OLIVER Dingley hopes his two gold medals in part one of the East Region Diving Club Championships can be a springboard for success this season.

The Rochford-based 20-year-old Southend Diving member triumphed in both the three metre and platform competitions in Luton.

And he admitted it was a great way to start his season.

“I didn’t use my full range of dives but it was still a great opener for me and I was really pleased with how it all went,” said Dingley.

“I’ve never really competed on the platform before, mainly down to the fact I’ve always been too scared.

“But there are places available in the British squad there, as nobody has had a synchronised partner in that since 2008, so it’s something I’m looking at and want to work on.”

Dingley will now be bidding for further success in part two of championships at Southend’s Diving Centre this Saturday.

But his sights have been set far higher when it comes to assessing his aims for the coming campaign.

“We’ve had a talk about what I should be wanting to achieve and, from that, we’ve agreed to put up the degree of difficulty in my dives,” said Dingley. “It means I’m able to get higher scores but it also means there’s more danger of something going wrong.

“It’s something to work on though and training has been going well.

“The target this season is very much the Commonwealth Games and trying to get a place in that squad.”

For that to happen, Dingley must impress in the British Championships in Southend next January and also another important event being held at Dingley’s club next month when he will be up against Olympic medalist and diving superstar Tom Daley.

“It will be good to test myself against Tom on platform and see how close I am to him,” said Dingley.

“That will also be an important stepping stone towards the Commonwealths which I think are going to be great in Glasgow.

“There’s still a feel-good factor from the London Olympics which I think will be in evidence in Scotland next year and I would love to be a part of that.

“Long term I’m still aiming for the Rio Olympics and experiencing a major championship before then, like the Comonwealths, would be brilliant.”

To improve the chances of selection, Dingley is still on the look-out for a sponsor. Anyone interested can contact him via email at oliverjdingley@gmail.com