By Maydaa Abo El-Nadar
The 24th Heliopolis International Water Polo and Synchronised Swimming Tournament will be held at the Heliopolis Sporting Club (HSC) from 16-20 September.
According to Heliopolis Sporting Club CEO Tarek Metwally, Soufy Tharwat was the main impetus behind establishing synchronised swimming in Egypt through the HSC. Last year, the HSC’s synchronised swimming team came in second place for the General Trophy in a national championship.
Present at the press conference held last Monday to invite the press to cover the international tournament was the HSC’s Chairman, Haroun Touny, the club’s Vice President, Hatem Bashat, and the President of the tournament’s organising committee, Hazem Shisha, who is responsible for the tournament’s organisation for the second time.
During the press conference, Bashat requested that journalists cover the tournament in order to introduce Egyptians to water sports and synchronised swimming. These are sports which are, as yet, not fully appreciated in Egypt, he said.
During this tournament, the HSC gave priority invitations to teams coming from Serbia and Hungary, with the highly successful Greek team given a special invite to participate in synchronised swimming. Russia, Slovakia and Hungary are also considered to be world champions in synchronised swimming.
The main goal in hosting these championships is to allow Egyptian players a framework in which to improve their all-round performance, which is why the club is keen on inviting the highly successful Eastern European teams. According to Touny, teams from the US and Canada unfortunately could not attend as there are no sponsors to cover their expenses due to Egypt’s current situation.
Speaking on the relationship between international sporting teams’ participation at the tournament and Egypt’s security situation, Shisha told Daily News Egypt that Croatia did not accept the HSC’s invitation due to the recent death of a Croatian citizen in Egypt.
Regarding Egypt’s synchronised swimming team, they participated at the 2012 Olympic Games held in London, and are set to take part in next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The Egyptian synchronised swimming team also won eighth place at the last International Championship.
Shisha said that Egyptian women face many barriers in terms of playing sports professionally, as after achieving success, they later become busy through life events, such as marriage, so they retire early. In this regard, HSC Board Member Ahmed Ragheb said the club welcomes all women who wish to become synchronised swimmers at the HSC, pointing out that training at the club starts from eight years of age.
Touny concluded by saying: “I do not ask the Ministry of Youth and Sports to financially support water sports, as it is our duty. I just request that it, along with the other powerful entities, give priority to public sports centres, as the poorer classes in Egypt have the right to access social clubs and practice sports. Unfortunately, the famous Egyptian football teams, Al-Ahly and Zamalek, have all the attention and financial support.”
