DDDIIIVVVEEE DDDIIIVVVEEE DDDIIIVVVEEE December 2013 Edition

SILVER MEDAL SUCCESS

FOR BEN

Ben Cutmore excels at the recent Scottish Nationals

and comes home with two silver medals….

Read more about Ben’s Success Inside.

Good Bye to Aaron

More Inside

FEATURING

Medal Success for Ben

Farewell to Aaron

Competition Results

Changes to Diver Pathway

New Club Administrator

Caption Contest

Aaron

leaves

CDT to

take up a

post with

Southend

Diving

Club….

"

Not many people know this…..

Ben was recently thrown off the diving boards at

Shrewsbury Swimming Pool and asked to leave by the

lifeguards as his impressive dives, somersaults and

tucks and twists were so good lifeguards were worried

that other less capable adults and children would try to

copy him..!!

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At the age of just 10 years old, Ben Cutmore is already turning heads and

getting noticed on the national diving scene. This summer Ben was

invited to Plymouth to a talent camp run by British Diving. Ben was the

youngest there but didn’t let that put him off and got stuck straight in.

Ben spoke very modestly about the camp, “It was fun getting to know

the other divers and having a look at the divers I will be up against in

years to come. I learned loads from the many coaches that were there as

well as Sam who came with me. I learned some new, more challenging

dives. Everyone encouraged each other really well and I learned a lot

from watching other divers. My technique and consistency improved

loads when I was there.”

As a result of the camp, Ben came away with some clear goals,

specifically to achieve 160 in the Luton Challenge. This he did, scoring

168. He set a goal of 170 in the Armada Cup and scored 176. The England

Camp set a target of 185 and Ben reached 191 which is equivalent to

boys group B2 which is normally boys aged 14 years, some four years

older than Ben..!! Ben has already gathered a good selection of Gold,

Silver and Bronze medals.

Ben, who is in Year 6 at Steeple Morden Primary School was spotted

whilst on a family holiday in Turkey at the age of 6. A local dive coach saw

Ben diving into the swimming pool and told his dad Paul that his son had

a real talent for diving. Ben came to Learn to Dive the following January

and five weeks later he was in the squad, never having looked back.

Asked what he didn’t like about the camp, Ben said “The beds were

uncomfortable and the food was not as good as my mum makes.”

Ben’s future ambition is to dive for Great Britain and if he continues as he

is currently he is certainly in with a very good chance. Ben wanted to

thank his mum and dad for their support and for driving him everywhere

so he can dive and also his coach Sam for all of his help.

Aaron bids Farewell to CDT

With sadness, the Club has bid farewell to one of its

coaches as he takes the next step in his dive coaching

career. 21 year old Aaron Paul has been with the club for

over nine years and in that time Aaron has achieved a lot

however feels that the time is right to take the next step

and move to a larger club to further his career

aspirations.

Aaron stated “Diving is what I do and will really miss

Cambridge Dive Team but I am ambitious as this is a

fantastic opportunity for me. The facilities at Southend

are excellent and I am keen to experience the different

coaching methods.”

Speaking on his thoughts about leaving the club, Aaron

said “I will really miss the divers, I would love to continue

working with so many of them who have been brilliant

to work with and I will miss not continuing their diving

journey with them. I will miss working with Sam and

Lottie but wont miss the many many Learn to Dive

emails I have dealt with on a daily basis.”

Since taking over the Learn to Dive Programme, Aaron

has invested a lot of time and effort into providing

students reports, feedback and developing the talent in

the club.

Aaron states his goal is to “Learn as much as I can and be

the best that I can”. His ambition is to coach an athlete

to Olympic standard and share that journey”.

Aaron would like to thank everyone at the club for the

support and friendship they have shown him during his

time at CDT.

Aaron smiled “Don’t worry, I am not far away, I will still

watch CDT at competitions and will follow the young

divers closely to see how they are getting on.

Aaron left the club on 31st

October and started at

Southend on 4th

November.

Head Coach Sam said “I wish Aaron well in his new role

at Southend and would like to thank him for his hard

work and energy whilst at CDT”

After going

in the water

one last

time, Aaron

was

presented

with a sweet

hamper to

mark his

departure

from CDT.

