JENNY COWEN hit the sporting headlines this week with a superb performance in her first competition.

Jenny, 9, a pupil at Haworth Primary School, won the national novice diving championship at Harrogate with a string of superb dives.

The novice competition is the first step on the road to full competition and she won the 10-11 age group with two dives from the pool side, two from the 1 metre board and an entry 'line-up' dive from the 3m board.

She scored marks of nine out of 10 for a forward tuck dive from the pool side and will now go into open competitions.

Her brother Matthew, 12, recently enjoyed success in the National Schools age group championships and will be taking part in the Northern Championship in mid-May and the National Championships at the end of May.

Her younger brother, eight-year-old David is also showing great promise in the sport.