These 4 Regina divers received NCAA scholarships

The diving careers of four Grade 12 athletes in Regina is looking bright – with the quartet securing National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) scholarships for 2024.

Chloe Jones (Concordia University St. Paul Golden Bears), Brooklyn O’Day (University of Alabama Crimson Tide), Amelia Sharp (University of North Texas Mean Green) and Claire Werner (Bowling Green State University Falcons) are all members of the Regina Diving Club.

“I’m super proud of them,” Head Coach Laura Desautels told CTV News.

“I think most years we usually have like one or two going away [to school] and to have four of them going away this year it’s a pretty big deal for our club.”

For Jones, travelling to the U.S. for school is an exciting prospect.

“I think its super cool that we’re all able to go down to the states. Even with our past divers that dove here that went down there, I still keep in contact with them,” she said. “So it’s really awesome to see all four of us go have a new chance at diving.”

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The four have been diving together since they were little and say the bond they have formed is like no other.

Despite being excited for one another about their next step they will miss spending almost every day together at the pool.

“I love them so much. Claire got me into diving. She brought me to ‘bring a friend night’ and I’ve loved ever since. Then Brooklyn came because of me,” Sharp shared. “Then it’s literally been us four together the whole time. We’re so tight. It’s going to be so weird being away from each other because our whole diving career we’ve been together.”

“They’re my best friends. I have nothing but awesome things to say about each and every one of them. We get to see the struggles, the ups and downs every day, but I can always count on them to talk and kind of make me feel better after a rough day. And always can count on a good dance party at practice,” Werner said with a smile.

“They’re probably more like sisters than teammates so watching them [get scholarships] together is pretty exciting,” said Desautels.

However, all of them are excited for what lies ahead in their careers.

“I’m really nervous about not being at home. I’m going to miss my family and friends but I’m also super excited to get the opportunity to live somewhere else and meet new people and start my university career,” Jones said.

She noted that her decision to sign at Concordia University in Minnesota is because it reminded her of home.

“I didn’t want to go anywhere hot. I wanted to stay somewhere colder so that it was more like home. I knew I didn’t want to dive outside, so that was a big factor,” she said. “But mostly just wanting somewhere closer to home.”

For O’Day, her choice was the opposite, wanting somewhere with a little warmer weather. It helps she will have family somewhat nearby – as her dad, Riders’ Vice President and General Manager Jeremy O’Day, has family connections down south.

“I talked to other schools but Alabama just had the facilities, team atmosphere, the weather. I’m a little nervous just because I don’t know anything different than this. But my dad’s half of the family is from the States. So at least I have that. They’re not too far away in Texas,” she explained. “I think it’ll be a great experience all around because I’ll be able to do my schooling as well as continue to do the sport that I like to do so I think it’ll be really fun. There’s so many different skills and diving levels that you can do. So I feel like it’s always a challenge that’ll keep you on your toes.”

Werner said her school in Ohio felt like the right fit from the start.

“I decided to go there because the team was super welcoming, they had a major that I wanted to take. I just felt like I wasn’t an option for them,” said Werner who will be studying Exercise Science with hopes to get into Physiotherapy.

“I’m most excited about meeting all the new girls there. There’s lots of international students so I think it’ll be an awesome opportunity to be around new cultures and it’s just a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Sharp says she had a similar feeling when visiting north Texas.

“It was one of the first schools that I started talking to in my recruiting process. When I went on a visits the team, the coaches, and everything just felt like kind of a home away from home. It worked out great,” Sharp said.

“I’m super excited to be independent and be on my own. I feel like I’m a very social person, so making new friends and just being in a new environment I’m super excited for.”

The four will begin their final competition season with the Regina Diving Club in January and head to their new schools in August of next year.