Up and coming divers to descend on California for Junior America’s Cup

Eight divers will represent England at the first-ever Junior America’s Diving Cup in California at the end of May.

The competition takes place at the Marguerite Aquatic Complex in Casta Del Sol, Mission Viejo California from Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 May.

The new competition is a junior equivalent of the senior America’s Cup – which has hosted some of Great Britain’s and the worlds top divers in the past – and aims to provide an opportunity for up and coming divers to take on their counterparts from across the globe.

Divers from A, B and C age groups (12-18 years old) can compete at the competition where England’s team will include a number of those that are currently a part of the national governing bodies Team Y squad.

Three of those were also on Great Britain’s recent 8 Nations Diving Cup team with Robbie Wood, Connor Lano and Siena Rae Mills heading stateside to gain more international competition experience as they look to add to the nation’s second place finish in Turin.

Wood was one of the most successful divers on the trip to Italy, returning with both a silver and a bronze medal in the Boys B age group.

This time around he and the rest of Swim England’s Diving team will take on athletes from across the world as well as those from Europe with teams from the USA, Australia, Canada and France amongst those that have entered the inaugural event.

“A fantastic opportunity”

The group will spend eight days in the USA, giving them plenty of time to acclimatise throughout the week before competition gets underway with training available on both Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 May in the competition pool.

Swim England Diving Programme Lead and team leader for the event, Connie Ford, is looking forward to giving these athletes the opportunity to compete against some of the world’s best junior divers.

She said: “The competition is a fantastic opportunity for some of our young aspiring divers with five of the eight involved heading to Mission Viejo for their first international competition.

“It provides a chance to compete some of the top nations from both inside and outside of Europe including the likes of the USA, Canada, Australia and France.

“These athletes have shown significant improvement and potential in recent months and we’re really looking forward to giving them this opportunity next month.”

You can find out more about the Swim England Diving talent pathway here and check out the competitions official event page on the USA Diving website.