis’ where the club’s newest squad divers were able to showcase their talent. This was the first time many of these divers had taken part in a competition and all divers performed some great dives. James Hughes took bronze, Hilary Cheung took silver and Gabriella Aldridge took home the gold medal and the Minis trophy.
The second category was the Novice event where 13 of the club’s divers battled it out for the top positions. A range of skills were performed over the poolside, 1 meter, 3 meter and platform board, with some divers choosing to execute jumps from the 5 meter platform and others doing forwards or backwards falls. Many of the divers in this category have only competed a handful of times, and a home setting allowed them to showcase their skills with confidence. Etienne Bloomfield took the bronze medal with a total score of 129.70 and Ryan Church claimed the silver with a score of 130.80. Meanwhile, Florence Tibbatts was way out ahead to secure the gold and trophy with a score of 142.40.
The penultimate event of the evening was the Junior category with divers completing more competitive skills, selecting two dives to perform from the 1 meter and 3 meter boards, and one final dive from the 5 meter platform. Daisy Maddocks-Hunt put in a strong performance with a total score of 134.95 to take the bronze, while silver went to Tobi Fayomi with a score of 176.45. Charlie Tibbatts took home the Junior Title with a huge score of 198.90. Charlie achieved the biggest score of the evening with 57.60 for his superb back 1 & ½ somersaults with 1 & ½ twists from the 3m springboard!
The fourth and final category was the Senior event in which seven divers took part. This event was hard fought with the top athletes separated by only seven points. Divers once again competed two dives from 1 meter and two dives from the 3 meter, with an additional dive from the highest board – two dives from 5m. It was close event throughout the six rounds, but divers cheered each other on to showcase some great diving. Amelia Aldridge performed consistently and took the bronze medal with a score of 205.40 while silver was taken by Daisy Halls with a score of 221.85. Taking home the senior title was Rufus Bord with a score of 228.25 – no stranger to the top of the podium!
Feedback from spectators alluded to the high the standard of diving across all categories and an impressive confidence many divers had while competing some dives for the first time. Head Coach Alice Clarke said the following – “the meet was a very successful event with lots of divers taking part and lots of happy smiling faces. It was a really good way for us to round out our year and its great for our athletes to compete on some home ground infront of friends and family”
