Bainbridge divers win big at B.C. championship

Divers from the Bainbridge Island Diving Club earned multiple medals and the team finished in the top 10 in the British Columbia Winter Provincial Championships.

Divers from the Bainbridge Island Diving Club earned multiple medals and the team finished in the top 10 in the British Columbia Winter Provincial Championships.

The team traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia to compete in the championships on Feb. 1-3. The competition featured 112 divers from all over B.C. and a few from Tualatin Hills, Ore., as well. The Bainbridge divers earned 104 team points for an eighth-place finish.

Jackie Hellmers started it off with two seventh-place finishes in the Girls 12-13 Beginner Group. Jackie used six dives on the 1-meter springboard to earn 101.45 points and had five dives on the 3-meter springboard for 98 points.

Brit Hepworth followed up in the Girls 14-15 Beginner Group and placed third on the 1-meter springboard with a score of 152.30 points for seven dives.

Teammate Zora Opalka dove in the Girls 14-15 Intermediate Group and won first place on the 1-meter springboard. Zora had nine dives for 213.85 points. She returned on the 3-meter for a fourth-place finish with a score of 200.00 points on nine dives.

Dylan Garthwaite won two gold medals in the Boys 12-13 Intermediate Group. On the 1-meter, he scored 216.55 points with eight dives. On the 3-meter springboard, he scored 210.35 points on eight dives.

Cammy Rouser took a bronze medal home from the Girls 14-15 Intermediate Group with a score of 249.55 points with nine dives.

Later on, Cammy qualified for the Girls 14-15 Junior Olympic 1-meter finals and placed sixth overall with a score of 271.69 with nine dives.

The next competition on the schedule for the Bainbridge Island Diving Club is a trip to Tualatin Hills, Ore. for the United States Diving Region 10 Junior Olympic Diving Championships. The competition will be held on the second weekend of March.