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Blog: 'As a sport, diving has improved my self-esteem'

The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday through the year.

In 2016 we’ll be taking a look at an A-Z of accessible sporting and fitness opportunities available to disabled people. This week it’s D for Diving – Matthew Davis and Sean Blackmore tell us why they are passionate about their pastime.

Matthew’s blog:

I love diving – my ambition is to be the next Pete Waterfield!

I travel over to Southampton every Saturday from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, where I was born. There isn’t a swimming pool on the island that’s deep enough for diving.

I’m now 22, and started diving after I left college in 2013. I researched for a disability diving school online, and found one in Hampshire at the Diving Academy at The Quays Swimming & Diving Complex in Southampton.

I then asked my parents whether they thought diving would suit me as a sport, considering my conditions. I have autism, pathological demand avoidance and epilepsy, to name just a few.

I’m also on medication, which improves my mood in the mornings and evenings. It’s important for my general health and wellbeing that I stay on it, to keep me on an even keel.

Currently I’m diving off the 1m and 3m platform boards – it’s going very well and I really enjoy it. I so enjoy the sport that in 2012 I went shopping and bought my own speedos!

I hope soon to volunteer at an upcoming DiveAbility event, to help show people what great fun diving is.

Sean’s blog:

I’m nearly 30, and have been diving with DiveAbilities in Hertfordshire for two years now. I also dive as part of swimming galas run by Stevenage Dolphins Swimming Club.

I have autism and have always been interested in sports, particularly swimming and cricket.

I was interested in taking diving lessons, and I asked at the Stevenage Swimming Centre. They gave me a contact number for the manager of DiveAbilities, and I now dive every Saturday between 11:45 and 12:15.

During lessons there are always three diving instructors who will demonstrate a particular dive or jump, such as lineups or a pike jumps, on the poolside, and then we follow it. I did find it hard to learn at the beginning, but not so much now.

I’m looking forward to diving at the Hatfield Swimming Gala, which is coming up in April.

I usually have mixed emotions when I’m diving – sometimes I can be nervous because of the height of the 3m board.

But it also makes me feel energised and I’m happy after doing a dive. And as a sport I feel it has improved my self-esteem.

More information on diving as a sport is available on the British Swimming website.