Diving Australia
Latest News
| 9 Mar 2010 | New faces at Chandler Pool, Brisbane |
| 9 Mar 2010 | New Coach at Victorian Institute of Sport |
| 9 Mar 2010 | Matthew Mitcham models in Sydney |
| 9 Mar 2010 | Mitcham dines with royalty |
| 9 Mar 2010 | Tassie gets a taste |
| 9 Mar 2010 | Calling all young diving aspirants in Melbourne |
| 9 Mar 2010 | Divers go West for selection |
| 9 Mar 2010 | Commonwealth Games still on track |
| 9 Mar 2010 | Connor shocked by bronze medal |
| 9 Mar 2010 | The beauties but no beasts |
| 9 Mar 2010 | Stratton gets her 11th title. Mitcham picks up 3 golds at Nationals |
New faces at Chandler Pool, BrisbaneTuesday, 9 March 2010As a result of a highly competitive Australian Open Championships in Sydney in January and the appointment of some new coaches to various state diving programs, there will be these new faces on the boards at Chandler, Brisbane.
Secondly it’s a big welcome to Rachel Bugg from SA, Esther Qin, NSW and James Connor from Vic, who have moved to Brisbane as part of the Diving Australia Visitation Program. They will be under the direction of DA National Head Coach Hui Tong.
Rachel has recently returned to top level competition at the Open Championships where she placed 4th in the Women’s 10m platform event and has also been selected for Commonwealth Games trials.
Congratulations to all four divers on their elevation to these positions.
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New Coach at Victorian Institute of SportTuesday, 9 March 2010Victoria is the new home of the recently appointed Chinese International diving coach, Chang Yeng. He will be replacing Tong Xiang Wang (Mr. Wang to many!!), who has relocated to Queensland as the new Queensland Academy of Sport Elite Development Program (EDP) coach.
VIS Performance Manager, Marty Aitken said “We are very happy to welcome Chang Yeng to the VIS team. We believe that he will be able to continue the great work that former Head Coach Tong Xiang Wang started”
Yeng has spent the last ten years coaching in New Zealand, before moving to the Crystal Palace Diving Institute in London. He has been coaching international diving since 1987. He coached at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada.
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Matthew Mitcham models in SydneyTuesday, 9 March 2010Paintings and Edition photographs featuring Beijing Gold medallist Matthew Mitcham, are included in forthcoming Melbourne and Sydney art exhibitions. Mitcham, who produced the highest scoring dive in the history of the Olympics at the 2008 event, has been portrayed in a subtle artistic style.
The portrait, by prominent artist Ross Watson, is on display in Sydney in March.
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Mitcham dines with royaltyTuesday, 9 March 2010Our very own gold medallist was invited by the Governor General of Australia, to attend a luncheon in honour of Prince William and his visit to Australia in January.
Mitcham was one of 20 outstanding young Australians covering various fields of the community, sport, music and the arts, invited by the Governor General and who were in the under 30 age group. Prince William is 27.
“Delta Goodrem was part of our group and we all sat at one table with the Prince. That enabled us all to talk and be part of the luncheon. It was a memorable experience” said Matthew.
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Tassie gets a tasteTuesday, 9 March 2010The Apple Isle will come alive on the 23rd of March with the National Elite Diving Program being rolled out in Hobart.
The program is being advertised through Tasmanian schools in an effort to attract divers to join the EDP in Tasmania.
The day commences at 10 am and goes till noon under the experienced eye of EDP coach Pavel Poltnikov and Diving Australia NP coordinator Kate Abbott.
Potential divers on the day will be assessed to join the EDP program in Tasmania under coach Pavel. The program will be similar to other Elite Development Programs around the states and is different to the NTID development programs run by Chantelle Newbery.
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Calling all young diving aspirants in MelbourneTuesday, 9 March 2010Do you 'Dare to Dive?' asks National Talent Identification Coordinator, Olympic gold medallist Chantelle Newbery, as she prepares to launch her NTID testing day on 21st March at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
“This is when we showcase the sport of Diving in our community as we look for the next generation of champion divers” says Chantelle “We invite boys and girls between the ages of 9 to 15 to come along for a fun day of testing under the watchful eye of our coaches” she said.
The program is encouraging those who have had some background in gymnastics, trampolining or acrobatics to be considered for a place in one of Victoria’s development squads under expert Victorian Institute of Sport coaches.
“ You don’t necessarily have to have any diving experience” says Chantelle
“Just come along and join in the fun” she says
Those interested in attending the day at MSAC on the 21st March should register online at www.ais.org.au/talent/diving All the details of the day are on the website.
