Center Is Building a Name for Itself : Diving: Only two years after it opened, the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center has attracted top competitors from throughout Southern California.

The Amateur Athletic Foundation Rose Bowl Aquatic Center opened amid much fanfare in 1990 with a goal of becoming one of the nation’s premiere training and competition facilities.

Outfitted with two Olympic-size pools, several springboards and a platform diving tower, fund-raisers hoped diving enthusiasts would gravitate to Pasadena, creating interest and participation by would-be Greg Louganises of all ages.

Two years later, in a sport where silent descent and entry into the water is considered near-perfection, divers representing the Rose Bowl Aquatic Club have created quite a splash.

More than 80 members between the ages of 6 and 60 compete in Novice, Junior Olympic, Senior and Master’s levels.

Today, 28 Rose Bowl divers will leave for Seattle, where they will compete in regional qualifying for the National Junior Olympic Championships. The top 12 divers in each age group will advance to a zone meet at Beaverton, Ore. The top five from the zone meet advance to the championships in August at Austin, Tex.

Last year, the Rose Bowl divers placed third at indoor senior nationals for women and fourth overall at the Junior Olympic national championships, the only club to finish in the top 10 of each competition. The Aquatic Center will play host to the Master’s level national championship Aug. 29-31.

“I think we’ve exceeded expectations,” said Van Austin, the coach and director of the diving program. “One of the missions of the center is to produce high-level competitive teams. I think we’ve been able to develop the best all-around diving program in the United States.”

Austin, 50, is also the diving coach at UCLA and has been providing diving instruction for 30 years. Austin coached a San Fernando Valley-based club team that won the Junior Olympic national championship in 1978. His teams have never finished lower than fourth since.

Austin joined the Rose Bowl staff at the behest of John Naber, a former Olympic gold medal swimmer who served as chairman of the board of directors in 1989.

The facility and Austin’s presence draws divers from as far as Ventura, Malibu, Chino and throughout the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.

“We’re operating at just about 99% capacity,” said Austin, president of the Professional Diving Coaches Assn. “We have no problem attracting people. We use the pool practically every available diving minute.

“We have a good group of coaches and we change things every year because progress is very important. Organization is also very important in terms of the way the year and season are planned.

“The most important thing is to keep the sport fun.”

The Aquatic Center offers diving lessons for all ages. Need-based scholarships are available for those who progress to the competitive level and participate in a program that runs from November through September.

Divers at the highest levels train about two to 4 1/2 hours a day. Workouts include board and platform work, mechanics exercises, videotape study, dry-land tumbling, strength training and stretching.

“It takes a certain kind of person to be a good diver,” said Ricky Wood, 19, who has won nine Junior Olympic titles. “You can’t just be anybody up there, you have to want to do it. You have to be motivated.”

Austin said there are still a few things preventing the Aquatic Center from becoming, perhaps, the best facility in the nation. A sparger--a machine that blows air from the bottom of the pool and creates a soft landing surface--would aid in teaching students new dives. Housing arrangements that would attract divers from other states and countries also would increase the facility’s exposure.

Those missing links, however, have not impeded the progress of the Rose Bowl program. Last weekend at a prestigious invitational meet in Irvine, Rose Bowl divers finished fourth behind club teams from Mission Viejo, Cincinnati and Orlando.

Austin said the San Gabriel Valley is only beginning to be tapped as a potential hotbed for divers of all ages.

“There’s a great population resource available,” Austin said. “Right now, there aren’t many teams in Southern California, and one of diving’s biggest problems as a sport is that most people have no idea where to go to get instruction.

“I’m satisfied with the results we’ve had in two years here. As more people become aware of our program here, I think we’ll get even better.”