Southampton divers reached the heights with impressive results in the National Skills Finals.

A team of 31 from Southampton Diving Academy travelled to Plymouth’s Life Centre for the biggest diving event of the year at their level.

A total of 314 divers from across Britain took to the boards, all aiming for a set of perfect dives to win the title. Top achiever for Southampton was Callum Weldon. Performing impressive diving from the 1m and 3m springboards, he became national champion in his Boys 14+ years age group.

In the Boys’ 12/13 years event, Alfie Lakeman-Brown dived confidently, scoring 8.5 out of ten from all judges for his back dive tuck on 1m, securing himself a fifth placing.

For the girls, Tia Pritchard dived consistently, winning fourth place in the 10-year-old group. Jessica Bennett also won fourth place in the 12-year event scoring several eight-pointers and even a nine. The two girls have been part of the talent identification programme, aimed at seeking youngsters to be fast-tracked in the sport with a view to competing at national level.

Under the watchful eye of Great Britain coaches Xinde Zhang and Lindsey Fraser, they have excelled in the scheme.

It was a very high standard competition in Plymouth and SDA divers were proof of the success of its Hampshire-wide programme. Many, throughout the age groups, achieved personal bests.

Senior coach Jack Clewlow was extremely happy with SDA’s success.

“This national event helps us see how our Southampton divers are able to compete against the rest of the country at this early stage in their diving careers,” he said. “Our Southampton-based divers were up there with the best from the rest of England. We saw some great individual performances and a lot of strength in depth, with solid performances from across the team.”