Watersports blog

Three-time diving world champion Alexandre Despatie of Quebec added another accolade in his long list of achievements after winning the three-meter springboard gold medal at the Canada Cup FINA Grand Prix diving competition held last Sunday.

Despatie earned 9 and 9.5 scores in the final round to secure the top spot among fierce competitors. Shixin Li of China settled for silver after getting 8s and 8.5s in his score. Despite the 3.9 degree of difficulty, the Chinese sensation failed to interpret the dive to earn lower scores. Australia’s Scott Robertson settled for third.

In a statement, the Canadian diver said that his last dive basically sealed the victory. He said that he always wants to make a strong impressive in the last dive because anything can happen in the standings especially if the scores are close.

Despatie also won another gold last weekend on the three-meter synchronized diving event.

Great Britain’s Olympic diving athlete Tom Daley revealed that his father’s brain tumor returned, just four years after an operation to remove it had taken place.
The 15-year old world diving champion revealed this week that the routine scan on his father took place recently and the results showed signs of the cancer returning.

Despite this revelation, his father Robert said that the diagnosis of the cancer won’t prevent him from seeing his son compete in the 2012 Olympic Games which London will be hosting.

The 39-year old father has been very supportive of his son’s diving ambitions, having not missed any training session or competition.

Daley said that his father opted not to worry much about the cancer as it would only affect his performance as well. He added that his father is a good and fun parent and served as an important influence on him.

Daley became the youngest Olympic athlete in Britain when he competed at the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China.

A Cornwall-based man suffered a serious injury after diving into a shallow pool during a RAF fun day. During the court hearing, this accident would have been avoided if there was a ban on shallow pool diving imposed.

Robert Uren was trying to get toys from a pool during a race. He dove into the pool believing it is deep enough to accommodate his body but suffered an accident. The 24 year old former pilot was allegedly encouraged to dive headfirst into the pool.

The accident caused Uren’s paralysis and he’s suing event organizer Corporate Leisure for negligence and liability on the accident. He’s asking for £6 million in damages.

The RAF event was called “It’s a Knockout” and was held in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire in July 2005.  The case is currently being heard at London’s High Court.

Snorkeling company Key West Company announced in its press released that it will be investing $100,000 in photography equipment. This equipment are said to be hi-tech and similar to those used by teams for Discovery and National Geographic channels.

The images taken by the snorkeling team will be posted on the website on a regular basis. This is Key West Snorkeling Company’s way to educate the public about the beauty of the ocean and that it is best to exert effort to preserve this beauty.

Individuals who want to see marine life and reef conditions can easily check out the company’s site because the images are being shown for free. The upgraded photography equipment guarantees clear and quality pictures.

Key West Snorkeling Lead Photographer Katya Timberly said that this is a big investment and a risky one considering that it is being made in the middle of a recession but she added that this will eventually pay off.

A scuba diver luckily avoided getting serious injuries after being bitten by a shark in Adelaide early this week.

According to reports, the unnamed 24-year old man was scuba diving off Second Valley on the Fleurieu Peninsula, located nearly a hundred kilometers from Adelaide late in the morning when he was bitten by the shark.

A spokeswoman from the South Australian Ambulance revealed that the young man was bitten on the hand and foot. He was immediately rescued and taken to the Flinders Medical Center for immediate treatment. The doctors said that he had incurred minor injuries.

Witnesses shared that the shark that attacked the young man was about two meters long. The aforementioned area has been known to be infested with sharks but there are conflicting statements saying that these occurrences are extremely rare.

A search crew in Northern Californian coast has been set up to look for a missing abalone diver after they discovered an abandoned diving gear and swimwear and recently used abalone on a beach.

The state’s fire crews were reportedly searching the bluffs located near Sear Ranch beach for clue for the body’s whereabouts.

The crew was deployed after a rope was found dangling in the area. The said area is known for free diving activities because it has been allowed there. Free diving, where the diver doesn’t use oxygen tanks, uses other methods such as the flotation device and abalone. The aforementioned diving gear was found in the beachside.

As of press time, no missing person’s report had been filed. The U.S. Coast Guard stated that there’s no sign of a diver in distress in the area. However, the search continues.

A diving referee working for China’s National Games made headlines when she decided to quit and not participate in this prestigious sporting competition, saying that the results are “fixed.”

This development surprised everyone considering that China is a global powerhouse when it comes to diving. The referee was quoted as saying that the process was just a cover because the results are already known. However, based on official documentation – she decided to leave due to illness, which she now contradicts.

The referee, only named as “Ma Ming” by the media, said that she’s already fed up with the controversies involving the sport. She revealed that gold medal winners have been decided internally in advance.

These statements are still considered allegations because the referee has yet to provide concrete evidences on her claims. However, she was correct so far in naming the winners of four events in the competition which could account for something.

A young boy experienced an unexpected cliff diving stunt when he fell head first. Surprisingly, he survived this horrifying ordeal.

According to reports, 12-year old Kyler Lewis plunged off the cliffs in Porth Dafarch. He suffered multiple fractures to his foot and arms. Lewis reportedly lost his footing during the climb and fell. A diver who was swimming nearby immediately provided assistance by carrying him from the rocks to the sand.

It was a wonder that the kid survived this horrifying incident.

The boy’s mom said that it was a miracle that her kid survived. She thanked the diver for saving her son and also the people around who immediately provided support to the kid by placing towels on him and making sure that he did not move his head while waiting for the paramedics.

The doctors said that Lewis may undergo surgery if the broken bones won’t heal by next week.

A cave diving expedition by a team of cave divers and scientists in the Canary Islands bore fruit after the team discovered new crustacean species that belong to the remipede genus Speleonectes.

The said crustaceans can easily manage to swim across the dark caves while searching for prey. These creates don’t use eyes but rather the long antennae attached to their body that acts as a detector.

The expedition took place at Tunnel de la Atlantida, considered to be the world’s longest submarine lava tube. Aside from the aforementioned species, the scientists also discovered two new annelid worms species classified under Polychaeta class.

The cave diving team consisted of scientists / divers from Pennsylvania State University and Texas A&M University from the United States, Spain’s University of La Laguna, University of Hamburg and University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, both from Germany.

More than 2,400 divers have set a new world record on Monday for the biggest mass dive. This stunt was officially recognized by the Guinness World Records.

Guinness World Records adjudicator Lucia Sinigagliesi said that the 2,486 divers who strapped on their scuba diving equipment and dove in masses have officially set the record. The diving took place at the coast of North Sulawesi in Indonesia.

Sinigagliesi noted that the event was well-organized due to the number of people who participated and that no untoward incidents took place. She stated that the feat will be placed under the “Most People Scuba Diving Simultaneously” category.

The stunt effectively broke the record that was set in 2006 at Maldives where only 958 divers participated in the mass dive.

Iskandar Sitompul, Navy spokesman, said that the undertaking became possible after they staged the Sail Bunaken 2009 event. This is one of the country’s efforts to build up Manado, a Sulawesi town, as a global tourist destination.