Montreal, International High Diving Capital!
Get ready for quite a show on December 3rd and 4th! Montreal is set to host the first ever international junior high diving competition at Montreal’s Olympic Pool.
The Junior International High Diving Championships will feature young 14 to 19-year-old divers from 34 countries flying from the 12 and 15 metre platforms.
Canadian Molly Carlson, world champion runner-up on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series circuit, is thrilled to witness the next generation’s rapid development.
“High diving is growing incredibly quickly. It’s a sport that takes you out of your comfort zone – in the best way imaginable – and allows you to prove to yourself that with hard work, anything is possible! It makes me really happy to see so many young divers transitioning to this lifestyle”, shared Carlson.
“It’s really impressive to watch them. I think back to 20-year-old me, looking up at the 20m platform and swearing I would never go near it. Well, that all changed when I moved to Montreal. I was able to train in a proper facility with excellent coaches. It’s become my dream. Now, we have 12 and 15 metre platforms, which contribute to your development”, she added.
Canada will be very well represented at this very first international competition.
“I feel that with our unique training sites and the amazing coaches here in Canada, the young athletes that train here will climb the ranks of the world elite very quickly. If the sport is added to the Olympic program one day, other Federations will invest in their high diving programs as well. Canada already has a Junior Team. We are already ahead of many countries”, shared a delighted Carlson.
Oliver Morneau-Ricard, Manager of Sport Development for High Diving for Diving Plongeon Canada and the event organizer, agrees. The former high diver and judge on the Red Bull Circuit saw Canada take its place among the sport’s elite over the last few years with divers including Carlson, Jessica Macauley and Lysanne Richard.
He is currently working extremely hard with his team to ensure Canada’s younger divers follow in those pioneering women’s footsteps in this quickly growing sport.
“Canada has a lot of high diving talent in the wings. The level at the last National Championships was very strong. It’s great to see more and more young divers taking up the sport. We have a training venue where they can develop and dive in a safe environment”, declared Morneau-Ricard.
Thanks to the new 12 and 15 metre platforms installed in Montreal, the next generation of divers will be able to progress safely and at their own pace. These are the platforms that will be used for the junior competition.
“The idea was for the youngsters to develop and participate in this extreme sport in the most ideal conditions. Before, high diving was a sport only seasoned divers participated in. Now that younger athletes can train for high diving, we will see many more high-level athletes at the international level”, explains Morneau-Ricard.
The inaugural international junior high diving competition will be held in Montreal on December 3-4. Each athlete will perform two dives on Saturday and two dives on Sunday. It will be an impressive sight to see these 14 to 19-year-old athletes dive from 12 and 15 metres.
High divers representing Canada are:
• Kelly-Ann Tessier (Blainville, QC | Group B)
• Caitlyn Padgett (Whitby, ON | Group B)
• Anna Whylie (Winnipeg, MB | Group B)
• Laurie-Anne Savard (Montreal, QC | Group B)
• Simone Leathead (Laval, QC | Group A)
• Charles-Antoine Labadie (Laval, QC | Group B)
• Noland Lazary (Pickering, ON | Group B)
• Carter Baker (Langley, BC | Group A)
• Frédéric Gagné (Montreal, QC | Group A)
• Alex Tiaglei (Winnipeg, MB | Group A)
• Adam Cohen (Winnipeg, MB | Group A)
