Dr. Sammy Lee is a legend in the Platform diving world. The 89-year-old was the ten meter platform Olympic gold medal winner in London in 1948 and in Helsinki in 1952. He went on to become a respected doctor and a mentor and coach for some of diving’s elite including Greg Louganis and Glenn McCormick who went on to start McCormick Divers. This weekend, Dr. Lee came to Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach to watch the Platform Competition at the Glenn McCormick Memorial Dive Meet. Dr, Lee has been a great supporter of the team over the years. McCormick Divers has called Belmont Plaza Pool home since it was built in 1968. Debby McCormick continues the great work Glenn started coaching and mentoring young divers from Long Beach and the surrounding area. This year she and coaches Charly Collins, Kim Berbari, and Assistant Coaches Jackie Jones and Cole Young coach some exciting Long Beach Divers.
High School Seniors Larry Reinhard and Paulina Guzman both competed this weekend in their last home McCormick Divers Meet. Larry won the 16-18 Boys Platform event that Dr. Lee came to see. Larry performed his most difficult dive from the 10-Meter Platform for the first time during this meet – a front dive with three and a half somersaults – Dr. Lee is the first diver to successfully complete this same dive in competition 70 years ago. A Wilson High School Senior, Larry will be attending Stanford University next year.
Lakewood resident, Paulina Guzman won both the 16-18 Girls 1-meter and 16-18 Girls Platform event watched by Dr. Lee. Paulina has been asked to apply for early acceptance at UCLA for next year and will continue to compete internationally for Guatamala with McCormick Divers as her International Team. Paulina’s little brother eight-year-old Oscar won the 8-9 Boys 3-Meter Novice event and hopes to follow in Paulina’s footsteps as an accomplished international diver.
The Glenn McCormick Memorial Dive Meet attracts divers from all over Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, New Mexico and Texas. This great turn-out for a club meet in such difficult financial times is testament to how well respected Debby and McCormick Divers are in the diving world. Also notable is the amount of community support. While ad sales for the program and cash donations are down from previous years, the team has received great door prize, food and merchandise donations from local businesses. These divers are grateful to local businesses like Universal Care Medical Group, Ventana Home Fashions, Dentist Mark Vidor, The Laugh Factory, Video Memories, Upper Crust Pizza, Z-Pizza, and more for their generous support.
Athletes looking to try diving and local businesses interested in being part of local divers’ success are encouraged to contact Charly Collins or Debby McCormick at [email protected] or 714-642-0317.
Reports From McCormick Divers