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Divers go West for selectionTuesday, 9 March 2010Perth will come alive in July when Australia’s best divers head west to seek selection in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games team.
Having met selection standards at the Australian Open in January in Sydney, selectors named a team of 5 men and 12 women to compete for team selection. The Challenge Stadium, Mt Claremont Perth, will be host to our divers between 6-8th July. A week after these trials, the team will be announced to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games in Dehli, India in October 2010.
Watch this space, as a spot on this team is a goal of every aspiring diver in the lead up to the London Olympics in 2012.
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Commonwealth Games still on trackTuesday, 9 March 2010Despite a few security scares recently, the Dehli Commonwealth Games are still on track reports Australia’s Commonwealth Games Chief, Perry Crosswhite.
Meanwhile the Games will open on the 3rd October and conclude on the 14th October 2010 with 17 sports featuring, including Diving. Twenty six new training venues are currently being constructed around the city with construction being stepped up to ensure completion. Dehli will also see the new low rise development in the heart of the city, for the Athlete’s Village on a 40 acre “greenfields” site to house the expected 8,500 athletes and officials at the Games.
Australia’s diving team will be selected in July 2010 after selection trials in Perth.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games will be hosted in Glasgow, Scotland.
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Connor shocked by bronze medalTuesday, 9 March 2010A face and name you will be hearing a lot more in the future, is 14 year old Diving sensation James Connor from Victoria.
Fresh from his bronze medal win in the 10 metre platform event at the Australian Open Championships in Sydney, Connor was surprised and shocked with the result. Connor has been selected in the target 2012 squad, with his sights set firmly on the 2012 London Olympics.
“He’s by far the best coach I’ve ever had” Connor said.
“He’s helped me get my technique where it should be” he said
“I respect him a lot” said Connor
Now the pocket rocket has his sights on London 2012.
“I’ve always wanted to go to the Olympics and it’s now well within my reach” he said.
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The beauties but no beastsTuesday, 9 March 2010Lots of heads were turning at a glittering and stylish presentation dinner to conclude the Australian Open Championships in January in Sydney. Divers took timeout to dress up and enjoy a delicious dinner, dancing and entertainment with parents and friends, to celebrate months of hard work and training.
Chairman of Diving Australia, Ashley Wilson started the evening by taking the crowd through a history of Australian diving and representation by acknowledging those Olympians past and present.“As a sport we’ve come a long way since Dick Eve won Australia’s first Diving gold medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics” he said.
Athletes and officials were all thanked for their Championship efforts and treated to a sumptuous buffet dinner, before the various teams were announced by Chairman Ashley Wilson.
The 2 major awards went to:
2010 Female Diver of the Year-Open Sharleen Stratton- QLD
2010 Male Diver of the Year-Open Matthew Mitcham-NSW
Then the teams were announced:
Team for the 17th FINA Diving World Cup-8 athletes
Youth Olympic Games qualifying event-2 athletes
2010 Commonwealth Games Squad-17 athletes
2010 National squad-8 athletes
2010 Development squad-6 athletes
Target 2012 Squad-2 athletes
The evening was a great success for all who attended to “let off steam” after 3 days of intense and exciting competition at the Championships.
Note: Full details of the team members can be found on the Diving Australia website on www.diving.asn.au | ||||
Stratton gets her 11th title. Mitcham picks up 3 golds at NationalsTuesday, 9 March 2010The Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre came alive for 3 exciting days during January this year. Divers from all around Australia strutted their stuff in an effort to impress selectors for a possible spot in the Commonwealth Games Team in Dehli India in October this year.
Leading the charge was perennial consistent performer Matthew Mitcham who won gold in the 1 metre, 3 metre synchro and 10 metre event. He narrowly missed gold in the 3 metre, when teammate Scott Robertson of VIC pulled off some great dives and scores to edge out Mitcham and take the gold, with silver to Mitcham. Olympian Sharleen Stratton continued her dominance of both 1 metre and 3 metre springboard events with gold in both events, to chalk up her 11th national springboard title.
Other outstanding results were in the women’s platform event which saw a great 3 way battle, between Alexandra Croak (NSW), Melissa Wu (NSW) and 14 year old Brittany Broben of Queensland. As the lead fluctuated constantly during the rounds, it was eventually Alexandra Croak who came out on top with the gold, ahead of Melissa Wu silver, and Brittany Broben, bronze.
At a glittering presentation night after the awards, selectors announced the National and Development squads to represent Diving Australia at forthcoming National and International events in 2010 and the team for the 2010 benchmark event, the FINA DIVING WORLD CUP.
A full list of the squads and results from the National Championships can be seen on the DA website www.diving.asn.au
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