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When Saratoga resident Wallay Gardanier took her daughter to Santa Clara's George F. Haines International Swim Center a couple of years ago, it was love at first sight.
"Lauren fell in love right away, but not with the pool," Wallay says, recalling the visit which she thought might interest her 8-year-old in the sport of synchronized swimming. "She saw the diving boards and wanted to try them."
And a star was born.
Two years later, after a routine of practicing at least two hours a day four or five times a week, the Saratoga Elementary School fifth-grader is one of the West Coast's best divers in the 11-and-under age group.
In fact, on April 34 in Federal Way, Wash., she became the USA Diving's Winter Junior Olympic Region 10 three-meter champion and one-meter runner-up.
Representing Santa Clara Divers, 10-year-old Lauren Gardanier scored more points (180.60) with her six dives from the three-meter board than any of her 19 opponents. In the one-meter event she tallied 179.16 points, second only to a girl from Southern California. Both efforts qualified Gardanier for berths in the Junior Olympic West Winter National Diving Championships in San Antonio, Texas.
Thirty divers in each age group, the top six divers from five of USA Diving's 10 regions, converged on San Antonio's Josh Davis Natatorium for the West Nationals April 2325. Gardanier was one of 11 boys and girls from the Santa Clara club who competed in San Antonio.
Meanwhile, 30 divers from five other regions competed at the East Junior National Championships at Moss Farms, Ga.
So, while her Saratoga Elementary classmates were doing a Revolutionary War simulation last week, Lauren instead was visiting the Alamo with her mother and grandmother. Then she followed up the history trip with two medal-winning performances at the prestigious national diving event.
She took 10th place from the one-meter board and seventh the next day from the three-meter board. She missed sixth by just one-tenth of a point. The top 12 finishers in each event earned a medal.
Highlights of the competition for the Gardaniers came in the three-meter competition, when Lauren was awarded sevens on one of the required dives, a reverse dive from the pike position.
"And they don't just pass those sevens out," a proud Wallay observed about the typical panel of five judges who rate each dive on a 10-point scale. "But Lauren really ripped it."
Each diver must do six dives, three required and three optional. Gardanier did the same required dives from both boards, a forward one-somersault in the pike position, a backward dive in pike, and the reverse dive. In a pike dive, the diver's legs are straight and bent at the waist.
Gardanier's one-meter optional program features three dives in the tuck position, an inward one-somersault, a forward double somersault and a backward one-somersault. The tuck is a position in which the diver's body is bent at the waist and knees, with thighs drawn to the chest and heels kept close to the buttocks. On tuck dives, judges look to see if the diver's feet and knees are kept together and the toes are pointed.
The inward one-tuck also is part of Gardanier's three-meter optional program. Her two other three-meter optional dives are a forward one with a full twist and a forward two tuck.
"What I like most about diving is being in the air—like I'm flying," Lauren says. "I also like [after successfully completing a dive] knowing I did it right."
As Lauren resumes regular practice sessions with coach Ryan Wallace and trains for the summer season, she will be learning some new dives.
"What scares me about diving is smacking against the water," Gardanier admitted, noting that when learning new dives, a diver sometimes will not enter the water correctly and—smack!
As Lauren continues to develop and improve as an elite diver, the Gardaniers are looking forward to much more "ripping" than "smacking."
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