Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 15, 2022: The Vice President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, Dato’ Paduka Mumtaz Jaffar, believes the Olympic Council of Asia’s Diving Youth Camp will help the sport develop throughout the continent – and maybe even begin to close the gap on diving giants China.
Dato’ Paduka was the guest speaker at the opening ceremony of the seven-day camp at the Pearl Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Monday morning and said diving was a popular and well-established sport within the Olympic movement. This camp would build on this strong legacy and create a new generation of diving athletes, she added.
“First of all, I would like to thank the Olympic Council of Asia, under the leadership of the Acting President, Raja Randhir Singh, and the Director General, Captain Husain Al-Musallam, for choosing Kuala Lumpur to host this first Asian youth camp in diving,” said Dato’ Paduka.
“Diving is one of the most interesting events governed by FINA and has a long history in the Olympic Games, Asian Games and SEA Games.”
The OCM Vice President pointed out that China now rules the Olympic Games, winning 47 gold medals, 24 silver and 10 bronze for a total of 81 medals in diving alone. Malaysia is the only other Asian country to have won diving medals at the Olympics – one silver and one bronze.
“I believe the OCA, and especially Captain Husain, as President of FINA, realizes there is a big gap between China and the other the countries in Asia so, therefore, has organised this youth camp to develop and improve the standard of diving for all National Olympic Committees.”
The OCA’s Head of Athletes’ Development Department and Special Projects, Tony Tarraf, thanked the Olympic Council of Malaysia and Malaysia Swimming for their support in the hosting of the youth camp and described it as a “great opportunity” for the athletes and coaches to learn from each other and share experiences under the lead instructor, Shannon Roy of Australia.
“We have been organising Asian youth camps for the last decade in sports such as fencing, table tennis, skateboarding, swimming and taekwondo but this will be our first diving youth camp,” he said.
“This youth camp will also be special because we have judges as well as athletes and coaches. We can all learn from each other.”
He described the camp as only the starting point, because it was the role of the participants to return home and share the knowledge and experience with their own diving community.
Tony also thanked the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Solidarity and world governing body FINA for their support in bringing the camp to fruition.
The programme will also include sessions on anti-doping, Olympic Values and Education and sports science as well as a judging evaluation workshop and skills competition.
At the close of the ceremony, the athletes, who are all aged under 13, and coaches from the 15 NOCs received a souvenir backpack from the Olympic Council of Malaysia, presented by Dato’ Paduka.
