Day 2 – Thursday 5th August 2004
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It was an early start for some of the athletes today. With a 05:30 bus leaving with the first group many of the teams were tucked up in bed rather early last night.
The weather in Vancouver has been quite overcast during the past couple of days and so the morning had a low mist which made for rather chilly conditions for most competitors. The water temperature had dropped to around 17C / 62F from 21C / 70F, and several divers were caught off guard. I have to say most of the DeeperBlue.net team, too, were caught without means of keeping warm on the barge which all added to the fun!
Despite the colder temperature several people set new personal bests. The UK team showed some very strong diving with Dave King (62m), Mark Harris (55m) and Dave Harries (60m) all setting new personal bests. Canada followed suit with Brent Pascall (62.5m) and Matt Charlton (59.9m) set new personal bests. Tom Seitas (85m) had a strong performance along with USA newcomer Michael Antinori (45.4m).
No real surprises occured today, the only dramas when Annabel Briseno had a jellyfish sting her across the face and Hubert Maier samba’d after his dive. Each team seems to be playing the strategic battle and not over-stretching themselves, however, as all competitors know it is the performance on Game Day which will dictate whether your country gets a good ranking or not!
After a fantastic morning of diving everyone returned off the barge to wait for the buses to show up and take us back to UBC Athletes Village. After a good 60 minute wait we found out that the bus had gone to the wrong place, and everyone would have to wait another 60 minutes. Despite this delay everyone was in great spirits, especially since the sun finally decided to show up and by the time the bus showed up a few faces looked a touch burnt!
After a swift late lunch, a quick shower and a rapid change of clothes, everyone returned to the main area of the UBC accomodation block to be ushered into the opening ceremonies. Kirk Krack, the organiser, introduced the proceedings. He introduced the judges, organisers, volunteers, teams and independent athletes, each getting his turn to be introduced to colleagues who they are spending the next week with. Doc ProPlugs were announced as the title sponsor and after several photo opporunities for attending media Kirk called a close to proceedings.
As I write this most teams have rushed out for a quick bite to eat and then off to bed to get ready for tomorrow’s dives. Speaking to several competitors it sounds like many will have a rest day tomorrow before the competition days of Saturday and Sunday ,but we wonder whether there will be any surprises tomorrow? Tune in for tomorrow’s installment to find out!
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