Simone and Zara Hall, sisters from Park Tudor High School in Indianapolis, started diving competitively at a young age. Thanks to their family’s dedication to keeping them in club diving at Indiana University, they overcame the apprehension many young divers face and made a huge impact at the state level when they got to high school. Simone, a junior, is one of the top prospects in her recruiting class, and Zara is already making waves as a freshman. Now, Simone and Zara want to empower girls to do the same.
Making an Impact
There’s no doubt that Simone and Zara are talented. At this year’s Indiana State Final, they placed 2nd and 6th, respectively. But these two sisters, who push each other to be better every day in practice, also want to inspire others. Their purpose in the sport is bigger than their individual goals: They want to pave the way for the next generation of divers and empower young athletes in what can be an intimidating sport. “Diving has taught me so many lessons, like being okay with being uncomfortable and learning new skills because that's the only way to progress,” Simone says. “And even though it's scary, you just have to keep pushing through.”
“We both started early and had a lot of experience, but sometimes it can be really nerve-wracking for kids that are newcomers,” Zara says. To combat this fear and introduce girls to the sport that means so much to them, the Halls host clinics at a local high school to provide girls in the community with an opportunity to try out diving. With the help of their coach, Simone and Zara run ground drills and teach new skills to divers. Engaging with their community aims to inspire girls to try diving and overcome the apprehension of an intimidating sport, underscoring the importance of local youth programs in keeping girls in sports.
Leaving a Legacy
It’s important to the Halls that they’re an example for young African American girls. Aquatic sports like swimming and diving are ones in which Black people are typically underrepresented: According to USA Diving, only 7% of members are Black or Latino. Only two Black women, Kristen Hayden and Nike Agunbiade, have represented the United States at the World Championships; only Hayden has won the U.S. Championship title, and no Black woman has ever represented the United States at the Olympics.
“Diving has taught me so many lessons, like being okay with being uncomfortable and learning new skills because that's the only way to progress. And even though it's scary, you just have to keep pushing through.”
But this hasn’t limited Zara and Simone’s goals. Both are aspiring to make an impact at the NCAA level, make the Olympic Trials, and one day qualify for the Olympic team. And they want other Black girls to have those goals, too. “I’m hoping that they could follow and see what I'm doing, and follow in my footsteps,” Simone says. “A big part of [being a diver], for me, has been being a role model for younger divers, especially other African American children. I want them to know that they can do aquatic sports.”
Balancing Multiple Passions
As central as diving is to the Halls’ lives, they also emphasize the importance of academics. Both girls are involved with the Jim Holland Research Initiative in STEM Education at Indiana University, where they explore potential fields of study and assist with graduate research projects. Simone, who spent last summer conducting a research project on glaucoma, says the program helped her “learn to take risks and improve [her] presentation skills.”
Simone will be a high school senior in the fall and plans to major in biology in college, while Zara, a rising sophomore, wants to continue to explore chemistry and microbiology. Their ability to balance elite diving with their academic passions points to the very legacy they want to leave: to inspire young women athletes to do what scares them, try new things, and persevere.
These two sisters embody the VIS mission: They’re not only talented athletes, but also dedicated to getting and keeping younger girls in sports. Growing up having never seen an Olympic diver who looks like them, Simone and Zara are becoming the role models for the next generation by paving the way for Black divers at the same time that they’re chasing huge goals together.
