Pool closure helps Amber make splash

Published on Friday 3 July 2009 10:00

ONE of Scotland's top young divers has received an unexpected boost to her training – from the Commonwealth Pool closure.

Amber Foster, ten, has been diving since the age of six and is British National Novice Champion.

She already trains for several hours a week, but with Edinburgh Diving Club relocating from the Commonwealth Pool to Newbattle Leisure Pool during the two-year closure, she will be able to get in more hours of training than before – right on her doorstep.

She may no longer be able to make the highest leaps from the Commonwealth Pool's top platforms, but the increase in training hours will give a boost to her hopes of future medal glory.

Her mum, Karen Foster, said the extra hours available at Newbattle would be a boon to Amber, who lives in Bonnyrigg: "It's great to have it on our doorstep. Obviously the facilities are different and we're going to have to adapt to the change but it's brilliant that Newbattle has stepped in. The advantages will be that she's going to be doing more training than she did at the Commonwealth Pool, so she'll be training nine hours a week."

Five hours a week of that training will be in the pool, with four hours of dry land work at Meadowbank.

She said Amber was "desperate" to dive for Scotland, and dreams of competing at Olympic or Commonwealth level when she was older.

Another Midlothian-based member of the diving club, Jennifer Currie, 17, won't be making the move to train at Newbattle – she has already been offered an even better opportunity, training in Leeds with the British elite squad.

Newbattle pool has closed this week for improvement work to the boards and pool to allow the diving programme to begin, after an agreement between Edinburgh Leisure and Midlothian Council.

Provost, Councillor Adam Montgomery, said the new arrangement would also help less experienced divers in Midlothian as the club develops programmes for all abilities.

He said: "Initially the programme will last for two years while the refurbishment is carried out at the Royal Commonwealth Pool. We hope that when the Edinburgh Diving Club return there, we will have a thriving diving programme in place in Midlothian at Newbattle pool – thanks to them providing top level coaching and also the new boards and safety railings which are being installed at Newbattle.