Dreams of being one of Canada’s best divers is only one jump away for young athletes competing in Saskatoon.
At the Shaw Centre this week, divers across Canada are competing in the 2024 Speedo Junior Elite National Championship. Winning in this competition would mean advancing to the Junior World Trials.
The head coach of the Saskatoon Diving Club, Steve Carroll, shared this competition is so much more than simply winning a medal.
“For me, I like kids learning how to try and win and I like them learning how to lose. At this age, it’s junior nationals, we’re really trying to get them to be well-rounded,” he said.
“Winning is nice, but learning how to deal with adversity is really important for this stage of diving.”
Carroll expressed Saskatoon has one of the best diving programs in Canada for all levels of athletic ability. “From kids that just want to learn how to dive to kids that can possibly make the Olympics.”
Carroll explained his team has many prospects spectators should keep their eyes on.
Kash Tarasoff made it to the finals, “he is gonna have three events this weekend and he’s gonna be shooting for a gold at each of them. Any podium will be really impressive to be that high up there in the nationals,” said Carroll.
Twelve-year-old diver Kash Tarasoff met with 650CKOM to share how his season has been going so far.
“I went to two international meets, I got some medals there. I am just starting junior nationals now and I placed second in prelims,” said Tarasoff.
Tarasoff expressed his excitement to see how far he can go during this competition season.
“This will qualify me for junior world trials, which will qualify me for junior worlds, which I am really looking forward to… I’d be super happy to compete there and represent Canada.”
When asked if he had a message for other young divers to know, Tarasoff shared a message of perseverance.
“When times get low, just keep your head up and it will come.”
Tarasoff is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Rylen Wiens who will compete in the Olympics this month.