Top Canadian Divers to Compete in Etobicoke

January 26th, 2010

(L to R) Alex Despatie, Riley McCormick, Reuben Ross, Melanie Rinaldi, and Mandy Moran

OTTAWA – Olympic and world championship medallists Alexandre Despatie and Emilie Heymans headline Canada’s top divers as they travel to Etobicoke, Ontario this weekend to compete in the 2010 Winter Senior National Diving Championships being held at the Etobicoke Olympium, January 28-31, 2010.

National team stars Despatie (24) of Montreal, QC and Heymans (28) of St-Lambert, QC, who are both training and competing towards their fourth Olympic Games in 2012, will be on display with their other high-performing team-mates at what will be a highly competitive and important national championship.

“This event marks the run-up to our two big international events this year – the FINA World Cup and the Common wealth Games,” say Diving Plongeon Canada (DPC) high performance director, Scott Cranham.    “It’s also an opportunity for our divers to begin focusing towards the 2012 Olympics.”

 “We’re aiming to win four medals in London 2012 and our core group of divers will be using this event in Etobicoke to start putting together their Olympic programs, some of which feature some of the most difficult dives being performed in the world today,” adds Cranham. 

2008 Olympians Jennifer Abel (18, Laval, QC) on 3m and 3m synchro, Meaghan Benfeito (20, Montreal, QC) on 10m and 10m synchro, Roseline Filion (22, Laval, QC) on 10m and 10m synchro, as well as Riley McCormick (19, Victoria, B.C.) on 3m, 10m, and 3m synchro, Reuben Ross (24, Regina, SK) on 3m and 3m synchro are a few of the other top senior divers who will be in the hunt for national titles and team selection this weekend.

Fans will also have the opportunity to see the future of Canadian diving in Etobicoke with divers like sisters Pamela (16) and Carol Ann Ware (18) (Otterburn Park, QC), Francois Imbeau-Dulac (19, Saint-Lazare, QC), Rachel Kemp (16, Victoria, BC) and Dylan Grissel (15, Toronto, ON). The event will also be used to select Canada’s representatives for the first ever Youth Olympic Games taking place August 14-26 in Singapore.

Also at stake is selection to national teams that will be representing Canada during the second half of the six-city 2010 FINA Grand Prix diving circuit, which includes the Canada Cup, April 29 to May 2^nd 2010, in Montreal, Quebec. In total, over 70 divers representing 21 clubs from across the country will compete for national championship titles in Etobicoke. 

Preliminaries and semi-finals run Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 5:30 pm as well as on Saturday and Sunday from 10:45 to 1pm. Finals are taking place on Saturday and Sunday from 5 pm to 8 pm. A full schedule of events is available at:  http://www.diving.ca/english/html/events/2010/WSN10.htm

In lieu of charging admission, financial donations will be welcomed in order to help support the relief efforts in Haiti.

The 2010 Senior Winter National Diving Championships are being hosted by the Etobicoke Diving Club on behalf of Diving Plongeon Canada.

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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