Our Club

Dive Calgary began in 1973 as the University of Calgary Diving Club. In 1980, Olympian Ken Armstrong assumed the duties of head coach and, in 1982, led the team to its first Canadian National pennant.

In 1984, team members Kathy Keleman and Mike Morant joined the rest of Team Canada at the Los Angeles Olympics. That same year, Don McGavern, the first general manager of the newly formed Dive Calgary, initiated a talent identification program that attracted over one thousand participants between the ages of eight and twelve.

Many of these young divers became Canadian National champions. Don was the former technical director of Canada Diving and a national team coach, and is currently a professor at the University of Calgary. Glen Music and Allison Godfrey assumed coaching responsibilities from Don in 1990.

Under the guidance of Tong Hui, a two-time World Cup champion who placed fourth at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 and was the 1988 Men’s World Platform Champion, Dive Calgary became home to many members of the Canadian National Diving Team from 1995–2001. With half of the national team training here, Dive Calgary became one of the two largest training centres in the country.

Dive Calgary welcomed Scott Cranham as head coach in 2002. Scott is Canada’s top male diver of all time, holding 28 Canadian National titles, and has represented Canada three times at the Olympic Games.

In 2007, Igor Kopecky took over as head coach, followed by Charlie Tu in 2011. Charlie helped Margo Erlam and Tatiana Conn achieve national and international success. Additionally he was instrumental in helping Caeli Mckay become a member of the Senior National Diving Team.

In 2019, Dive Calgary welcomed our new head coach Abel Sanchez a former Olympian. He is now working to make Dive Calgary one of the premier places to train not just in Canada, but the world.