21 junior athletes to represent Canada on the international stage in April!
March 22, 2023 – The 21 junior athletes who will represent Canada at the 2023 Great-Britain Elite Nationals Championships or the Dresden Youth International Invitational this April are now known!
They qualified based on their results at the Polar Bear Invitational, the winter selection competition for the junior team.
Luc Goertzen (Calgary), Dean Dacoulis-Calfacacos (Pointe-Claire), Arnaud Corbeil (CAMO), Samuel Talbot (CAMO), Julianne Boisvert (Envol), Michelle McLeod (White Rock), Olivier Gauthier (CAMO) Chris Booler (Pointe-Claire), Noah Bernard (TDA) and Sonya Palkhivala (Pointe-Claire) will be wearing the Canadian colors at the Junior Invitational in Dresden, Germany from April 23 to May 1.
“The team going to Dresden is a pretty experienced team. I expect them to be able to go out and get some good results. I think it’s going to be a great group to represent us,” explained Andrée Pouliot-Deschamps, Diving Plongeon Canada’s junior high performance director.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the schedule in recent years, many of the divers who will be in action in Dresden already have junior world experience on their resume. Most of them competed at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Montreal last December.
“Dresden is a big competition. The level is very high and there are many countries. Normally, it’s like a world junior championship. That’s why it’s a good experience to have,” said the junior high performance director.
A first step on the international scene
Lila Gorkiert (Calgary), Laurence Labadie (CAMO), Chase Shaw (Calgary), Claude-Olivier Lisé-Codere (CAMO), Ciro Mejia (TDA), Adam Cohen (Winnipeg), Daniela Durevska (Calgary), Amelia Semple (White Rock) Kash Tarasoff (Saskatoon), Nikos Tzanetakis (Boardworks) and Geoffrey Vavistas (TDA) will represent the country at the British Elite National Championships, April 9-16, in Plymouth.
For most of them, this will be their first experience at an international competition. “The majority of our international athletes started there. It’s kind of been a journey over the last few years to compete at the British Nationals, the Dresden competition and the Junior World Championships,” said Andrée Pouliot.
Great Britain has a history of opening its national championships to several European countries and Canada.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it goes for them. Great Britain is a strong country. Some European countries normally participate as well. It’s a great competition to start with”, mentioned Andrée Pouliot-Deschamps.
