Diver daughter wants to study and dive abroad

Question
Hi! I have a high school Sophomore daughter who would like to study in Spain the second semester of her Junior year, but only if she can continue diving. I am looking for resources or contacts who might help us find out more about the coaches and programs in Spain she could join during her studies. Do you have any thoughts on where to go or who to approach? Also, do you see any disadvantages to taking this path? She also sees herself diving in college.

Thank you!

Answer
Christina -

Here are a list of websites to go to that will help you and your daughter find what you are looking for:

www.fina.org - This is the international governing body for aquatic sports. On the home page, click on 'Structure'. At that page look on the left hand side for 'National Federations'. At that page click on 'Europe'. Then click on ESP/Spain. There you will find a website and email address to go to and find diving programs. Even though it says that it is a swimming federation website, I am sure you will find info on diving.

www.divemeets.com - Click on 'Find' and then 'Teams'. A huge list will come up of teams from all over the world. Scroll down to the FINA list and then click on Spain. A small list of coaches and divers names will come up. There is no contact information on them but you could mention their names in your email to the Spanish Diving Federation asking if you could obtain their email addresses.

There is a world class diving pool in Barcelona that hosted the 1992 Olympic Games diving events and also a recent world championship. I am sure that there must be an excellent diving program at that aquatic facility. Sorry I do not know the name of it.

The most important thing I can tell about deciding whether to have her do this is how it will affect her academic eligibility to dive in college. In order to be on any varsity team in any sport, the NCAA requires that the athlete has completed a certain number of core courses before graduation. There is also a minimum GPA and SAT scores to be eligible. Go to this website for more info: www.2point3.ncaa.org. After reviewing these requirements you will have to decide if going to Spain for a semester will negatively effect her eligibility. It is the only possible disadvantage I can forsee.

Good luck.