USA Diving to select 2009 World Championships team members at Feb. 8-11 camp

Jennifer Lowery February 02, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS -- The road to the 2009 FINA World Championships begins next week, when nearly 60 divers are expected to participate in a USA Diving selection camp from February 8-11 at Ohio State University.

The camp will be used to select divers who will represent the United States on the individual 1-meter, 3-meter and 10-meter events at the World Championships, set for July 18-25 in Rome, Italy. Roster spots for the individual 3-meter and 10-meter events at the Canada Cup (May 1-3) and AT&T USA Diving Grand Prix (May 7-9 in Fort Lauderdale) will also be determined at the selection camp.

Team members will be announced Thursday, January 12. Synchronized teams will be chosen at a later date.

Among the divers vying for spots are 10 of the 12 members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team – David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind.), Kelci Bryant (Chatham, Ill.), Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla.), Mary Beth Dunnichay (Elwood, Ind.), Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.), Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.), Haley Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.), Christina Loukas (Riverwoods, Ill.), Ariel Rittenhouse (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Jevon Tarantino (Boca Raton, Fla.).

A synchronized diving assessment will be held in conjunction with the selection camp. Divers may be asked to perform with a number of other divers, not just their current partners. USA Diving’s new high performance director Steve Foley will assess the pairs and make recommendations for potential new synchro teams. Selections for international events will then be held in the spring.