Nola Endres admitted the Parkcrest team had very few diving participants when her kids began competing for the pool in the All-City Dive Meet 10 years ago. Her two children were part of a group that had just 10 to 15 divers registered for the event, she said.
But a decade later, low numbers are no longer an issue for either Parkcrest or the meet.
The team’s participation has more than quadrupled since 2000 while overall involvement has jumped up roughly 30 divers from a year ago to a record 298 at the meet Monday and Tuesday at Parkcrest Swim and Tennis Club.
Hill Farm (131 points) led after the first day, with Parkcrest 31 points back in second place.
While the dive meet doesn’t have nearly as many participants as the All-City Swim Meet — more than 1,700 will compete at Hill Farm Thursday through Saturday — Endres, the co-meet director, has noticed a growth in popularity, especially with Parkcrest.
“For us, this is a big number,” Endres said of Parkcrest, whose 64 divers are well ahead of the second-largest team total (Hill Farm with 40). “It’s beautiful. We had a record number of divers for Parkcrest because we’re hosting it, and … it’s a lot of fun.”
Since Parkcrest coach Aaron O’Neill began competing in the meet during the late 1980s, he believes the number of divers has doubled. He attributes the growth to the increasing desire of kids to partake in both swimming and diving.
“I would say that when I was younger it was more of swimmers and divers (separately),” O’Neill said. “I look at our team, and we’ve got about 70 kids on our roster. Of those 70, 50 of them are swimmers, so it’s a lot of swimmers and divers that have teamed up together. I think that’s where a lot of the growth is coming. Instead of specifically focusing on one sport, they’re dual-sport athletes.”
Co-meet director Laura Temprano, who has three sons competing for Parkcrest, thinks more children have taken notice of the social opportunity the meet presents.
“They do a lot together as a team,” Temprano said of Parkcrest. “It’s a smaller group, so it’s easier to bond with your team. They’re tight. They’re having a lot of fun together. They get together and make their banners and hang out and have pizza together.”
Endres — her son, Teddy, won the boys 13-14 age group with a score of 174 — is convinced the meet’s expansion won’t stop any time soon.
“I know Parkcrest, we’re really encouraging kids … during their lessons,” she said. “I think it’s the coaching that is encouraging kids to do the diving lessons, people doing it in each individual pool, making diving special.
“It’s as special as swimming, and (we’re) trying to get more kids involved. I’m hoping other pools are encouraging it during lessons and encouraging that it’s a fun sport and they should try it so it does grow.”
