Shanghai's Fifth Amateur Swimming Competition was held at the Shanghai West Junyuan Swimming Pool last Saturday. A hundred and fifty-five participants (including 13 expatriates) from diverse industries attended the 35-event meet.

The Shanghai Youyong Swimming Club organized the competition, with the goal of bringing together swimming enthusiasts and boosting interest in swimming. The first meet was organized in 2007 and has been held every two years since 2008.

"Over the past five competitions, the number of competitors has grown and this year was our first time to welcome foreign contestants," said Shi Shenghai, the chief referee.

Open to all

Holly Chipman is a young woman from England who has lived in Shanghai for only six weeks. She heard about this swimming match from classmates at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. "It's interesting and I wanted to know more people. That's why I am here," said the 22-year-old.

Chipman took part in the women's 100- and 200-meter freestyle, in addition to the 200-meter breast stroke. She won the Gold Medal in the 100-meter freestyle with 1 minute and 33 seconds. Chipman's father, who accompanied her to the event, wore his daughter's medals around his neck.

Chipman told the Global Times that England holds many amateur sports competitions, yet most of them are open to those with high skill levels.

"Any adult who loves swimming is welcome, regardless of one's ethnicity, race or nationality. The Rookie Group is for beginners, the Public Group is for intermediate swimmers and the Elite Group is for the advanced amateur swimmers," Referee Shi explained.

Every participant can only register for three individual races and two relay races. "The standards of our players are quite different and we want to give everyone the opportunity to win," said Shi.

For enjoyment

Wang Yifei was the starter of the competition. According to regulations for competitive swim meets, contestants who break the rules will be disqualified, while at this competition the referee was quite kind. "The point is to have fun so I shouldn't be too strict," he said.

When Wang saw a player doing the butterfly stroke during a breast stroke event, he reminded the player not to violate the rules but still let him pass. Another time when two girls misunderstood the starting whistle and started too soon, and the timekeepers did not keep their time, he let them do the race again.

Except for medals prepared for the top three contestants, anyone who completed a race was awarded a certificate. There were also some participants whose main goal was just to have fun.

Italian competitor Marco Nardo was the national champion of the 200-meter butterfly in Italy. He won the first prizes in the men's 100- and 200-meter butterfly competitions. Surprisingly, his score was not what he cared about the most. "I regard the game as an opportunity to bring a group of people with similar hobbies together," he said.

Chinese contestant Bian Beili is a retired professional swimmer of 18 years who does regular amateur training. For the competitions Bian attends, she performs her best although her goal is really to have a good time.

"There are many competitors who have never received professional training and their swim style might not quite be standard, but they still choose to compete and truly enjoy their experience. I am quite impressed and love to join them."

Cooperation

Most of the time, the language barrier is the biggest reason expats don't participate in Chinese activities. The local sports bureau organizes many amateur games, but because there are rarely English translations on the website very few foreigners attend.

Peter Wolkowicz (from Germany) volunteered as translator of the competition. He majored in Asian Studies in university, where he also learned Chinese. In order to help expats understand the regulations of the competition, he translated from Chinese to English.

For Wolkowicz, the relay was the best part of the meet. "It was very good fun," he said. Those who signed up for the 4X50 Freestyle Relay and the 4X50 Medley Relay chose a poker card in advance, then the four with the same card were put on the same team.

Wolkowicz said this method of forming teams was a great idea as it helped the competitors get to know each other quickly and it divided those with different abilities equally. "Ideally, one team should have one strong person, one weak person and two in the middle."

Additional background

Most of the competitors were male. "Normally women are a bit more shy and they have to take care of their families, so they can feel reluctant to compete," Referee Shi said. He acknowledged, though, that foreign women were quite passionate about the event. Throughout the entire meet, they clapped and cheered for other players.

"Sports connect us with one another and athletes tend to be more open and easier to make friends with," Shi said. Besides swimming, many contestants are good at other sports as well, such as running, biking, rock climbing or triathlons.

Although this is the first time for French Guillaume Lecallier, 24, to take part in a swimming competition in China, he is the best amateur triathlon athlete in the country. After living in China for only 1.5 years, he's already won several triathlons. He also did quite well in the most difficult triathlon, Embrunman, in France.

The highly experienced international athlete commented that amateur sports competitions in China are well organized and the sports facilities in Shanghai were top-notch, except for being too crowded.

"Swimming pools are especially crowded, but now I know to always swim around 8 pm. The pool closes at 9 pm, so there are not so many people then," Lecallier said.

Swimming enthusiasts in a race at Shanghai's Fifth Amateur Swimming Competition. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Youyong Swimming Club

 

Holly Chipman (middle) poses with her parents. Photo: Wang Zhefeng/GT