USA Diving members,

We are close to finalizing our teams for upcoming Grand Prix events, and we wanted to keep you informed of some changes and updates we’ve had to make in the process.

When we first posted the selection procedures last summer, we indicated we would send a team to Fort Lauderdale and that teams for Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain and Canada would be dependent on funding. We later learned there also would be a new Grand Prix event, to be held in Puerto Rico.

In looking at funding, we determined we could send teams to Fort Lauderdale, Canada and Puerto Rico.

In filling the spots on the teams, we first had to receive answers from our 2012 Olympians indicating their plans for 2013 (as Olympians, they qualified for the Fort Lauderdale team if they chose to compete).

Once we learned the Olympians’ plan and knew how many spots were available, we found there were some events in which we had more spots to fill than divers who met the criteria initially set forward in the selection procedures.

Knowing this year is a special year for our own Grand Prix (this will be the last Grand Prix held in Fort Lauderdale for several years, as the pool will be closing to build a new facility), we wanted to be sure we had a full team. The High Performance Director and the Committee for Competitive Excellence (CCE) determined any spots unfilled by the initial criteria would be filled by divers on the Olympic Performance Squad or who met the criteria for other Grand Prix events in order to put forward our best team for our home international event. It was also determined that any open individual spots for the Canada Cup may be filled by divers who are on the Olympic Performance Squad, and any open spots in synchronized events for Fort Lauderdale or Canada would be filled by divers already on those teams based on pairings recommended by the High Performance Director.

The Puerto Rico Grand Prix is the same week as our World Championships and World University Games Trials. It is likely we will be able to invite every diver who met the Grand Prix selection criteria to either Fort Lauderdale or Canada. Knowing that our top divers will be going to World Trials, the High Performance Director and CCE determined Puerto Rico would be an excellent opportunity to invest in our future by sending a team of elite junior divers to provide them with valuable international experience.

We hope to have our teams finalized soon and will announce the rosters in the near future but wanted to keep you informed of the process because of the changes we’ve had to make along the way.

Go Team USA!