Pathway camp gives divers ‘great experience’ ahead of upcoming events

Some of the nation’s current and future stars enjoyed a three-day pathway camp at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre which will provide them with a ‘great experience’ ahead of their upcoming events.

48 divers attended the camp that was made up of Swim England’s Team Y and Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) programme as well as divers from British Swimming’s Podium Potential and Development squads.

The camp welcomed athletes from varying stages of their development from up and coming athletes to the likes of Commonwealth Games medallists Desharne Bent-Ashmeil and Amy Rollinson.

It was the widest ever age range for a pathway camp which provided for a unique opportunity for the athletes to train at the new facility in Birmingham that is set to host a number of upcoming competitions.

Reflecting on the three days, Jen Leeming, British Swimming’s Diving Performance Pathway Lead said: “The Pathway Development camp was an excellent collaboration between British Diving, Swim England and divers and staff from Scottish Swimming.

“This is the first ever pathway camp where we had divers ranging from Commonwealth Games medallists to up and coming 14 year old divers aiming to break into the international scene.

“It provided a great opportunity for the divers to experience training and competing at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre where the British Junior Elite Championships will be held in April.”

Passing on knowledge

Fresh from his bronze medal at the World Aquatics Championships in the Men’s 1m Springboard in Doha, Ross Haslam was a part of the coaching staff at the camp where he was able to share his knowledge and experiences with the younger divers.

As part of one of the education sessions at the camp, he shared his experiences around how puberty impacted on his performance and how he managed his training around it, which will be of vital advice to the younger divers that made the trip to Birmingham.

Haslam was also able to continue his own training with the younger athletes able to watch and learn from him and some of the more experienced divers from British Diving’s teams.

Female athletes also had a number of health education sessions, including workshops on both breast care and the menstrual cycle.

More than 20 staff members supported the camp where there were also sessions on risk and fear, UKAD, health and robustness, energy availability and physio and injuries as well providing the divers with plenty of opportunity to fine tune their competition preparation.

Both dryland and in pool sessions were a major part of the three days with pre-comp and ballet training led by Anna Volynets whilst also giving the athletes more time to work with their coaches ahead of their future events.

You can find out more about the Swim England Diving talent pathway here.