Cambridge Dive Team welcomes Helen Preston as the Club Administrator

Helen has joined CDT to take over the administration of the Learn to Dive Programme and assist with the Competitive Programme. Helen's experience in business management and administration with a customer service focus will provide an excellent basis for her new role. She has spent several years abroad in the United Arab Emirates and Dubai as a finance and facilities manager and business operations manager. She returned to England three years ago and set up a web-based business offering selected holiday rentals in Dubai.

Helen lives in Ickleton and is no stranger to Parkside Pool as both her children swim with City of Cambridge Swimming Club. She is a former county badminton and tennis player and enjoys playing the piano and cello.

Helen takes over Aaron's Learn to Dive office duties so you will see plenty of her in the office and on poolside. We look forward to having her onboard. Helen can be contacted at helen@cambridgediving.org.uk.

ASA EAST REGION DIVING CLUB

CHAMPS 2013

The Cambridge Dive Team sent a young team to

compete in the ASA East Region Diving Club Champs last

weekend. Competing across all disciplines including the

1m and 3m springboards as well as the various height

platforms, the Cambridge team returned home with 2

golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronze medals.

In the Girls Junior and Girls Senior Platform event it was

Cambridge who reigned supreme clinching both titles.

Elora Graham showed her renowned ripped entries,

which turned out to be the difference in a very tightly

fought competition. Elora took gold with a final total of

122.9 points beating a diver from Luton who placed

second with 122.15. Lucy Watson also dived well to

finish 10th. Annie Thomas took the senior platform title

with a total of 177.9. This was an outstanding

achievement considering Annie has only been diving in

the platform events since the start of 2013. She

demonstrated sound technique and graceful lines to

edge out team mate Lucy Hughes who finished second

with a total of 155.85. Lucy was consistent throughout

but lacked the degree of difficulty to take the gold.

In the Men’s platform events, Ben Cutmore (only aged

10 years) took on the divers aged 16+. Ben held his own

and wowed the crowd with a spectacular reverse one

and half somersaults from the 7.5m platform. Ben

narrowly missed out on a bronze medal finishing 4th

with a total of 222.2, just 1 point behind bronze.

Dominic Jaunzens finished 13th in the junior event.

Sebastian Jaunzens had a mixed day putting together

some good scores but tied in with some small mistakes.

He performed well after a long break from the end of

last season diving into bronze medal position with a

total of 221.3 in the Men’s Senior 3m event. Ben

Cutmore again showed his potential for the future by

placing 5th in a field that included senior international

divers.

Elora continued her success from the platform event in

the Women’s Junior 3m springboard competition. Elora

took the silver medal that again was a big achievement

for the 10 year old in a field made up of divers aged up

to 15. Also diving in this event were Florence Simmons

(6th), Lucy Watson (7th), Amelie Fawcett (11th), Alicia

Offin (12th), and Ellie Rogers (14th). Promising signs were

shown by all for the season ahead. Annie Thomas took

4th in the Women’s Senior 3m event and her reverse one

and half somersault with tuck was the highlight of the

competition.

In the 1m events, Cambridge took 8th and 19th in the

Men’s junior competition and 5th and 7th in Men’s senior

event. The women finished 4th and 5th in the senior

event whilst the juniors finished 6th, 9th, 11th, 13th and

17th.

The weekend ended with the synchro competitions,

which saw the Cambridge pairing of Elora Graham and

Lucy Watson, take the bronze medal with a total of 93.6

points. All coaches and divers were pleased with the

performances and the new competitive season has

started well for the new look Cambridge Dive Team.

SOUTHAMPTON INVITATIONAL

Cambridge Dive Team sent a group of 6 promising divers

to the Southampton Invitational Competition. The 3 day

event that started on 26th October and tests the diver’s

mental and physical stamina.

Elora Graham, who competed in the Girls 11 and under,

really shone throughout the weekend making finals on

all boards. Her ability to stay calm and not let nerves

get the best of her meant she earned gold medals on

5m and 1m and a 4th place on the 3m diving board.

Elora is starting to prove herself as a confident

competitor and a strong rival for divers in her age group.

