Issam Khalidi
Aquatic sports are not new to Palestine. There
has been a culture of maritime sports since the end of the nineteenth century which included festivals and competitions, especially in cities located on the coast such as Jaffa, Gaza and Haifa.
Organized and institutionalized swimming competitions in Palestine started in 1920s. There
was an annual swimming competition involving the British, Germans, Arabs and
Jews that began in the 1920s. In August 1926, Palestine
Bulletin reported a contest in swimming, announcing that H.E. the High
Commissioner will not be able to attend the aquatic sports to be held in Haifa
on August 22nd [1926].[i]
In August 1927,
Palestine Bulletin reported that “seven sports clubs took part in the
all-Palestine swimming contest which took place near the German Bridge here on
Saturday: (1) the British Police - 9 men, (2) Acre Police - 4, (3) German
Sporting Society - 6, (4) Hapoel–7, (5) Arab Sporting Club – 18, (6) Maccabee –
20, (7) Arab Club “Carmel” – 6, Col. G.S. Symes distributed the prizes. This
contest continued the next year. Palestine Bulletin announced that the annual
Palestine Swimming Contest will be held [in Haifa] on Saturday, the 18th
August, British, German, Jewish and Arab swimmers will participate. The first
and second prizes for a 1000 metre distance were awarded to the Arab Sporting
Club, the first prize for a 400 metre distance to the German Sporting Society,
and the 2nd and 3rd prizes for same to the Arab Club. The first prize for a 100
metre distance was won by a Maccabee and the first prize for swimming on the
back 100 m. distance - by "Hapoel." The water-polo match took place
between the Arab Sporting Club and the German Society resulted in four to two
goals in favour of the Germans.” [ii]
Festivals and
maritime sports parties started at the initiative of the Orthodox Club in Jaffa.
Filastin reported that the Scouts team of the Orthodox Club in Jaffa is
holding a maritime race party on Sunday afternoon, September 2, 1928. [iii]
This type of festivals lasted until 1947. The Gaza SC held an annual maritime
festival that started in 1944 on the seaside, it included swimming, pole vault and running. Occasionally, the
Beersheba Arab Youth Club took part in this festival.
In 1929 the cornerstone of the YMCA in Jerusalem was laid by
Lord Plumer on a plot of land purchased from the Greek Orthodox Church
Patriarchate. The building opened on
April 18, 1933. It contained sports facilities: stadium, tennis courts and a
swimming pool.
In April 1933 Palestine Post reported that “At the Y.M.C.A.
Swimming and Diving Championship events on Thursday evening last, the Maccabee
First Team carried off the Challenge Cup for the team scoring the most points,
while J. Auerback won the individual’s cup. Eight clubs, including the American
University of Beyrout (Syrian Federation) had entered teams, but the finals on
Thursday evening were confined to members of The Maccabee Sports Club (two
teams). The Y.M.C.A., The American University of Beyrout and the Jerusalem
Sports Club.”[iv]
Since 1937, YMCA in Jerusalem started its annual swimming
championship which continued until 1947. These competitions included 50 and 100
meters free style, 100 m backstroke, 200 m
breaststroke and 4 x 40 relay.
