BENDIGO divers dominated the boards at the recent Victorian country championships, winning the shields for the top club overall and the best female team.
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Plunging off the one-metre and three-metre springboards and five-metre platform, the five local youngsters collected eight gold and three silver medals at the meet in Mildura.
They also brought home four silvers from the Peter and Patricia Morgan Memorial Ripntear event, which was held in conjunction with the country titles and featured competitors from Melbourne and Adelaide.
Three of the talented athletes - Abby Rowley, Kiara Field and Kaitlyn Allan - qualified for the national age championships in Brisbane in April.
Rowley, who was the 2014 Australian diver of the year in the 12-13 age group, was outstanding after moving up a level. She won three gold and two silver in the 14-15 years section.
Field, the youngest Bendigo team member at just eight, displayed amazing potential on the higher boards in particular, earning three gold and a silver against much older girls in the 11-and-under category.
Allan, only nine, finished the meet with three silver medals in the same age group.
Their performance was all the more impressive because they have been diving for less than 12 months.
Allan's older sister Jessica is also developing some beautiful dives and won gold on the one-metre springboard in the 12-13 years section.
Bendigo's sole male entrant, Euan Marsden, performed extremely well on the day and deserved his gold and silver medals, also on the one-metre in the 12-13 age group.
Coach Heather Tyter was delighted with the results, saying the divers proved their quality and potential at the meet.
"All of them have at least one more year in their age groups," she said.
"The future of our club seems very bright with such hard-working and talented young divers."