072017 SWB DIGITAL EDITION

Entering college, Ginger joined the
University of Georgia diving team but
discovered a new form of diving while
on break from training one summer.
“I stumbled upon a diving show that
needed a diver for the summer, and I
was hired, which marked the start of
my professional career,” she said.
Ginger noticed the differences between
high diving and collegiate
diving, enjoying the challenges high
diving brought her and the opportunity
to continue diving even after she
graduated college.
“I love performing in shows and
loved learning different acrobatics,
branching out from diving into high
diving into aerial acts. I picked up
high diving, because if you could
high dive, you were much more valuable
and could get another contract
somewhere.”
Cliff diving became part of Ginger’s
professional career in 2013, when the
Red Bull Cliff Diving series brought
women into the male-dominated sport
of cliff diving. Thanks to Red Bull
and the FINA diving series, Ginger
has competed in exotic locations like
Russia, Wales, Abu Dhabi and even
the Yucatan, where she dove through a
hole instead of off a cliff.
“Every location in the Red Bull Cliff
Diving competition is unique, and I like
changes and challenges and figuring
out what I need to pull out of my diving
toolbox for the dive,” Ginger said with
a smile.
Knowledge to Share
To prepare for dives that range between
20-22 meters (about 66-73 feet)
above water, Ginger breaks her dive
down into two dives off lower platforms:
one height to practice the start
of her dive and the other height to practice
the finish. You might typically see
her training at Dr. P. Phillips YMCA with
Olympic diver/coach Mark Ruiz’s
team, practicing in the same location
where she first dove off a platform, or
at The Bar Method studio strengthening
her core muscles.
Diving also requires mental practice
of going through the dive, which
Ginger learned in college and
implements at home to prepare.
www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com x July 20 - August 2, 2017 x 9
“Since I don’t have the height to train
on a regular basis, it is a lot of visualization
and mental imagery beforehand,
while mimicking the movements right
before dive competitions,” she said.
Ginger hopes to continue promoting
women’s cliff diving as much as she
can, holding up to her “I’ll do anything
for the sport” attitude by diving nude
for the 2014 ESPN Magazine’s Body
issue.
“I’m not really a comfortable nudisttype
person, but I do only wear a swimsuit,
and being older [43], I just thought
to myself, ‘Let it go and enjoy the
opportunity,’” she said.
The summer usually has Ginger
heavy in diving competitions — between
six to eight from June to October
— but she has also embraced chances
to judge in panels for other competitions
and hopes to follow her husband’s
coaching lead by becoming a coach
for women’s high diving.
But for now, Ginger looks forward
to continuing her cliff diving: looking
over the edge, drawing in a deep
breath, and taking the plunge to show
cliff diving isn’t just for men. ª
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