A 10-year-old Hobart diver has claimed a silver medal at the Australian Diving Nationals, finishing less than one point behind the winner in a result his coach says marks a major milestone for the sport in Tasmania.
Aidan Henwood from the Tasmanian Diving Academy competed in the 11 and under boys one-metre event at the nationals in Adelaide last week.
Coach Barbi Donnet Carver said the academy sent 10 divers to represent Tasmania at the nationals, where more than 200 competitors from every state and New Zealand took part.
“It was right down to the last round of dives and everyone was on edge … he got a silver medal which is amazing,” she said.
Fellow diver and coach Bella Kateros also had a standout competition, picking up three silver medals in the masters division.
“She dives so well … she was just amazing, so yeah, a really good result for Tasmania,” Donnet Carver said.
She said the results are remarkable given diving didn’t have a large role in the sporting landscape in Tasmania for four to five years before the academy was established.
Donnet Carver and her son Jesse moved from Queensland to Hobart after Diving Australia offered them a position to restart the academy in the state.
Jesse has since returned to performing on cruise ships in America, leaving his mother to run the program at the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre.
The academy now has more than 80 divers, ranging in age from five to 82.
Donnet Carver said she had to adapt her training model for Tasmanian conditions, reducing hours from the 20-a-week program she ran in Queensland to around 12 hours for most young divers.
A key challenge is the lack of a dry land training facility, which typically accounts for 50 to 80% of training at other centres around Australia.
“The achievement of this team is amazing, yeah, from what we have down here,” she said.
Donnet Carver comes from one of Australia’s most decorated diving families, with a history spanning more than 70 years in the sport.
Her mother Barbara Donnet was an Olympian and Commonwealth Games champion, her father Tom was an Olympic coach, and her sister Jenny is a four-time Olympian.
The academy is running holiday diving clinics this week, with more than 50 new and returning divers expected to take part.
“Diving in Hobart has been nonexistent for quite a few years and it’s been tough building it up, but we’re back and we have 80 people diving now,” Donnet Carver said.
Those interested can find more information through the Tasmanian Diving Academy Facebook page.
