No pool no problem for Palestinian swim team

Arrives in Manchester for world championships

DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)

They may have no country, no pool, no funding and no medals, but nothing could stop the Palestinian swim team from competing at the world championships in Manchester.

“Supporting a swim team is not a high priority for Palestinians,” said 14-year-old competitor Yara Dawani, 14. “When you have to think where you will get water to drink or bathe due to restrictions, filling a pool is considered frivolous."

Unlike other competitors, Palestinian swimmers have no proper training facilities, and are forced to use one of two public swim centers – an 18-meter pool in Bethlehem or a 25-meter pool at the YMCA in Occupied Jerusalem.

“But that is virtually useless when you live in Jenin, Ramallah or Beit Sahour and your travel time, one way, can take up to eight hours due to the check points," said Ibrahim Tawil, President of the Palestinian Swimming Federation.

"So you have to make a choice, your studies or your training, your family or your training,” Tawil added.

A month before the competition, they moved in with the family of the team manager, Nasir Tutanji, in Occupied Jerusalem so they could train regularly at the YMCA.

Only one of the five team members is lucky enough to train properly -- Sadeq Damra, 23, the oldest and most experienced team member, is on a swim scholarship at a university in the U.S.

Damra, a doctoral student studying applied mathematics, only gets to see his team members at competitions like the FINA World Short-Course Swimming Championships which got underway in Manchester on Wednesday.

The four younger competitors – students aged 13 to 16 – are competing in their first international meet, which wraps up April 14 and helps athletes to prepare for the China 2008 Olympics.

"The team is very excited and proud to be able to represent their country in Manchester, just being here is a miracle,” said Sabine Hazboon, 13, who carried the Palestinian flag with pride in the opening ceremony.

But Damra, an Alabama University student, almost did not get to see his teammates as they had no money to travel to Manchester.

Last-minute funding from two American-based charities made the trip possible. The Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the United States Organization for Medical and Educational Needs (U.S. OMEN) donated more than $15,000 to pay for the swim team's airfare and hotel expenses.

"It made them happy over there [in Palestine] to know about the money," said Damra, whose own family lives in Jordan. "It's an amazing experience for how it worked out," he told his university paper.

Damra is busy working on his doctoral degree and competing at the professional level as a swimmer, but he has big dreams of building a proper aquatic center for the next generation of Palestinian athletes.

"I may not win a gold medal, but not many Ph.D. students are professional athletes," he said. "My next project is getting the aquatic center built. That's for the next generation that I want to help."