For the first time ever, Calgary will host the top male and female divers in the world at the Canada Cup FINA Diving Grand Prix starting Thursday at Repsol Sport Centre.
Calgarian Caeli McKay, 18, spent a decade learning to dive at Repsol Sport Centre before moving to Montreal two years ago to train with the national team. She’s excited to be back to compete against the world’s best in the pool she grew up training in.
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Last year, McKay joined three-time Olympic bronze medallist Meaghan Benfeito to form Canada’s newest dynamic duo.
“It’s very cool to watch a dynamic duo do their thing up on the 10-metre and also on the three-metre board,” McKay said.
“Meaghan and I do the 10-metre. I think the crowd will be very impressed and I think it will actually motivate some people to try the sport as well.”
The pair recently won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Australia. McKay has competed with Benfeito in her hometown of Montreal — this week, the roles are reversed.
“It’s a little nerve wracking. I’m a little scared,” Benfeito said. “It’s going to be fun. I have to do my job.
“She’s the star of the week; it’s not me, it’s all about her so I’m just going to focus on what I have to do to put my dives down as well as possible to make sure she’s happy at the end of the day.”
The Canada Cup competition will see over 100 divers from 19 countries compete in this one-of-a-kind event in Calgary.
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Cindy Ady from Tourism Calgary says diving is popular all over the world and will bring a lot of attention to the city.
“There had to be modifications made to the dive platforms or you could never host an event like this,” Ady said. “Repsol Centre has done a good job bringing in this new 10-metre platform.
“This is exciting and I would encourage Calgarians to come out and see world-class diving. We haven’t been able to do that for a long time.”
Retired diver Blythe Hartley won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and says those who come to watch will see skills that didn’t exist in her day.
“It’s the best divers in the world who will be competing this weekend,” Hartley said. “What I’m so impressed with is how the sport has really progressed and evolved and the quality of dives and difficulty of dives that divers are now doing is really exciting.”
Hartley was bigger than life for McKay when she was growing up.
“I grew up here, with Blythe Hartley as my inspiration, and we only saw Meaghan and all the other Olympians on TV and on the internet and I was star struck when I moved to Montreal so it was a big adjustment. Now we’re quite good friends and down to earth.”
The best in the world take the plunge starting Thursday with the medal rounds going this weekend.
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