Montréal, December 15, 2024 – Diving Canada is extremely proud of its Diving and High Diving Winter Festival, which took place from December 11 to 15 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The event was a resounding success, despite the whims of Mother Nature.
Over the course of the week, many of the competitions took place as scheduled, and several athletes performed outstanding feats in what were sometimes very difficult weather conditions. However, a few of the events had to be cancelled due to the strong winds in Fort Lauderdale.
More than 125 junior and senior athletes took part in the international winter festival, including Lysanne Richard (CAMO), for whom the festival marked her return to competition. Her goal was to accumulate enough points to rejoin the national team. The high diving pioneer accomplished her mission with aplomb, claiming the title of senior national champion.
“It was her comeback. She trained hard all week, and she really wanted to achieve her goal. To get back onto the national team, she needed 275 points, and she finished with 315. She really came back strong!” said Stéphane Lapointe, head coach of the CAMO club and national high diving coach.
The festival also featured the girls’ and boys’ group A Canadian high diving championships. Noland Lazary (CAMO) won the boys’ competition, while Kelly-Ann Tessier (CAMO) won the girls’.
“Everybody had a great week. There were regular divers and high divers of all ages, all gathered at the same event, which is something that rarely happens. We wanted everyone to have a great time together. The athletes were able to interact with each other, and in my opinion, the two types of divers can learn a lot from each other,” enthused Lapointe.
Several other Canadian athletes made waves in the 1m, 3m, and platform events. Sara-Jade Tessier (CAMO), Eloi Houle (CAMO), Rafael Serey-Cormier (Gatineau), Rafaëlle Beaupré (CAMO), Laurence Labadie (CAMO), Arnaud Goulet (CAMO), and Audrey Aylwin-Ratté (Gatineau) won gold medals in their respective categories.
In addition, several members of the national high diving team held an initiation clinic for young athletes while in Florida. Under the supervision of Molly Carlson, Simone Leathead, Aidan Heslop, Charles-Antoine Labadie, and coach Stéphane Lapointe, more than twenty young divers learned high diving techniques and put their skills to the test on the 10m and 15m platforms.
“It was a unifying event for the athletes. You could see the spark in the eyes of those who were lucky enough to take part. Our technical team is very experienced, and safety was our number one priority, given the difficult conditions. We’re very proud of the way it was organized,” said Olivier Morneau, director of the high diving program and member of the event’s organizing committee.
A judges’ symposium was also held during the week. Approximately 30 judges had the opportunity to take part in workshops covering a variety of topics.
“It was incredible! This year, we tried out some new things for the symposium by gathering everyone together in one place, during a competition. Because of the weather, we had to be flexible, but everyone was able to participate. We had a lot of fun, and even more importantly, we all learned a lot. It was definitely a success,” said Eryn Bulmer-Barrett, member of Diving Canada’s officials’ committee.
The festival would not have been possible without the support of our partners the Courtyard by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach, the Fort Lauderdale Diving Team, Visit Fort Lauderdale, ISS, and Speedo.
More information:
Alexandra Piché
Manager, Communications
Diving Canada
C: 514 625-5513
alexandra@diving.ca