“CHINA’S NUMBER OF DIVERS EQUALS ARMENIA’S POPULATION”
Support A1+!Armenia plans to have divers participate in the 2012 Olympics to take place in London. During the past couple of years, Armenian divers have participated in teen and youth international competitions.
“Despite the dark years, thanks to diver Avtandilyan Armenia won the right to participate in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics,” told “A1+” vice-president of the Diving Federation Robert Grigoryan.
Armenia didn’t have any divers for the Olympic games that followed, which Grigoryan explained as follows:
“When the swimming pool began to function normally, the federation decided to pay more attention to raising the level of professionalism of young divers by participating in teen and youth competitions. Now we have promising divers, who have won over 30 medals in the course of three years in international competitions.”
Two of them are at the required age to participate in the European and world championships.
There are not too many diving fans in Armenia. “Armenia lacks the required conditions. Those who privatized the swimming pools took out the planks needed for diving and the only school for diving that exists today is the David Hambartsumyan school,” says Robert Grigoryan.
The chief trainer of the Armenian diving team predicts that if Armenia had a couple of diving schools, it would reach victories at the international level. “China has as much divers as our population. They pick 2 out of all divers, while we pick 15-20 divers from one school.”
The federation keeps hope alive and has appealed to the Sport Ministry for help. “We are ready to provide equipment to the school so that the divers can at least practice diving,” said Grigoryan.
