These London teens will be making a splash at the national diving championships this summer

The diving tower at London's Canada Games Aquatics Centre is an imposing structure.

Perched 10 metres above the pool, its uppermost platform is reserved only for those brave enough to dive off head-first, hitting the water at upwards of 50 km/h.

Nigel Chambers was only five-years-old when he decided that's what he wanted to do.

"I wasn't allowed, even though I was a great swimmer. We saw a flyer for a learn to dive class, and they didn't care how old I was, so they signed me up," the now 17-year-old says.

Those lessons morphed into a 12-year diving career, with nearly 10 spent competing at the national level alongside his younger sister Daria, who got into diving, she says, because "my brother was already into the sport, so my parents kind of just went along with what he was doing."

"I really like the thrill of diving, and also when you nail a really hard dive, it feels super, super good," she said. "The teammates that we've made here, like they're lifelong friends."

The Chambers siblings are among three London, Ont. teens who will be heading out west this summer to represent the Forest City Diving Club (FCDC) at the junior national diving championships in Saskatchewan. The club hosted the Ontario Spring Provincials over the weekend at the aquatics centre.

Nigel, Daria, and Katie Buchel all qualified for nationals at the event, with Nigel taking six golds, Daria two golds, one silver, and one bronze, and Buchel two silvers and one bronze. Nigel and Daria both qualified for one metre, three metre, and platform, and Buchel platform.

All three have previously qualified for nationals. Nigel won silver and bronze last year in Montreal, while Daria took home two bronze medals. Both have previously been awarded Diver of the Year for their age groups by Diving Plongeon Canada.

"I've always made it to nationals, but I haven't been able to perform my best at nationals, so this year, I'd like to put down a list I'm proud of," Buchel said.

"For a long-term goal, it would be really nice to compete at a school in the U.S. or just here in Canada, but compete at the Canadian competitions."

FCDC's solid showing this weekend comes on the heels of last month's Ontario Winter Games in Thunder Bay. The club won the team event, taking home 11 golds, six silvers, and two bronze. Buchel won golds for one metre, three metre, and platform.

Coach Jorge Pupo Carballo said he was confident the club would do well on the national stage, and added that he was hopeful five or six additional divers would qualify in May at the Ontario Summer Provincials in Windsor.

"Our goal is (to) have more little ones, over there in Group D. Group C we have a lot of chance," he said, adding a good showing could lead to tryouts for the World Junior Diving Championships in November.

The Havana-native dove for Cuba in the 2008 Olympics, and took bronze in men's three metre synchronized diving at the 2011 Pan Am games. He moved to Canada in 2017, and began coaching with FCDC in 2018.

"I have to say, I'm very lucky... There's a lot of work, a lot of commitment, a lot of sacrifice, but here we are trying to bring all that... inspiration to the group."

Asked about their own aspirations, and whether they would follow in their coach's Olympic footsteps, Buchel said she was interested, but would "have to see where things go."

"I would say that I'm mostly just focused on going to the U.S. and continuing my education" said Nigel, who will be going to the University of Alabama next year on a diving scholarship. "I would love to compete for Canada on the world stage."

Daria said her goal was to medal at this year's nationals, where she'll be competing in a different age group.

"Then I'm probably going to try and follow my brother's footsteps and, like, go to an American university and hopefully dive for Canada at some point."