Day 641: LA 84 Dive Meet - Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool

Ayden performing a back dive w/ 1/2 Twist in 2011 LA 84

Day #641 * Hike #755 * New Track #623

Saturday August 18, 2012

LA 84 Dive Meet - Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool
Long Beach, California

My Tripometer: 3 Hours * 1.5 Miles * +25 Feet

 The Home of the 1984 Olympics!

 The beach behind the pool

 An Oil Island!

 The Springboards and Platforms

 Ayden nailed his 1 1/2 in warm ups

 Ayden claiming 1st Place on the Podium

I shot video of his meet and I intend to mix this up and share it.  He scored 5.5's - 6.5's on his first dive, a Forward Dive in the Pike Position.  The DD is 1.3 and all dives are on the 1 meter springboard.  His second dive was a 1 1/2 Forward Somersault (1.6 DD) and he scored 6's - 6.5's.  He was in first place after that dive.  Only one other diver in his age group attempted that dive.

In round three, most divers performed a back dive, which is worth a 1.7 or a back dive with a half twist, which is worth a 1.8.  However, Ayden decided to go with a complicated Reverse Dive, also worth a 1.8.  He is fully capable of pulling off a double somersault, worth 2.2, but we chose the Reverse.  He went up high and landed vertically with little splash.  Unfortunately, the judges ruled he was too close to the board, the danger zone, and deducted points.  He only scored 4's and 4 1/2's.  The good news was, it was enough to claim first place!!!

This was Ayden's second year of diving.  Last year he competed in LA 84 and finished 2nd.  We are now looking into Club Diving for him where he can compete nationally!

I checked the website and the results for 2012 are not up yet but I located the results from last year:

2011 LA 84 Dive Results 

My sister Julie met up with us at the Dive Meet.  She lives in Long Beach and she just came back from 3 weeks in Portugal.  Yes, I am jealous!  We ventured to the north of the Belmont Pier.  This is where my hike begins...

I hiked on the pier and to the south a while back

The Pier

 Hiking North to Long Beach

We ate brunch at the Belmont Brewing Company.  I guess the food was okay but the service was horrible.  I'm sure that's not always the case though - our server was a 50-year-old tweaker "No Tip".  I hike too far along the promenade because our next event was in Mission Viejo.  Alyssa was in a soccer tournament so here comes another hectic weekend (full of hikes!)...

Rewind:

Day #640 * Hike #754 * Duplicate Track

Friday August 17, 2012

Arroyo Verde Park - Ventura

My Tripometer: 1 Hour * 2.5 Miles * +325 Feet

I nearly claimed a new hike of Kanan today.  A guy I worked with recommended it but it was a long hot week.  I decided to keep it easy with the coastal air near home.  Besides, I would be gone all weekend and my dogs needed a workout!