Montreal, April 8 th, 2010 – Diving Plongeon Canada (DPC) is pleased to announce its national team for the 2010 Canada Cup FINA Grand Prix set for April 29-May 2 at the Olympic Park Sports Centre in Montreal, for the fourth year in a row.

The 18-member team includes a mixture of up-and-coming international stars along with experienced veterans who are recognized and respected all over the world. Familiar faces on the team include Olympic double silver medallist Alexandre Despatie, Olympic triple medallist Émilie Heymans, as well as 2005 World Championship bronze medallists Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion who recently claimed bronze in 10m syncho at a FINA World Series event in China.  The team is also looking for strong performances from the next wave of Olympic medal contenders including Jennifer Abel on 3m (Laval, Quebec), Reuben Ross (Regina SK) on 3m and 3m synchro, and Riley McCormick (Victoria, B.C.) on 10m.

“We had a strong world championship showing in Rome last summer and this has given the younger members of our team the confidence to compete against the world,” says Scott Cranham, high performance director for DPC. “As well, our veterans are also looking for a big showing in Montreal.  Emilie Heymans, formerly a 10m specialist, now has a full season of 3m competition under her belt; and Alex Despatie, who has not competed in the past two Canada Cups due to injury, is entering this year’s event healthy and eager to compete.”  

Several members of the team in Montreal have been recently participating on the FINA Grand Prix circuit and the FINA Diving World Series and they will be looking to move up the international rankings at the Canada Cup.

“We were looking to have captured more medals at this point in the season, adds Cranham. However, the team is progressively increasing in strength and the pressure is now on to come away with at least five medals against some of the fiercest competition that we’ve had on home turf in many years.”

Other newcomers to watch for include Francois Imbeau-Dulac of St-Lazare, Quebec, who finished in the top six for the first time at the senior international level last month at a Grand Prix in Russia; as well as sisters Carol-Ann and Pamela Ware of Otterburn Park, Quebec, winners of a silver medal in the women’s 10m synchro event at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2009. Pamela Ware recently qualified a spot for Canada at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games taking place August 14-26 in Singapore.

The Canada Cup is a critical step in qualifying for several prestigious upcoming international competitions.  Results from the event will be used to select the national team that will represent Canada at the FINA World Cup taking place in Changzhou, China in June. Once at the World Cup, divers will have the chance to qualify for the exclusive FINA World Series with a top eight performance.

The schedule and entry list are available on-line at www.diving.ca .

About Diving Plongeon Canada
Diving Plongeon Canada (DPC) was established in 1967 as a not-for-profit organization to promote the growth and awareness of the sport in this country. As a member of FINA, the world’s governing body of aquatic sports, DPC contributes to the development of globally accepted standards of excellence in diving and supports the rules and regulations of international competition. Representing nine provincial diving associations, 67 local diving clubs and close to 4,000 high performance athletes, DPC shares a national commitment to advance the art and sport of diving and to position Canada as the number one diving nation of the world.  For information, visit www.diving.ca .

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