THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Diving Club (TBDC) are celebrating the success of seven provincial medals after the weekend. The 2012 Ontario Provincial Championships, hosted by Forest City Diving Club in London, Ontario, were a success for Thunder Bay’s divers.
Molly Carlson (13), competing her first year in the 14-15 year-old age category, managed to snag medals in all three age-group events.
Carlson earned the title of Provincial Champion on the 3-metre with a gold, silver on 1-metre and bronze on platform.
Rylee Mose (13), in the same age-group as Carlson, walked away with two solid bronze medal performances on 1-metre and 3-metre.
New comer to the provincial podium, Helena Heiskenen (12) snagged a bronze on the 1-metre springboard in the 12-13 year-old age category.
In 2011, Carlson broke all provincial records in the 12-13 age-group, and they still stand after the weekend event.
Also representing Thunder Bay at the provincial level: Coralie Cote, Cristen Merlo, Noah Kilby, Christopher Lake-Voros, Kamryn Knapton, Danielle Smith. Top-6 finishes were the norm for the nine TBDC divers at the meet, and all athletes walked away with at least one National Qualifying Score.
“We knew our athletes were prepared to do well at this competition, they are in good position right now. We expect great things at Nationals next month” stated TBDC Head Coach Mike Lang “our club has come a long way over the past five years, with 2012 being an Olympic year, we hope that highlights the sport of diving in our community ”.
TBDC will be sending 8 fully qualified divers to the 2012 Speedo Junior National Championships are held in Saskatoon next month: Molly Carlson, Rylee Mose, Helena Heiskanen, Coralie Cote, Cristen Merlo, Kamryn Knapton, Christopher Lake-Voros and Danielle Smith. Over 200 athletes from across the country are expected at the National Championships.
In addition to being successful on the diving boards, TBDC is also proud to give back to their community. On Saturday June 1st, local divers hosted a tag-day to raise money for the Thunder Bay Flood Relief. Over $1400 dollars were raised and donated through the Red Cross.