Pointe Claire divers fare well at provincial meet

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

The Chronicle

On a weekend mixed with stiff competition and reflective nostalgia, the Pointe Claire Diving Club (PCDC) hosted a junior and senior provincial meet at the Malcolm Knox Aquatic Centre.

Competitive in the sense that no less than 100 divers between the ages of eight and 18 from diving clubs stretched throughout the province showed their wares in the three-day affair, which began last Friday and wrapped up Sunday afternoon. Labelled a group two or lower-level meet it also included group-one divers.

Nostalgic as well though, because it was the last competition held in the centre’s well-known A-frame building. The next competition will take place in a brand new facility, which will include a 7.5-metre tower, which Malcolm Knox currently lacks. Construction is set to begin in the next few months.

“Nobody will ever dive in that A-frame again,” said PCDC assistant coach and meet organizer Dave Bedard, a four-time Olympian. “In that sense, this was a special meet for me. Nostalgia aside though, I was very happy with the way our kids performed. They were usually up in the top seven or eight in categories they participated in, meaning our divers were able to cut into the medal haul of CAMO.”

A total of eight Pointe Claire divers earned medals, including Vincent Riendeau, who captured gold in the one- three- and 10-metre platform events while competing in the boy’s C group 12-13 age category. Riendeau was also named the competition’s best overall diver. Other Pointe Claire boys’ medal winners included Bryan Starick, who captured silver in the one- and 10-metre platform and bronze in the three-metre while competing in the boys’ C group and Matthew Taal, who won gold in the 10-metre platform along with bronze in the one-metre while competing in the boys’ open class. Taal also captured gold in the 10-metre platform competing in the A group 16-18 age category. On the girls’ side, Samantha Maiorino earned gold in the one- and three-metre events, silver in the 10-metre platform in C group while Lindsay Leonard won gold and bronze in the one- and three-metre events competing in the 8-9 E group. Sarah Mcloud won silver while Kathleen Tooker took bronze in the 10-metre platform in the 14-15 B group while Namiko Shibata earned bronze in the one-metre competing in the A group.