Thu, Dec 11, 2008 page19

• FEATURE: Synchronized swimmers forge ahead in Taipei

  • By Elizabeth Hsu / CNA
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  Lali Shavelashvili worked her way through the old Soviet Union sports system to become an award-winning synchronized swimmer at the junior level, so when she arrived in Taiwan about 10 years ago, she was eager to pass on her knowledge and experience.

  What she did not know but quickly discovered is that building a sports program in Taiwan is a Herculean challenge, even for mainstream sports that are plagued by a lack of funding, coaching and facilities.

  In such an environment, a less recognized sport like synchronized swimming has even less of a chance to thrive, as Shavelashvili found out when she looked into booking an indoor pool suitable for the sport in northern Taiwan.

  To her surprise, she could not find any because none existed — at least none with the minimum 3m regulation depth.

  Eventually she and a group of parents, who wanted their children to take up the sport to improve their health, made an arrangement with National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in downtown Taipei to use its 2m deep indoor pool — adequate to train teenagers but still not up to international standards.

  Shavelashvili is convinced synchronized swimming is a good fit for Asians because success does not depend on having a specific body type, but her difficulty in finding a training facility only highlights the problems the sport has had in gaining recognition and traction locally.

  Government indifference, the lack of a sports culture in Taiwan and insufficient funding along with limited facilities have all hindered the sport’s growth.

  Shavelashvili, who has taught synchronized swimming in northern Taiwan since marrying a Taiwanese in 1999, is particularly vexed by a culture that forces young trainees to abandon the sport in favor of pursuing academic goals.

  The reason for this is that Taiwan’s education system has failed to open channels for talented synchronized swimmers to develop a future in the field, she said.

  “It is heartbreaking but there’s nothing I can do,” she said.

  A recent casualty of the system is Yang Yi-ju, one of Shavelashvili’s students.

  Yang is one of four teenage members of a local synchronized swimming team known as the “Silver Tsunami,” which has earned widespread applause around Taiwan for its dazzling performances since the foursome came together in 2004.

  The group trains with Shavelashvili every Saturday at NTNU, but Yang, a senior at Keelung Girls High School, recently pulled out for six months to prepare for the university entrance exams that will decide her future.

  While Yang may one day resume her training, her mother, reflecting the pragmatism of many Taiwanese parents in directing their children toward higher education and away from sports, nixed the idea of her daughter aspiring to represent her country in international competitions.

  “That would be impossible. My daughter is fond of swimming and the sport is a good habit to maintain, but it is too difficult to build a career around it,” said Yang’s mother, Wang Shuei-li.

  “She would have to practice almost 24 hours a day and if she eventually won some big competitions, what could she become in the future? Could she find a good job with her skills?” Wang said.

  With fewer than 100 students participating in the sport in Taiwan at present, Wang’s concerns are not unfounded, as Chen Chuan-min, an official in charge of grassroots training at the Cabinet-level Sports Affairs Council acknowledged.

  Chen said the reality is that the government must invest its limited budget in sports in which Taiwan is competitive enough to win medals in significant competitions such as the Asian Games and the Olympics, meaning money, and potential coaching roles for athletes like Yang would be hard to come by in synchronized swimming.

  However, parents and youngsters involved in the sport unanimously laud it as a recreational pastime because it combines swimming, dance, and gymnastics, and builds advanced water skills, strength, endurance, flexibility and balance.

  Like Shavelashvili, Vincent Shih from Taichung is committed to popularizing the sport in Taiwan — he founded the Synchronized Swimming Association of Taiwan (SSAT) in 2001, and he believes the sport’s benefits should make it attractive to local girls.

  “In Taiwan there are no sports fit for girls to play, except for synchronized swimming,” because it demands flexibility and basic dancing skills. Injuries are rare because participants are always supported by water, Shih said.

  Parents are now discovering the sport’s virtues, enrolling their children in synchronized swimming courses because they believe the sport will improve their children’s lung capacity while helping them overcome the fear of being in deep water, Shih said.

  The association runs organized synchronized swimming courses every Sunday in Taipei at the NTNU pool.
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