Our Mission Statement
“To promote the sport of diving throughout the community by providing a safe, fun, competitive environment for individuals of any age to participate to the fullest of their abilities.”
The KW Diving Club offers many opportunities for
EVERY LEVEL OF DIVING!
Our beginning…
Since its inception in 1989, The KW Diving Club, (KWDC) has taken on many forms, from a roaming dive club moving from location to location with volunteer coaches to a more stable environment. In 1989, the club settled at the Waterloo YMCA and operated with volunteer help and monetary donations along with bingo nights organized by parent and coach volunteers. At this point in time the club had approximately ten young Learn to Dive Athletes.
Training facilities
With founding coach, Roland Lipki, at the helm, the club moved again in 1994, to its new home at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex. Just one year before making the Recreation Center, KWDC and Roland took their first diver to a Junior National Competition. This was the first of many accomplishments, both for Roland and his divers. Rebecca Barras trained with the club for a number of years and moved on to become one of the most decorated female athletes for the University of New Mexico. Rebecca became all American in her final year and eventually moved on to compete at the senior national level, competing in the University Games that same year. At the Commonwealth Games in March of 2006, Rebecca earned a bronze medal in synchro.
Dryland
The KWDC is currently looking for a new home for our dryland facility. The ideal location will allow for a sprung floor, access to a variety of training supports, including our Olympic sized trampolines and harnesses, 2 dry diving boards (where divers land on mats instead of water), a dry platform, as well as change room, viewing, and bathroom facilities. Stay tuned for more details.
Coaching
In 2006, KWDC brought renowned National Coach, Rob Wells to Waterloo. Rob’s divers continue to make national standards each year and compete at the Junior Development and Junior Elite National Championships. Our National divers have finished in the top 10 on a regular basis at Nationals, and have earned many medals and championships, as well. Thanks to Coach Rob’s efforts, KWDC has been represented on the Junior National Team, and individual divers have been selected to represent Canada internationally. Coach Rob has built a strong foundation for our competitive program at KWDC. As the only full time employee of our club, Coach Rob oversees all the programming and coaching development for KWDC.
Tiff MacLean joined the coaching staff for KWDC in 2019 and has made an instant positive impact on our club. She works with our Provincial divers and Junior Athlete Development (JAD) program. Tiff is a tremendous role model for our athletes as she lays the foundation for fitness training with our athletes. The KWDC Provincial team continues to grow and is a great training ground for the National program. Our goal for 2020-21 is to develop our JAD program to allow for enhanced skill development prior to making the leap to competition. With Coach Tiff leading the way, we know great things are in store!
Our Learn to Dive coaches are former divers who know what it feels like to flip, twist, rip, and sometimes splash! These young coaches are directly supervised and mentored by Coach Rob and Tiff.
Our entire coaching staff works together to ensure your diver is placed appropriately, learns the necessary skills to develop to their full potential, and has fun in a safe, inclusive environment.
K|W Diving Club is thankful for the grant support of the following organizations:
