She walks up to the ladder and mounts the spring board. She takes a deep breath and leaps off the board, legs tucked, arms wrapped around her knees.
The BV Dive team consists of only five girls, three of whom have qualified for state.
Senior Payton Meyer said the BV girls dive team is laid-back and the divers typically only attend three of the six weekly practices.
“If you show up, you show up,” she said. “If you don’t show up, you don’t practice.”
Senior Hannah Griffin is a first year diver and said practices are easy to blow off but if you’re motivated, you go often.
“Practices are helpful for learning new things,” Griffin said. “I picked it up pretty fast.”
BV shares coach Bridget Allen with BV Northwest’s dive team.
“The coach freshman year wasn’t too strict, so she can’t go back now,” Meyer said. “Our coach’s personality makes it fun. We can go to practice and laugh.”
Despite the lack of practice, Meyer said the team has someone placing at every meet.
“When you go into diving you either have a natural ability or you don’t,” Meyer said. “Someone can practice every day but won’t have the ability of a natural.”
The scoring is based on the three judges’ opinions and the degree of difficulty of the dive. Meyer said a five out of 10 or higher is considered a good score.
She said most of the divers on the team are cheerleaders or ex-gymnasts, and they only dive during the season for fun.
“At the last meet, I did a can-opener for my dive,” Meyer said. “It was just for fun. My score was 1.5.”
Since BV’s diving boards are over the swim lanes, it can cause problems during practice.
“The swimmers don’t like us,” Meyer said. “They have to swim around the lane where we dive and we have to dodge them. It’s very unsafe.”
Griffin said she enjoys being a part of the team and learning new dives.
“Because I’ve never dove before, it’s not a huge priority but I enjoy learning new dives and being able to compete with new divers,” she said.
She said the lack of practice doesn’t effect the team in a negative way.
“Yes, if we practiced every day, we would be better,” Meyer said. “But if it was strict, we wouldn’t be diving.”
The BV Dive team consists of only five girls, three of whom have qualified for state.
Senior Payton Meyer said the BV girls dive team is laid-back and the divers typically only attend three of the six weekly practices.
“If you show up, you show up,” she said. “If you don’t show up, you don’t practice.”
Senior Hannah Griffin is a first year diver and said practices are easy to blow off but if you’re motivated, you go often.
“Practices are helpful for learning new things,” Griffin said. “I picked it up pretty fast.”
BV shares coach Bridget Allen with BV Northwest’s dive team.
“The coach freshman year wasn’t too strict, so she can’t go back now,” Meyer said. “Our coach’s personality makes it fun. We can go to practice and laugh.”
Despite the lack of practice, Meyer said the team has someone placing at every meet.
“When you go into diving you either have a natural ability or you don’t,” Meyer said. “Someone can practice every day but won’t have the ability of a natural.”
The scoring is based on the three judges’ opinions and the degree of difficulty of the dive. Meyer said a five out of 10 or higher is considered a good score.
She said most of the divers on the team are cheerleaders or ex-gymnasts, and they only dive during the season for fun.
“At the last meet, I did a can-opener for my dive,” Meyer said. “It was just for fun. My score was 1.5.”
Since BV’s diving boards are over the swim lanes, it can cause problems during practice.
“The swimmers don’t like us,” Meyer said. “They have to swim around the lane where we dive and we have to dodge them. It’s very unsafe.”
Griffin said she enjoys being a part of the team and learning new dives.
“Because I’ve never dove before, it’s not a huge priority but I enjoy learning new dives and being able to compete with new divers,” she said.
She said the lack of practice doesn’t effect the team in a negative way.
“Yes, if we practiced every day, we would be better,” Meyer said. “But if it was strict, we wouldn’t be diving.”
