USA Diving National Championships underway in Morgantown

MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) - The 2023 USA Diving National Championships have taken over Morgantown. The Mylan Park aquatic center is hosting the Team USA diving event that features over 100 of the nation’s most talented divers. The athletes compete in individual and synchronized diving competitions throughout the week. Jennifer Lainhart, the director at the aquatic center, says events like these provide opportunities for athletes to showcase their skills.

“With COVID, a lot of these things weren’t happening, so finally we’re back to where we can have these types of events again,” said Lainhart. “Alot of these divers may have missed a couple years of competition, so this is really an opportunity for them to get back in, competing so that they can prepare, especially the year before the olympics.”

The national championships aren’t only great for the athletes, they’re great for the entire community. Monongalia County Commission President, Tom Bloom, says an event like the national diving championship is fantastic for the local economy.

“We’re thrilled when we have just West Virginians come into our community, but this is tax dollars and people’s funds from outside of the state who are coming in and paying extra,” said Bloom. “There’s a 6% tax on ‘heads on beds as we call it, this is money that would have never come into this community, and we like it and look forward to more of it.”

Bloom is confident that the USA Diving National Championships will not be the last high profile athletic event to be held here in Morgantown.

“The facility is one of the best in the country, and USA Diving knows about it; the Olympics know about it,” said Bloom. “I’ll tell you this, we are going to apply for the olympics, and I know we’re going to get it next time.”

The USA Diving National Championship ends on Wednesday, with the top two qualifying individuals stamping their ticket to The 2023 World Aquatics Championship in Japan later this summer. As for future events at Mylan park, the aquatics center will be host of next year’s Junior Nationals for diving.

Copyright 2023 WDTV. All rights reserved.