Team Z divers head to Southend for weekend training camp

Swim England’s Team Z (Zone squad) are set for their second camp of the year this weekend where 21 divers will head to the Southend Leisure Centre for a mixture of drydive, in pool and athlete workshops.

Swim England’s Team Z programme contains divers aged 13 and under who follow an 18 month journey where they complete seven weekend-based camps.

This weekend’s trip features both those in the first and second year of the scheme who will train across three days from Friday 15 – Sunday 17 March where they’ll continue their preparation for their upcoming events.

The first year divers are set to focus on their back and reverse dives whilst the second years will be looking to work on their handstands and platform run up.

To support them across the weekend they’ll be joined by a team of 15 coaches and staff which is headed up by Swim England diving programme lead Connie Ford and Swim England Coach of the Year for 2022 – Kirsteen Mitchell.

The group will also receive a visit from British Diving’s National Performance Director Alexei Evangulov who will share his knowledge with the coaches and young athletes.

Continuing their progression

Work at the camp will be focussed on preparing the divers for both the British Junior Elite Diving Championships and the GoCardless Swim England Diving National Age Group Championships in the coming months.

Speaking ahead of the camp, Connie said: “Following the first Team Z camp of the year back in January, I’m really looking forward to seeing how far the athletes have developed.

“We’ve got a great camp lined up with some incredible coaches and workshops that will help the athletes continue their progression now we’ve moved back into consistent training following the Christmas period.

“For some that might just be them making some slight technical changes since we last met up which will help them as we get closer to the their upcoming competitions.

“It’s set to be an exciting weekend which I hope that all who attend can take something out of to help them for the rest of the season.”

You can find out more about the Swim England Diving Talent Pathway here and you can see the full list of divers and staff on the camp below.