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Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center Debuts 27 Meter Diving Platform

The platform is one of just two in the entire world, with the other being in China

NBC Universal, Inc.

The city of Fort Lauderdale is making some renovations to the local aquatic center - taking the facility to new heights.

“Fort Lauderdale is now home to the first pre-cast concrete dive tower in the world. When this entire peninsula is completed, there will be no other aquatic site that compares to what we have to offer in Fort Lauderdale," said city commissioner Steve Glassman.

“It’s amazing. I used to dive at this facility three or four years ago at meets and it’s just crazy to think that this is the same facility that it was four years ago," said diver Sophia Cavaretta. "It’s so different and it’s crazy to watch these cliff divers dive off 27.”

The complex is now offering a multi-million dollar dive tower, equipped with a 27-meter platform, with the goal of training future divers at the facility.

“This is really exciting for us. It’s kind of a showcase for the sport of diving from the one-meter grassroots all the way up to we have Olympians here, we have world champions here, so we have quite literally created a platform for the future generations of divers to train for what we hope to be an Olympic sport," said high diving program director Steven Lobue.

The platform is one of just two in the entire world, with the other being in China.

“I’ll be honest, it’s a little scary. But once you go it really feels like you’re flying. It’s the best thing in the world," said Cavaretta.

“Everybody has been really supportive. They’re coming in here and loving the facility and we’re just so excited to share it with the diving world. We can’t wait until we’re open full time to share it internationally," said Lobue.

The hope is that the facility helps the sport dive head first into the Olympics.

“I have some teammates that are interested in trying the 27 meter, and I think it’d be really cool if they could compete in the Olympics for it," said Cavaretta.

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