Sebastian Jaunzens is Cambridge Dive Team Capitan and

set a great example for our young divers. Sebastian

competed in the Men’s 16 and over category and made

finals in both his events. He achieved a personal best on

3m with a score of 260.7 due to an impressive back one

and a half somersault with two and a half twists which

helped him finish in 5th place. Sebastian was competing

against men who dive internationally for Great Britain.

He kept up with this high caliber of diving on the 1m by

performing a new and challenging dive which rotates

forward towards the board two and a half times scoring

him an impressive 40.3 points and finishing in 6th place.

Dominic Jaunzens and Oliver Cook represented

Cambridge Dive Team in the boys 11 and under

category. Dominic dived steadily on each board

finishing 9thon 1m 16thon 3m and 5thon 5m. Dominic

showed his natural ability to go through the water

without a splash from the 5m platform and ‘wowed’ the

audience with an impressive arm stand dive which

scored a 6.5.

Oliver finished 18th on both 1m and 3m. He has

increased his dive difficulty greatly for the new season

and showed that he has the ability to keep improving

these difficult dives and their consistency. His coach

Lottie Thompson was impressed with how mentally

strong Oliver is as a competitor keeping composed and

positive during the competitions. His ability to do this

will really help him throughout his diving career.

Amelie Fawcett, competed in the Girls 11 and under and

dived consistently on 3m finishing in 9thplace. On the

1m board Amelie achieved a personal best of 119.65

leaving her in 8th place only 1.2 points off making the

final. This competition has given Amelie an extremely

positive competition experience which will push her on

to making changes and learning more complex

movements.

Annie Thomas, who competed in the Girls 14-15 age

group, had a tough competition experience having to

overcome a rocky start to the weekend on the 1m

board. Despite this all her hard training paid off on the

3m board where she demonstrated some good take offs

and aerial work. Annie finished 17th on 1m, 11th on 3m

and Platform. Annie has taken many positives away

from this competition and is looking forward to her next

competition in Edinburgh.

Elora with her Gold Medal

SCOTTISH NATIONALS

AND THISTLE TROPHY

2013

Ben Cutmore (aged 10) bought home the silverware

from Edinburgh last weekend as he won two silver

medals in the Under 15 men’s springboard and platform

diving events at the Scottish National Championships.

The Championships were being held in the same pool as

the Commonwealth Games 2014 so to pick up a couple

of medals in an event where Ben was competing against

boys up to 5 years his senior has shown just what a

potential talent he really is. Ben scored 247.5 points in

the 3m springboard event and 240.0 points in the

platform competition.

Competing in the Woman’s Under 15 event, the

Cambridge Dive Team had four representatives. Annie

Thomas (aged 14) finished inside the top ten her the

platform event where she showed splashless entries on

her dives from the 7.5m platform. This result has set

her up well as she targets a place at the Junior Elite

British Championships next year. Fellow teammates,

Lucy Watson and Amelie Fawcett showed real progress

and improvements in their competitive performances in

a tough field of competitors. Amelie achieved a new

personal best result. Frances Webb (aged 9) had the

hardest task as one of the youngest divers in the field as

well as this being her first ever age group event after

competing as a novice for the first half of 2013. She

held her nerve and took in the atmosphere to perform

her list of dives with a smile on her face.

The Thistle Trophy is a hotly competitive novice event,

which caters for all ages from under 7’s through to 16

year olds. The Cambridge Dive Team sent a very young

team with many divers competing in their very first

competition outside of Cambridge. The chance to

compete in the Commonwealth Games pool coupled

with divers from all over Britain and a fully packed

spectator gallery meant nerves were bubbling in many

of the young divers. The divers had to perform dives

from the poolside, 1m springboard and 3m springboard

vary from simple jumps to more complex tuck dives.

In the Boy’s 8-9 years category Gabriel Strydom-Green

was the top finisher for Cambridge ending up in 5th

place with a total of 146.3 points. Felix Allen stepped

up and performed brilliantly showing good clean entries

through the water to take 8th place with a score of

141.45 points. Toby Chapman wasn’t far behind

finishing in 11thwith a total of 131.95 and Daniel Mead

in 15th place with 125.4 points. Miles Fraser competed

in the Boy’s 10-11 years and held good technique whilst

being in ore of the environment in which he was diving.

Miles scored 105.6 points.

