A team of eight divers have been named to compete at the 2017 FINA/NVC Diving World Series which will act as the first international test for the team since the Olympics.
Olympic Champions Chris Mears and Jack Laugher will be in action together in the 3m Synchro where they will compete against the same athletes as the final in Rio.
Olympic bronze medallists Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow will be back on top of the 10m Platform as they make their competition debut for 2017.
Grace Reid, who finished in eighth place in the 3m Springboard in Rio, will be making her full World Series debut and will contest the medals in both the Individual and the Synchro with new partner Katherine Torrance.
In the 10m Synchro, Tonia Couch and Lois Toulson will be back against strong pairs from China, Canada and Malaysia as they aim to get back onto the podium.
Olympic Champion Chris Mears said: “It’ll be the first time we go into the World Series being Champions and I know that will add a different pressure to the competition for me and Jack. But we have worked hard through the winter and we competed well in Plymouth which has given us confidence.
“I’ve competed at the World Series for the past six years and it’s a great competition. Being able to have an early season test against the world’s best divers is so valuable to allow you to prepare for the big meet of the year.
“We are all aiming for the World Championships this summer and we won’t stop our hard work to continue to be one of the best Synchro pairs in the world.”
National Performance Director Alexei Evangulov commented: “The World Series is going to be a good test for our athletes to return to international competition for the first time since the Olympic Games. It also gives the divers the platform on which to return to peak fitness sooner, facing tough international competition and be ready to challenge for podium positions in the summer.
“It will provide us with an opportunity from a strategic point of view to identify who our main competition will be, come the FINA World Championships in Budapest later this year.
“The team selected features a mixture of new and experienced World Series competitors and we hope to use the opening legs in China and Russia to build a strong foundation at the start of the Tokyo cycle.”
The Diving team consists of:
Thomas Daley – Dive London
Daniel Goodfellow – City of Leeds
Jack Laugher- City of Leeds
Chris Mears – City of Leeds
Tonia Couch – Plymouth Diving
Katherine Torrance – City of Leeds
Lois Toulson – City of Leeds
Grace Reid – Edinburgh Diving
The FINA/NVC Diving World Series begins in Beijing, China (3 - 5 March), then moves to Guangzhou, China (9 – 11 March), Kazan, Russia (31 March – 2 April) and concludes in Windsor, Canada (21- 23 April).