SEC Swimming & Diving

Auburn's Tyler McGill, and George Klein, right, celebrate after they win the 400 yard medley relay during the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia on Friday, Feb. 19, 2010 in Athens, Ga.

The SEC's Swimming & Diving Championships were held on my birthday.

I got soaked.

Little did i know that the bulkhead at the end of the lane would be walked on by every athlete. So my pants & shoes got soaked fast. I suppose shorts and flip-flops would have been a better choice.

More after the jump

Diving!

Brooke George of Clemson dives during 3-meter springboard competition during the Georgia Diving Invitational and Shootout on Monday at Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia on Monday, Jan. 4, 2010 in Athens, Ga.

Despite working around top-flight sports programs at UGA, I don't get to many of the tertiary or non-revenue sports that truly deserve the attention.

Swimming & Diving is one of them. Despite being ranked #1, having Olympians on their squad, and being coached by Jack Bauerle (who has Olympic Credentials), I've never gotten to any of their competitions. Until now. I've never shot diving before at the NCAA level and haven't at the HS level since Florida.

Now the Gabrielsen Natatorium here at UGA is a top flight facility. Light wasn't too bad thanks to the new cameras in the world, 2.8/1000th/3200 ISO And i got access - pool deck, and the 10m platform to shoot from as it was 3m and 1m going off at the same time. I could get more overhead of the 1m diving but the 3m dives were much more interesting. Getting on the 5m platform with a wide made a very interesting photo. Alas this would be better suited with a remote in the future although the divers i shot wide were out of contention and during the prelims.


A giant thanks to the ladies of the Iowa State team for explaining what the dive numbers mean.



Tennessee diver Kelly Marx dives during one-meter springboard competition during the Georgia Diving Invitational and Shootout on Monday at Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia on Monday, Jan. 4, 2010 in Athens, Ga.



Tennessee diver Kelly Marx enters the water during one-meter springboard competition during the Georgia Diving Invitational and Shootout on Monday at Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia on Monday, Jan. 4, 2010 in Athens, Ga.



Georgia diver Hannah Moore dives during 3-meter springboard competition during the Georgia Diving Invitational and Shootout on Monday at Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia on Monday, Jan. 4, 2010 in Athens, Ga. Moore won the event with a score of 306.65.



Tennessee diver Jill Pierce dives during 3-meter springboard competition during the Georgia Diving Invitational and Shootout on Monday at Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia on Monday, Jan. 4, 2010 in Athens, Ga.

Swimming and Diving

Swimmers from the Athens Bulldog Swim Club work out at the Ramsey Center Natatorium in Athens, Ga., on Thursday, March 12, 2009.

I really regret not being able to photograph any of the University of Georgia's swim meets this year. They're pretty good.

But i did get a chance to shoot a little bit of diving after i finished doing an underwater shoot with a high school swimmer.



Olympic diver Chris Colwill at the Ramsey Center Natatorium in Athens, Ga., on Thursday, March 12, 2009.