And The Silver Medal Goes To…….

[L came in sixth out of fourteen, which she wasn’t too thrilled about, especially after yesterday’s big win, but she did manage to make the *national qualifying score, so that was some compensation.]

*Divers need to have a total score higher than the national qualifying score in order to be allowed to compete in the nationals at the end of the diving season. They have to achieve a “qualifying score” at least twice per event (1M, 3M or tower) before they are eligible to compete in that event. It took me ages to understand this, and to realize that the whole point of dive meets was for the diver to make nationals. Often a diver will qualify once, and then go to several meets without qualifying again, so that the pressure intensifies with every competition. It was a big deal for L to have qualified in each of her three events, because it takes that pressure off.

I have a lot on my mind about diving and the benefits/costs of this kind of competition for children, but it will have to wait for another post.

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Diving Update

So far, things are going well for the divers.

L was a little on the nervous side for her first event, the tower, but still managed to be incredibly consistent on each dive. None of them were spectacular, but they were all solid.  She came out with a fifth place and a national qualifying score, so she was pleased. Today was her 3M event, and after a nail biting seven rounds she came out in first place, beating the second place diver by just .15 points. The top five divers (of the fourteen who were competing in that event) battled it out for top spot the whole way, and it was just a few points per dive that made the difference. I could hardly stand to watch. My legs felt like jelly. She works so darn hard, that girl, and I wanted so much for her to be rewarded for it. She’s been a really good sport about it, but no matter how hard she’s tried, she’s never been higher than middle of the rankings, so a spot on the podium, even third place, was a long shot. Winning the gold? Pretty amazing. I was really, really happy for her.

Jay and L both compete in their 1M springboard events tomorrow. Stay tuned!

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