GBDF Spring Masters -  Southampton, April 2011

The weekend of 1st – 2nd April 2011 saw Gemma Keyes (Essex) & Sonya Edwards (BTP) travel to Southampton to compete in their first competition of the year.  With both divers recovering from injury they remained focused to compete to their best ability.

Competing in 3 events each, the competitions got off to a good start in the 1m springboard. Performing 8 dives each (as opposed to the usual 6) Keyes performed consistently throughout to obtain a score of 274.95 and the GOLD medal in the 25-29 years age group.

Edwards, competing in the most competitive age group (30-39), alongside a number of international competitors, performed a very strong list of dives to score 221.00; finishing in 7th place.

The high board competition saw Keyes performing 5 of her 6 dives on the 7.5m, all resulting in high scores. Despite a missed final dive by Keyes she went on to score a respectable 221.05, obtaining her 2nd GOLD medal of the weekend.

Edwards remained of the 5m platform to perform all of her dives, producing another consistent list saving the best dive for last, a back dive half twist and finishing in 5th place with a score of 164.95.

The second day of competition saw both girls competing in the 3m springboard. Keyes increased her level of difficulty in this event by competing new dive the reverse 1 ½ piked. Although this dive could have done with a little more power, she managed to save the dive from landing short of vertical, assisting in her overall score of 310.55 and her third GOLD of the event.

Edwards’ 3m competition got off to a good start with some very consistent dives; unfortunately Edwards made an error on her 6th round dive causing her to over rotate, this error pushed Edwards from 6th into 7th place with a score of 221.00.

With a total of 3 GOLD medals and some very strong diving, both girls were very happy with their performance which is promising for the upcoming summer masters, where they both aim to improve on their already high scores.

Gemma Keyes and Sonya Edwards from the British Police Diving Team