Auckland Diving Community Trust (ADCT) has received a $10,000 grant from Foundation North to support the role of Auckland Diving Development Officer and Senior Coach, held by Ellie Price. Ellie began coaching diving in 2017 and has become pivotal in providing diving and deep water safety programmes to children in Auckland.
Foundation North noted that, in making the decision, the trustees were recognising the valuable contribution Auckland Diving is making to the community.
Auckland Diving Head Coach, Steve Gladding works with Ellie to develop and deliver school and community programmes and is delighted that Foundation North has acknowledged the community benefits of the diving programmes.
“We are on a mission to make diving more accessible to more people and a big part of this is offering grassroots-level programmes where kids can try something new and build confidence as they overcome the mental and physical challenges diving presents. We have seen kids go through incredible transformations in our programmes so it’s wonderful to have financial support for this.”
One of the most recent activities to be added to Auckland Diving’s school offering is an Education Outside The Classroom (EOTC) package for students in years 5-8, which provides an active day out with water safety education and an opportunity for students to challenge themselves under the watchful guidance of Auckland Diving coaches.
In July 2021 under Ellie’s supervision, the EOTC programme was attended by a group from Taupaki School.
“Our students had a fabulous time and were really given a chance to get out of their comfort zone,” commented Penny Rollinson, Sports Coordinator from Taupaki School. “I felt the students were safe and in good hands with coaches who were encouraging, helpful and clearly experts.”
ADCT also provides NCEA accredited programmes for secondary school students, and weekly diving training that can be tailored to fit within a school’s own sports offering.
The growth of diving in schools was evident at the 2021 Auckland Schools Champs. With the addition of a separate Intermediate Schools competition this year in addition to Secondary Schools, it was the largest schools event to date with more than 75 competitors representing 24 Auckland schools.
ENDS