Three years ago, Becky Underdown was at the West Van pool when Kostya Karibyan saw her dive. He told Becky's mother, "This one, she must dive." Since then, Becky has spent countless hours at the pool to train, and to compete. Karibyan is still Becky's main coach but she is also working with other instructors.
The 13-year-old from Bowen Island is part of the North Shore Dolphins Dive Club. Three times a week she spends three hours training in West Van and, early on Saturday mornings, she's at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre for more lessons.
Add to that the time it takes to get to the ferry, the crossing to Bowen and the drive home, and it's a big time commitment. "It would be a lot easier if I wasn't living on Bowen but it's not that big a deal."
This summer, Becky headed to Pointe-Claire, Quebec, with three of her teammates to represent BC in the 2011 Speedo Junior Nationals diving competition. It was Becky's first national competition. "It was an amazing experience. There were really long line-ups and I got to talk with people from all over the place. I met people from Saskatoon, from Victoria and from Edmonton."
In the weeks before the competition, Becky stepped up her training program. She says, "If there are competitions, we sometimes stay an extra hour. Before Quebec, we stayed 45 minutes after practice so we could get more training. In Quebec, we trained twice a day before competing."
Usually, she says, "[competitions] are not a big deal. I don't get nervous. You can't think about the judges, you just have to go. Otherwise you get stressed out."
At the nationals, it was a different story. "Yeah, I was nervous," Becky admits. "I wasn't as focused as if I hadn't been nervous."
There are many variables affecting a diver's performance. Becky says, "Some pools are a lot better than others but the boards are pretty much the same. When we compete in new pools, we get to practise and we can choose which board to use. We go with whatever feels the best."
She explains, "Some boards are really stiff, they are harder to work with, some are bumpier. I like soft, smooth boards but they usually have the longer lines."
Even though it is a competitive sport, there is a lot of camaraderie. "People are just trying to get scores. When there are qualifying rounds, it doesn't matter what place you come in. Each group on the one-metre board has to have 245 points for eight dives. Of those eight, three are optional, five are compulsory. You have to do one from each dive, for instance the front dive. Then you have to do one twist. It doesn't matter what it is. Everyone does something different for that one. The score depends on difficulty. If you get sevens, they will be multiplied by difficulty.
"My favourite dive is the Inward 1/5 on the one-metre board. It's probably my best dive. I don't like the front double." But it isn't up to Becky which dives she is going to perform. "I don't chose my list, my coach does. Usually I agree with him. But I like to do harder dives. Then, even if I get medium scores, I can qualify."
Since the rating depends on judges, it isn't always obvious how the dive has gone. Becky said, "I know if I've done something bad, I get lower scores. But if I've done something well, I could get a five or an eight. It depends in the height, the kick, rotation and entry. The entry is your main point."
The goal with the entry is to "rip it."
"Ripping it means when you split your hands and hit the water, it separates the bubbles. That's good. If you have a big splash, you get low scores."
Becky scored 232.25 to place 28th on the 1m. For the national championship, only the top three athletes take home medals. But for most competitions, anyone who places above rank nine, gets a ribbon. In her room, Becky has a whole wall decorated with her trophies and she earned a bronze medal in the BC summer games last year.
Becky's favourite part is the "excitement of going to the competition."
Participating in a national competition has inspired her. "I'm working on some new dives - the double pike and the back somersault 1 1/2 twist. Another dive that I have tried already but I'll be working on is the front somersault pike open twist."
When asked whether she will take a break for the rest of the summer, Becky says, "No, but the aquatic centre will be closed until September 10, so I'll be training only three times a week."
