Fort Lauderdale will host ‘Sneak Peek Media Day’ with USA Diving, Red Bull

The City of Fort Lauderdale will host a “Sneak Peek Media Day” in coordination with USA Diving and Red Bull on June 6. The event will highlight the entire spectrum of the sport of diving, from the humble beginnings of grassroots lessons programs to Olympians and world champion high divers.

After undergoing extensive renovations since 2019, the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center is now the first permanent facility in the western hemisphere capable of accommodating divers at 27 meters.

World champion high diver Steven LoBue and 2020 Olympian Brandon Loschiavo will be among the divers participating in the media day, which will feature divers from the Fort Lauderdale Dive Team, USA Diving’s High Performance Squad and Red Bull Cliff Diving. The event will provide media an opportunity to see the renovated facility while learning about the sport of diving at all levels.

Divers will have an open practice and will be the first athletes using the new equipment in the pool.

“Everyone always loves coming to Fort Lauderdale for diving. The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center is an iconic venue and known throughout the world. We’re thrilled with the renovations and what has been done with the facility,” said Dan Laak, USA Diving’s High Performance Director.

“The addition of a permanent 27-meter platform will be invaluable as we grow the sport of high diving in the United States, and all USA Diving members using the facility will benefit from the improvements. We look forward to the facility fully reopening later this year.”  

Divers from Fort Lauderdale Diving Team will showcase some of the basic fundamentals of diving and benefits of the sport while highlighting its lessons programs, masters diving and junior teams.

Six members of USA Diving’s High Performance Squad, including Loschiavo, will be on hand to discuss Olympic highlights, what it takes to train at an elite level, and the future of the sport at the national and international level. High Performance Squad member Jordan Rzepka, who will compete at the FINA World Championships next month, will participate along with High Performance Squad members Kaylee Bishop, Matthew Brisson, Emilie Moore and Juliet Radich. Bishop, Moore and Radich all represented the United States at the Junior Pan American Championships last fall.

LoBue won high diving gold at the 2017 FINA World Championships and added silver in 2019 and will be one of three world champion high divers on hand to spotlight the history of high diving, the future of the sport, and the differences between high diving and more traditional diving. Colombian Orlando Duque, a 2013 FINA world champion and the first overall champion of Red Bull Cliff Diving, and Australian Rhiannon Iffland, a two-time FINA high diving champion who has two undefeated seasons on the Red Bull Cliff Diving circuit, will join LoBue in Fort Lauderdale.

High divers and High Performance Squad members also will share knowledge, tricks and tips for safe and successful diving with the media and members of the Fort Lauderdale Dive Team.

The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center will open to the public for limited hours this summer while construction finishes are being completed. Final completion is set for December 2022.