Board diving

Question
We have twin girls that are 11 years old. One in particular is very flexible, athletic, graceful and loves to swim. She is on a swim team and has incredible enthusiasm. She just received swimmer of the week award. She realizes that she may have what it takes to be a great diver. For years, she studied ballet, dance and gymnastics.  
Where can I get started to see if board diving is an athletic fit for her? We live in Marin County, CA.

Thanks,

D

Answer
D -

You happen to live in a part of the S.F. Bay Area that is not known for having diving programs for kids your daughters age. There is probably some high school and junior college diving but no beginner diving that I know of. The reason could be no public pools with water deep enough for diving boards.

The closest city I know of with diving for young kids is found at the Finley Aquatic Center in Santa Rosa. Contact Coach Nolan Irwin at 707-303-5984. E-mail [email protected]. I found their info by Googling "City of Santa Rosa Parks & Recreation Department" and then clicking on Aquatics. At that page there is a link to the Diving Team. It describes the program in full.

If that is too far to go, I would contact him anyway and see if he knows of a coach/pool closer to where you live.The only other choices are south to Santa Clara County (nothing in San Francisco or San Mateo County) or east to U.C. Berkeley and beyond to the Walnut Creek area which I know is probably farther than Santa Rosa.

Other diving websites that might interest you are:

www.usadiving.org - Click on Clubs and then Find A Club. Enter California and a list of teams will come up. Good info at this site about what is involved when starting diving.

www.diving.about.com - Site that explains the sport.Lots of info for new diving families.

www.flipnrip.com - Site for divers & parents.

www.aaudiving.org - Another source for finding a coach/pool/program.

Good luck in your search. I am sure you will find something for summer diving.