By Victoria Klassen
Two local athletes claimed national crowns at the Speedo Junior Development National Championships, as Ottawa divers proved they could bounce with the best at the July 8-10 event in Montreal.
Kate Miller from the Nepean-Ottawa Diving Club swept the girls’ 11-and-under 1-metre springboard, 3 m springboard and platform competitions, in the process setting a new national age group record in the 3 m.
“I was really happy because it means that everyone thought that I did really well and that everyone was proud of me,” reflects Miller, who surpassed the all-time best 3 m total despite losing nearly 15 points for balking on her first dive. “And I was proud of myself that I did really good at this competition.”
Kathryn Grant of the Ottawa National Diving Club was the other local champion at the nationals, earning her title in the girls’ age 12-13 1 m event, earning a position on the junior national team for a second consecutive season.
“At nationals, my main goal was to do well on three meter and tower,” details 12-year-old Grant, who also placed 5th on 3 m and 4th on tower. “But I did the best on 1 m. I wasn’t stressed at all because I was more worried about 3 m and tower. So I was really relaxed throughout the whole competition and I think that’s what helped me get gold.”
The recent Chapman Mills Public School grad began diving when she was five years old because she wanted to follow in her brother’s footsteps.
“Kathryn Grant is one of the hardest working and most consistent athletes in the country for her age. I know that I can always count on Kathryn when it comes to competition time to bring her ‘A’ game,” states her coach, Brennan Villemaire, who recently officially took over leadership of the club his mother founded in 2007. “Our club’s cornerstone philosophy has always been sportsmanship. Kathryn has always been an excellent role model for our younger athletes and a friend to all her competitors.”
If sportsmanship tops the list, performance couldn’t be far behind. Alongside Grant, fellow ONDC teammates Timothy Lewis, Emma Corrigan, and Catherine Boyer all recorded top-12 overall results.
“This is the equivalent of making the finals of every one of their competitions which is a great accomplishment for our club,” notes Villemaire. “To be considered the best club in Ontario at these nationals and a top-5 club in the nation is pretty awesome.”
Along with Miller, Nepean-Ottawa also had a pair of representatives at the Junior Development nationals in Owen Pickering and Victor Hearn, while Henry McKay earned a bronze medal in the boys’ age 16-17 platform competition at the July 21-24 Speedo Junior Elite National Championships in Winnipeg.
“The kids have been training since last September, so they’ve been working for 10 months for that moment,” highlights NODC head coach Fernando Henderson. “They’ve been very dedicated, they’ve been working hard, we’ve gone to lots of competitions. I was very proud.”
The rising young divers are all eager to see Canada’s vaunted Olympic team compete in Rio, notes NODC president Liz Miller.
“They have a brilliant group of athletes going to Rio this year,” she underlines. “So as kids watch these amazing talents on TV when they’re watching the Olympics — because diving and gymnastics are really fun to watch — it’ll be interesting to see if the interest in diving and our membership goes up.”
