springboard/platform diving

Question
My daughter is interested in a diving program in the Richmond Va. area. Do you know of any? She has about ten years of competitive gymnastics under her belt.

Answer
Wayne - I got this same question recently and will give you the same answer - you unfortunately live in a diving void for quality aquatic facilities. In order to attract coaches to a large metro area like yours, there needs to be a diving well with at least one and three meter springboards. To my knowledge, there are none in Richmond.Since there are no facilities, knowledgeable diving coaches won't be living there.

There are two excellent programs in your state but geographically it may not be possible to take your daughter to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg or to the D.C. area where one of the best US Diving Junior Olympic programs exists, the Montgomery Dive Club.(www.montgomerydiveclub.com). A good friend of mine, John Wolsh, runs this team and may know someone in your area. There is also Roland McDonald, coach at George Mason, who runs the Patriot Dive Club.

Here are some websites to go to in search of clubs:

www.usadiving.org - Click on Clubs and then click on Find A Club. Enter your state and a list of teams will come up.

www.aaudiving.org - Click on Sport Contacts and when the US map comes up, click on the district numbers closest to your area.

Other diving websites include:

www.usadiver.com
www.flipnrip.com
www.diving.about.com
www.divemeets.com

Good luck with your search but you may have to be driving quite a ways to pursue this sport.