diving in Australia

Question
My daughter will be a sophomore this fall and she dives for the Claremont Mudd Scripps, a dIII team. She is interested in studying abroad for the fall 2011 in Australia ( winter/spring season there). While in Australia she would like to continue to train for diving. What advices could you give us in terms of the diving season, indoor diving facilities and clubs that support diving in winter, or could she even join one of these clubs.
She is thinking of majoring in environmental science and many universities in Australia have good programs in this area. Her list of schools that she is interested in is large and being able to dive would definitely impact her decision.
Her list: Griffith University, University of Queensland, James Cook University, University of Adelaide, University of Western Australia, University of Sydney, University of new South Wales and University of Melbourne.

Answer
Hi Julielani -

The best website for you to go to find out about diving in Australia is www.diving.asn.au.Take a look at all the information they have there to get an idea of what it will be like for her to dive in Australia.

I am not familiar with the colleges you mention and do not know if they have diving at them like we do here in the US.What you need to do is at the above website, click on About Us and then links. This will take you to a page that shows the different geographical regions the country is divided into. You need to find out which regions the schools you mention are located in. For example, University of Western Australia will be located in the region called 'WADA' for West Australia Diving Association.You should then click on that link and see which teams are located closest to this school.

I know of two American coaches who live and work in Australia and also were college coaches in the US. Mike Martens used to be the Junior Olympic coach for the University of Texas and also coached at the University of Minnesota. He coaches for the South Australia Sports Institute (SASI). There is a link to that team at the website. Look up his contact info and send him an e-mail. He will know a lot about where a US college diver can practice in that part of the country.Also try my friend Jack Taylor. He and I coached in the same area (San Jose CA) in the 1990's. He lives in Western Australia so he will know about the schools there. He is a Talent Identification Official for that part of Australia and will know where the best teams are.His e-mail is [email protected].

Hope all this helps. I am sure she will find somewhere to dive. Diving is very strong there and they have great coaches. Good luck in your search.