The Tier I Ontario Diving Provincial Competition was held this weekend at the Olympium in Etobicoke. This year’s Provincials were a qualifying meet for the upcoming Junior and Senior Provincials, and the trials for Canada Games this summer. The Kitchener Waterloo Diving Club had 9 divers attend, and returned with an impressive record of Diving.
In the under 9 age category, we sent our youngest contender ever, Raine Mahony, age 8. It was her first time at a Tier I meet, and she dove well and held her own, taking home the bronze medal.
Kate Brechun, has been diving with the KWDC for a number of years, and is competing “Open” (all age categories) this year. Kate had a tough battle on her hands, with divers from all over Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, and the U.S. University teams. She came in 4th on the 3 metre and 6th on the 1 metre.
In the boys group D (under 11), KWDC sent Nate Grobe, Ali Moussa, and Andrew Pinney. The divers had a tight competition, and battled for their placing right down to the last few dives. On the 1 metre they placed 4th, 8th and 12th respectively. On the 3 metre, Nate garnered the bronze medal while Ali came in 5th and Andrew placed 8th. Nate Grobe, in his first year as a Level I diver, is qualified for Junior Nationals in Victoria on both the l metre and 3 metre board.
Andrew Dolson competed in A (16 to 18 years old). His goal was to achieve National Qualifying standards and he did!!! He is now qualified for Junior Nationals in Victoria B.C. on both the 1 and 3 metre boards.
Alex Taylor competes Open, and the competition was fierce, with Divers of all ages competing for their Senior qualifiers and their spot on the Canada Games team. On the 1 metre, Alex finished 6th place over all, but by Sunday, a wrist injury plagued his diving, and he finished the 3 metre in 10th place.
Brett Gillis and C.J. Moore were battling in the boys B division (ages 14 and 15 years), for their provincial titles and in the Open Division for their spot on the Canada Games team. Brett Gillis had an amazing showing, with personal best scores on all boards and 3 Bronze medals in his age category. With C.J., he again won Gold in Synchro and the two boys were crowned outstanding Synchro divers for the fourth year in a row in Ontario. Brett dove in the Open categories, taking 11th on 1 metre, 7th on 3 metre, and 6th on Tower. Brett was named the alternate to the Canada Games team.
C.J. Moore was on fire this weekend. On all three boards, 1 metre, 3 metre and Tower, he took the lead and stayed in front. He finished with Triple Gold in his own age category, breaking two provincial records. He broke the previous 1 metre provincial record, by 27.35 points, and the 3 metre record by 23.25 points. He was named Outstanding Diver in B category, taking his place this year on the Provincial Team.
C. J. also competed open and held his own amongst a wide variety of ages. In the 1 metre event, C.J. was in third throughout the whole event, and on his last dive, he surpassed his competition to take the Gold Medal. He also finished 4th on Tower and 6th on 3 metre. His incredible performance secured him a spot on the Canada Games team for Ontario and qualified him for Seniors on all three boards.
Senior Nationals, for Kate and C.J. will be held in Quebec City June 25 to 28th
Junior Nationals for Nate, C.J., Brett and Andrew will be held in Victoria B.C. July 9th to 12th
C.J. will travel with the Ontario Team to Canada Games, Aug 15 to 22.
We wish all our qualifiers luck in the upcoming events!!!!