In September 1942 a Lebanese swimming team visited Palestine and
competed with Palestinian athletes there. Palestine Post reported that “It is a
long time, if fewer, since the Palestine Selected swimming team have had to bow
to such a superior side as they met at the Aley Pool. Of the six swimming
events, the Lebanese team won five, only the 200 metres free style being
annexed by the Palestinians, although they registered an overwhelming success
in water polo, to the tune of eight goals to nil.” [v]
Filastin reported in August 1943 about a competition in aqua games between
the Selected Cairo Swimming Club and the Jewish teams in Haifa and Tel Aviv. The
Egyptians won and hit a record by Zaki Abdel Rahim when he crossed 200 m
freestyle in two minutes and 25.5 seconds.[vi]
The newspaper also mentioned that a Jewish swimming team
left to Beirut to compete with swimmers of the Lebanese clubs. The Lebanon SC
won and the Lebanese swimmer scored a record in free style. The next day the
Lebanese Najah SC won in water polo. [vii]
In 1943 the Federation of the Amateur Sports Clubs of Palestine (founded
in 1931 by the Jews and included various sports) contacted Arab athletes from neighboring countries such as
Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. Competitions in swimming had been agreed to be
undertaken in September 1943 in Beit Galim in Haifa. However, Egyptian and
Lebanese swimmers did not attend these competitions for unknown reasons. They
agreed to compete in Beirut without the Jewish team. The competitions in Haifa
were canceled.[viii]
In March 1946, the
Federation of the Amateur Sports Clubs of Palestine invited swimming
teachers and instructors have been to a preparatory conference for the
discussion of the resumption of swimming events in the coming season. The
conference was held in Tel Aviv on March 1, also discussed Palestine’s
participation in the next Olympic Games.”[ix]
It is worth noting that the Palestine Olympic Committee was founded in 1934 and
was dominated by the Zionists until 1948.
In water Polo PP reported that the second round of the
Mediterranean Cup Water Polo competition saw both Palestine and Egypt run out
easy winners, both winning by the easy margin of seven to one. Palestine were
up against the United Services team and in the early stages went into the lead.
[x]
There is no evidence that aqua sports
had been developed in Gaza Sector during the period 1948 – 1967. In the West
Bank, in 1965,
the new [East Jerusalem] YMCA facilities at 29 Nablus Road were built. The
building consisted of a hotel, an auditorium, and the physical department,
which housed the first indoor swimming pool and the first squash court in
Palestine, besides an indoor volleyball court, a basketball half-court, a
weight room, and a youth lobby for table tennis and indoor games.[xi]
In 1968 the EJ-YMCA grew rapidly and began to hold training courses
in swimming, gymnastics, squash, track and field, judo, wrestling, boxing,
aerobics, and general fitness. Sports teams for all ages were formed for
basketball, volleyball, handball, football, and table tennis. Women’s sports
were encouraged as well by the formation of girls’ basketball and handball
teams. In addition, social, recreational, cultural, and music programmes were
also offered.[xii]
In 1968, a decision was made by the PLO
to form the Palestine Supreme Council for Youth Care. In 1969, few branch committees were
established in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. After
1970, the headquarters of this committee was moved from Amman to Lebanon. New
clubs were founded in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Athletic and Scouts activities
started to rise. At its first conference
at Suq al-Gharb in Beirut in 1974, the Supreme Council made a decision to change the name to Supreme Council of Youth and
Sports. In 1970's and 1980's number of federations were established. However, this
did not include a swimming federation because of the lack of swimming
facilities.
Founded in 1993, the
Palestinian Swimming and Water Sports Federation is a member of the International
Swimming Federation (FINA), the International Diving Confederation, International Life Saving Federation (ILSF) and the Asian and Arab Swimming Federation. Ibrahim
al-Taweel, president of the Palestinian Swimming Federation for two consecutive
sessions, represented Palestine at the Olympics in Greece and China. Jamil
Hashlamon was the first Palestinian swimming referee to participate in a world
championship. At present, the Palestinian Swimming and Water Sports Federation
is headed by Fawaz Zalloum.[xiii]
[i] Palestine Bulletin, 14 August 1926.
[ii] Palestine
Bulletin, 15 August 1927.
[vi] Filastin,
19 August 1943.
[vii] Filastin, 25
August 1943.
[viii] Filastin, 26
September 1943.
[x] Palestine Post, 17
October 1944.
[xi] Michel
W. Asfour,
From Humble Beginnings... The East Jerusalem YMCA. This Week in
Palestine, Issue No 122, June 2008.
By http://archive.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=2480&ed=154&edid=154
By http://archive.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=2480&ed=154&edid=154
[xii] Michel W. Asfour http://archive.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=2480&ed=154&edid=154
[xiii]
https://www.facebook.com/TheBeautifultimeforthePalestinianswimming
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