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GREENSBORO — Bringing USA Diving nationals to town was at least two years in the making, maybe longer.

That time frame was well before the Greensboro Aquatic Center, which officially opened in September, was being built.

Two years ago, tourism and sports boosters from Greensboro called USA Diving to show them plans for the facility and ask if they wanted to bring a championship here.

On Tuesday, Ann Krenzelok, the events and programs director for USA Diving, said three national events will come here in August 2012: diving championships for age group, junior and senior competitors.

About 600 divers will come for the events. More than 125 will be in the senior nationals, officially known as the AT&T National Diving Championships, Aug. 14-19.

That’s right after the 2012 London Olympics and likely will bring Team USA divers to Greensboro.

Part of bringing the championships here — which is expected to add $8 million in local tourism dollars, according to the Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau — was in the preparation of the facility.

Krenzelok said Brian Ambuehl from the convention and visitors bureau asked USA Diving officials what the facility needed to host championships before ground was broken.

“They were getting input all along the way,” she said.

Another factor in bringing USA Diving was landing other events, according to Henri Fourrier, president of the convention and visitors bureau.

“Well, Ann (Krenzelok’s) desk is eight feet from Jordan Dillon’s desk,” Fourrier said.

Dillon is the business development director for U.S. Synchronized Swimming, whose trials for the 2012 Olympic team will be held here in November.

“I’m sure part of the process was, 'Hey, tell me about these Greensboro people,’ ” Fourrier said, imagining the conversation between the two.

But one local coach said he believes that hosting the 2012 diving nationals took much longer than a few years to attract.

“I started coaching in the late ’70s,” said Scott Lineberry, owner of Tumblebees Ultimate Gym, which is the host team for the nationals. “Emerald Pointe, when it was being built, the original plan was to build an aquatic center.”

The city, he said, was going to host the 1984 U.S. diving championships, but the aquatic center was never built.

“Ever since then, I’ve been working at getting this done,” Lineberry said.

Looking ahead, Fourrier expects the national diving championships to help bring other events.

“That builds credibility that, 'Wow, Greensboro is a good place to hold a competition,’ ” he said.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com