By Di O'Connell
Young athletes from diving powerhouses China, the United States and Australia have been in Wellington for its first ever junior invitational meeting.
It has given the locals a taste of what this level of competition is all about.
China turns out some of the world's top flight divers and the next wave is here - junior champion 11-year old Tai Xiao Hu.
Wellington 16-year-old Kate Irving is soaking up the chance to compete against the Chinese.
“It's really good experience to see how other people from around the world train and compete and how good they are and how good their coaches are,” explains Miss Irving.
One coach with a depth of experience is former US champion Deb McCormick.
Over the years she has seen the boards get bouncier and the dives become more extreme.
“I think it's like the X-Games now,” says US diving coach, Deb Mcormick. “The dives that they're doing today - I'm glad I don't have to wake up every morning and do those dives.”
Someone who does is Paulina Guzman. She wants to be Guatemala's first Olympic diver.
The 16-year-old is finding she has to follow her peers who are pushing the boundaries.
“Oh, they added something hard, I guess we all have to do that now to catch up,” explains US college diver, Paulina Guzman.
The harder the dive, the bigger the risk - but it is all worth it when it works.
“I like the feeling of entering the water and doing somersaults and knowing and knowing that I can actually do that,” says Miss Irving. “Because sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s me.”
And Irving might just have pinched herself after winning her first international gold medal.
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