Hal Watts and James West delivered excellent performances to win Bronze and Silver medals for Albatross at the recent Luton Challenge Diving Grand Prix. Ethan Jones also shone with an outstanding personal best performance on platform.
The standard of the Luton event is high attracting seasoned Junior Elite and Age Group competitors from clubs across the UK alongside several senior divers. Divers and coaches are able to gauge performance within this field ready for the 2017 competition season.
Hal Watts faced tough competition in the Men’s A (16+) 1m event but consistency and a well-executed inward two and a half somersaults (52.7points) secured the Bronze medal. Hal placed 4th on platform where his reverse two and a half somersaults was awarded 56 points.
James West was a Silver medallist in the boys C (12-13 yrs) 3m event helped by an excellent inward two and a half somersaults (51.3 points). James finished 4th on 1m.
13 year old Ethan Jones was diving up a year in boys B (14-15 yrs) and put in an exceptional personal best performance on platform to finish in 5th place. His back one and a half somersaults one and a half twists and front two and a half dive pike from the 7.5m board receiving high scores from the judges.
Facing a tough field Charlotte West made the finals in Women’s A (16+) 3m and platform events. On 3m Charlotte dived extremely well including a Personal Best inward two and a half somersaults (52.65 points) to finish 4th and performed the same dive really well in the platform event finishing 5th.
Finlay Cook, Ollie Breach, Edward Beal (Men’s A) and Quinn Shaw (Boy’s C) were also competing in this demanding level 3 & 4 event. The boys trialled several newly learned dives and, although none reached a final this time, all gained valuable experience ready for forthcoming events in 2017.
Luton also hosts a unique mixed pairs knockout event which brings divers at different stages of their diving career together. Each pair consists of one diver under 14 and one over 16. The pairs then compete head to head over several rounds. The standard in this event is always high so the club were extremely proud when Charlotte West and her younger brother James set an Albatross record by becoming the first pair to make it into the quarter finals!
