Rocky Mountain Diving Club of Calgary, Alberta  
Coaches
   
      Rommel Kong  (Coach)

     

    Rachel Barnes (Coach)

    Rachel has been involved in the sport of diving in one way or another since the age of 10.  As a competitor she attended many events across Canada and even some in Hawaii and Germany.  As a coach she has been instructing at the learn to dive level for over 10 years and has also had some experience in running a summer competitive diving club in BC.  Coaching the Dynamo’s (kids aged 4-7) is one of her most enjoyable experiences with Rocky Mountain Diving, however she loves to coach all age groups.  She is beginning her first year of a BSc Nursing degree at Mount Royal college this fall and is looking forward to studying hard and coaching lots.


    Luke Ross (Coach)

    Luke is a competitive diver with Dive Calgary and has been since 2003.  He is a multiple-time Senior National qualifier on both springboards.  He enjoys short walks on the beach and sunrises but never at the same time.  He is currently completing his BSc in Science Technology and Society at the U of C.  He likes pizza and ice cream, though not at the same time unless they are the same flavour.  He is over 21 years old, five foot ten, and more than one hundred and fifty five pounds.  He hates swimming, and thinks camping is in-tents. He has many medals but thinks that's irrelevant because he found out you can buy them.  Oh, he is a NCCP level three certified coach and has been coaching for Rocky Mountain Diving since 2005.

    Ruby Tang  (Coach)

    Ruby is originally from Hong Kong now studying at the U. of C.  She became a member of the Hong Kong National Gymnastics Team when she was 9, but unfortunately had to withdraw from the sport after suffering an injury.   She took up diving at 14 and won several gold medals at the HK Open Diving Competition during 2003 - 2005.   Ruby would like to share her experience in sports with young children and hopefully bring up their confidence and discipline.   She is looking to upgrade her coaching skills through practice and interaction.  She is completing her NCCP Instructor-beginner certification.

    Tasha Bray  (Coach)

    Tasha has been diving since the ripe old age of 7.  She dove at the University of Calgary for a few years, and then came to train with RMDC at the Talisman Centre.  She is currently continuing her diving with RMDC. Tasha loves to play video games and sing loudly to her music in her spare time. She also has convinced herself that her hair is a tiny bit better then former RMDC coach Derek Moore. Tasha is very excited to begin her coaching adventure!  She is completing her NCCP Instructor-beginner certification.

    Ilia Chaikine  (Coach)

    Ilia started diving over 3 years ago with RMDC and has since been invited to train and compete for Dive Calgary.  This year he competed in the 2010 summer junior nationals in Saskatoon, and placed very well! He also practices "Parkour" and some recreational gymnastics. He is currently in 1st year engineering at the UofC.  Not to be outdone by Luke, Ilia says that he enjoys relaxing walks, saunas and extreme physical activity!  His favorite desert would have to be ice cream and truffles mixed together.  Oh yeah, and he also enjoys problem solving.  Ilia holds NCCP Instructor-beginner certification.
     

      Cheryl Yingst-Bartel  (Coach)

    Cheryl took up the sport of diving in 2009 at the age of 45 and hasn't looked back.  She loves to share her passion for diving with anyone who will listen and says she can turn any conversation to diving in less than 3 minutes (just ask her kids!).   Cheryl's goal is to compete at the Masters level.  She is working on certification for her NCCP Instructor-beginner certification.  She can't believe her good luck to be coaching at RMDC as she is thrilled to share her passion for diving with a captive audience!  In her spare time, Cheryl finds time to parent 3 divers, practice law, bike, ski, quilt, write and read historical fiction.  She issues a challenge to parents to join her on the boards in the Masters class while they wait for their kids (you're there anyways....), and says she is proof that you are never too old to learn to dive.  "If I can do it, anyone can!"

     

    Makaeley Brown  (Asst. Coach)

    Makaeley Brown is a former competitive diver with Dive Calgary and has been diving since she was six at the University of Calgary and with RMDC. She currently plays premier soccer and club volleyball.  Mak is in grade twelve and plays on the high school volleyball team.  During the summers she is a camp counsellor at Southland Leisure Center and loves working with young kids.  She is completing her NCCP Instructor-beginner certification and is looking forward to being back on the pool deck!

      Satomi Morishita  (Asst. Coach)

     

    Aurelie Gibson & Brad Szurgot - Administrators / Coaches

    Aurelie has held positions of head coach of the University of Toronto Diving Club, the Regina Diving Club, Simon Fraser Aquatics and Simon Fraser University Swimming and Diving in Burnaby, BC. Aurelie coached a 2004 Olympic Trials qualifier on men's 3M springboard, and she was a member of the Canadian National Diving Team in 1987 and 1989. She has represented Canada at the World University Games in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, and at the Junior World Diving Championships in Hamar, Norway. She was named as Canada's Junior Coach of the Year in 2000 and coached 3 athletes to the World Junior Diving Championships that same year.  Aurelie holds an NCCP Level 3 certification and is also a Level 3 certified Master Course Facilitator for DPC.  She holds a BSc. degree in Phys. Ed. from the University of Toronto and is a Certified Massage Therapist and BodyTalk Practitioner.

    B
    rad hails from the USA where he has held Head Coaching and Faculty Instructor positions at several major NCAA Universities, as well as successful club coaching at the Junior & Senior National levels. Brad holds a NCCP Level 3 technical Certification as well as Instructor Beginner Master Course Facilitator certifications.  He has also earned Course-conductor Evaluator certifications for DPC.  Brad has an earned BSc. and MSc. degrees in Phys. Ed. from the Universities of Evansville and Southern Illinois respectively. He is enjoying applying his life coaching skills to his Professional designation of Achievement Coach.

    The little guy is Taidhgin (pronounced TAY-ghin) who is now 5+ years old and is happy, healthy, and full of energy!