Glenlyon Norfolk School Student Dives to Success

Outside of the classroom, Grade 5 student Avery Elliott keeps busy, training at a high level of diving! He trains with Boardworks Diving Academy at the Saanich Commonwealth Pool four times a week, in addition to also swimming competitively.

Earlier this month he attended his very first BC Winter Provincials competition, where he came a remarkable 5th place in both the Boys D 3 metre and 1 metre events. Despite getting sick at the event, he still managed to do his best through truth and courage and persevere through the adversity. 

Avery first noticed the sport when he was only 4.5 years old due to the impressive flipping and twisting skills that the top divers can do. “Because I already swam at Commonwealth, one day I looked over at the divers and I said I want to do that! So I tried the diving boards and I loved them, and my parents got me a lesson and then all of this happened.”

Avery describes his first Provincials as a scary experience as “you don’t know how tough the judges are going to be.” With kids from all over the province competing, he tackled this new experience head-on. At this competition, Avery competed on the 1 and 3-metre (both springboard events), but is also training on the 5-metre platform and hopes to debut it soon, sharing that it feels significantly higher and that you have much more time in the air to turn. He also finds the twists harder “because you have to do the flip and then the twist, so you have to have enough time.”

Many people suffer from a fear of heights and can’t imagine regularly choosing to jump from such high heights, but Avery describes the adrenaline rush as the best part. “It’s much more fun than you think it is.” He also thinks that getting over your fear is the hardest part of training and that it’s “really fun trying to learn hard competitive dives.”

Needless to say, nerves are natural, and he describes waiting on the diving board for the whistle to start as the hardest part as it can take some time. Avery does have strategies to conquer this, “if I’m learning a new dive, I like to take a deep breath and just jump and do it. At competitions, I try to give myself good advice, like I’m going to do great and repeat that in my head.”

Avery says that he has learned not to “freak out about things” through his years of diving and to stay calm under pressure, skills he takes with him into the classroom.

Up next, Avery will compete in the BC Summer Provincials competition in May, in hopes of qualifying for Nationals. Well done Avery, the entire GNS community wishes you luck!