Question
Age Groups
We are an Italian family based in South Africa. My daughter, Daniela, has just started diving, she is 9 years of age. She recently received her Provincial Colours for Diving (under 10) and has won numerous medals at the National Age Groups.... She has her full set of dives off 1m and 3m. And is a very dedicated and determined little diver. Needless to say, I believe that there is hope that she will oneday become a competitive diver.
The dilemma I am faced with however, is that in the next 6 months we will be relocating to Peru on contract (we hope to return to South Africa someday, but if we leave it, I'm afraid it will set her back a lot) Unfortunately I have not been able to find a facility in Peru that offers diving. Is there an accredited facility of this nature in Peru and would they be able to assist me in harnesing the talent that I believe my daughter has?
AnswerHi Michelle -
You are going to a country that is not known for having much in the way of the type of diving programs that you are used to in RSA. The countries in South America that are most known for good diving are Brazil and Columbia. I am sure that there must be somewhere she can dive in Peru but the reason you have not found a coach is that this country is off the radar when it comes to seeing international results with Peru listed as having a National Team attend a major diving meet.I do not think they have ever sent a diver to the Olympics.
There are two ways to find out if and where there are diving coaches in Peru:
1. Go to the wesbite for FINA, the international governing body for all aquatic sports.
www.fina.org. At the top of the homepage, click on Structure. Then on the left hand side of that page, click on National Federations. At the next page click on Americas. Then finally select Peru and a person(s) name will come up. I would send an e-mail to them (in Spanish) and ask them where there are diving programs for kids Daniela's age.
2. Contact the Duraflex International Corporation of Sparks, Nevada USA. This is the company that makes all the diving equipment for countries all over the world. They are the only recognized manufacturer of diving boards for all international competitions and they say that they have a diving board in every country in the world.When you contact them, ask them who you can buy a diving board from in Peru. The reason you would have to ask this question is that they are in the business of selling diving boards, not telling parents where to find diving boards in any given country.When they supply you with the name of the company that sells diving boards in Peru, contact them and ask in what cities have they sold boards. If there is a Duraflex board in a Peruvian town, then there is more likely a diving coach to go along with it. www.duraflexinternational.com.
Good luck in your search. I wish I could say it is going to be easy to find a diving program for her but I am afraid you are going to have a difficult time locating a coach/program like she has now.