Zara Wray and Olivia Wall competed in the Girl’s 8-9

years event and both dived superbly. Zara performed

some of the hardest dives in this event and maintained

good form throughout. Zara finished 8th with a total of

140.4 points. Olivia usually suffers from nerves but

these never even creped in to her mind once the

competition had started. She impressed her coaches

and parents in how well she upped her game especially

when she scored 8½’s out of 10 for her pike fall off the

3m springboard. Olivia finished 13th with a total of

129.4 points.

Alice Ledzion finished highest out the Cambridge divers

in the Girl’s 10-11 years category with a total of 138.75

taking her to 14th place. Alicia Offin scored 136.45

coming in in 17th; Rosanna Snook scored 124.4 in 27th

place followed by Daisy Reed in 28th place on a total of

122.6 points. This age category is renowned for being

one of the toughest throughout Britain due to the

number of Talent Identified children who have been

handpicked from primary schools and fast tracked down

the diving pathway. All of the Cambridge girls competed

in both a professional and encouraging manner, which

was noted by the judges saying how happy all of the

Cambridge Team looks when they compete and how

promising the future looks for Cambridge.

Both the Age Groupers and the Novice divers had a

fantastic fun filled frantic weekend of diving in a facility

that will become very familiar next year in the

Commonwealth Games. The highlight for most of the

Cambridge novice team was having the chance to jump

from the 10m platform which is a very daunting task

considering the age of these divers and the fact that

most had never seen a diving board that high before.

The coaching staff came home as very proud coaches

and look forward to more competitions with the team

next year.

Well Deserved Award for Sharyn

Cambridge Dive Team’s Treasurer and loyal supporter of the Club has been presented with a top award.

Sharyn Bord was awarded the Living Sports Award for Services to Sport award after giving 40 years of service to diving.

Cambridge Dive Team’s Bord has been involved in diving most of her life, and been instrumental in teaching thousands of children to dive and coaching divers to elite national honours.

She was first a coach, then tutor, judge, fundraiser, treasurer and administrator and has been involved at club, county, regional and even national levels.

Club Chairman Richard Bowers said “All at the club are absolutely delighted that Sharyn’s long term commitment to diving has been recognized in this way. Sharyn’s commitment and dedication to the sport of diving and to this club is outstanding, whether it be securing funding, promoting the work of the club, coaching or training, Sharyn’s dedication is nothing short of amazing. Very well deserved.”

The Committee at

Cambridge Dive

Team wish the

Coaches, all Divers

and their families a

very Merry

Christmas and

every good wish for

2014.

Changes to Diver’s Pathway to Competitive Diving

New Club Administrator Helen Preston has written to all Learn to Dive Members to update on exciting

improvements taking place with the British Diving’s national Athlete Development Model.

British Diving, under the supervision of the National Performance Director (Alexei Evangulov) has made some

changes to their long term National Performance Athlete Model. The skill set required to enter beginner level

novice competitions has now changed, which means that a divers pathway in to competitive diving has now

changed. Our Learn to Dive Program is an integral element of this model and Head Coach, Sam Buck has been

working closely with British Diving, ensuring that our program adopts these new principles. Further details

will be published shortly.

What this means is that whilst the core skills of the Lear to Dive program essentially remain the same, there

will be changes to the coaching methods of the skill sets within each level and the assessment criteria of

these. During December and January we will be assessing each of our divers, using the new guidelines. As

there have been changes to the skills and levels, it may mean that a diver would move down a level on the

new model. Please rest assured that this is not a reflection of reduced performance.

To best implement the new model, we will be changing our current multilevel group sessions to single level

group sessions, with each level following a 12 week coaching plan. Upon successful completion of the

coaching plan, divers would then be able to move to the next level / session.

Once all divers have been assessed, the new timetables will be written to facilitate the changes. Whilst every

effort will be made to avoid changes to current timings, it is inevitable that some movement will need to be

made.

CAPTION COMPETITION WINNER

The winner of the last caption competition was

Ian Lock with

“Sam told to stick to coaching instead of

designing new club uniforms”..!!

THIS MONTHS COMPETITION

The person who gives us the best

caption to go with this photo of Aaron

wins a large bag of Haribo Gummy

Bears.

Answers to: chris@cambridgediving.org.uk