In the conditions of a full-scale war, it cannot be about water polo championships
“In the conditions of a full-scale war, it cannot be about water polo championships. I believe that Ukraine’s victory will come soon and water polo will develop at a fast pace in the future,” said Oleksandr Svishchov, president of the Water Polo Federation.
The media center of the FVPU spoke with the president of the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine – Oleksandr Svishchov. The head of the Water Polo Federation shared his thoughts on holding the championship in wartime conditions, and also talked about the water polo federation’s plans for the near future.
– On February 24, a full-scale war began in Ukraine, all Ukrainian cities started shelling the russians en masse. Where were you and how did the federation’s leadership start helping water polo players from the first days?
– Personally, the war caught me at home in Lviv, from the very morning everyone was actively involved in the work. They called coaches in Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Kyiv, and at the same time began working on the possibility of evacuating children to the west of Ukraine. In Lviv, they found a place where they could accommodate temporarily displaced children from the east of the country, they managed to quickly find a place, namely a kindergarten, so that the children would be in comfortable conditions. Then negotiations began with European federations in order to evacuate young water polo players to Europe and provide an opportunity for training. We would like to thank several European water polo federations: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Romania, who immediately responded and provided conditions for the stay of children from Ukraine. To date, all young water polo players remain abroad and train, good living conditions have been created for them, and there is also a constant opportunity to train in the pool.
– Since the beginning of the invasion of the russian federation, Lviv has remained a humanitarian hub, how many children managed to be taken to Lviv, and later abroad?
– In general, during these more than three months, we managed to take almost 200 children from different parts of Ukraine, first to Lviv, and then abroad. We mostly helped children from Mariupol, Kharkiv and Odesa. Many children were taken out of Kyiv, the local water polo federation was actively involved, I want to thank them for their coordinated and prompt work. The whole water polo family worked to evacuate the young water polo players and we succeeded. In a difficult time for the country, we demonstrated that the water polo family is the only one that worked harmoniously as a single mechanism.
– As for senior water polo players who play in the men’s super league, how do they help the Armed Forces of Ukraine, did many athletes go to the front line to defend the country?
– Yes, among water polo players there are a lot of guys who ended up in the ranks of the armed forces of Ukraine or went to serve in the TRO in their cities. Many guys from Kyiv are defending our country at the front, all water polo players in Lviv still volunteer, guys go on night shifts and actively help humanitarian headquarters in the city.
– The position of the FVPU is categorical and unequivocal – russian water polo players cannot participate in competitions on the international arena?
– In the first days of the war, we sent an official letter to the international federation FINA with a request to exclude the water polo teams and national teams of the aggressor countries of russia and Belarus. They have no place in big sports. We would like to thank the European federations that supported our decision and the international federation – “FINA” supported our proposal to exclude russians and Belarusians from the competition.
– The presidium of the FPVU online decided to prematurely end the men’s super league and the women’s top league. Tell us about the details of the meeting, what will the next Ukrainian water polo championship look like?
– Competitions of the championships of Ukraine in water polo among men and women are impossible in the conditions of war. Many players are physically not in their cities, for example, from Kharkiv, all the athletes either left the city or went to the ranks of the Armed Forces. The Kyiv region team mostly went to defend the country, about 60 percent of the players are in the armed forces or the armed forces, water polo coaches also joined the ranks of the Armed Forces. As for Mariupol, the situation there is generally extremely difficult. Two water polo players died during the bombardment carried out by the russian military: Oleksandr Obedinsky and Oleg Holodnikov. My condolences to the families of water polo players who lost their relatives and loved ones. As for the women’s Higher League, the situation is also difficult. The main bases are Kramatorsk, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kyiv – almost all the girls are not in Ukraine, they have gone abroad since the beginning of the aggression.
– Oleksandr, in your opinion, will it be possible to save water polo in Mariupol and Kharkiv? – You know, it is a difficult question, it is difficult to give an assessment at the moment, because the war is still going on. Strong coaching schools that existed in Mariupol and Kharkiv are not functioning today. Especially since all young water polo players under the age of 18 left the country, now the leadership of the FVPU cannot talk about holding championships, because in the two aforementioned cities there are not even people to gather them into one team and start training, for example, in the west of the country. Now, talking about holding the championship of Ukraine is inappropriate, because it will be impossible to gather everyone while the active phase of the war continues. We understand that it will not be possible to start the championships of Ukraine among men and women in 2022.
– Is the management of the FVPU considering the option of holding the men’s championship abroad or, perhaps, a joint cup with European teams?
– Today, the water polo federation sends letters to Poland, Slovakia, Georgia, Turkey with a request to enter a team of our juniors aged 16 to 19 in one of these championships. We want to preserve at least a skeleton among young water polo players who will become the main players of the Ukrainian national team in the future. There are options that it will be possible to have a joint cup with European water polo teams. We will make arrangements with our European colleagues in the near future to hold joint competitions. Water polo players need game practice, and now in our country under martial law this is impossible. We managed to quickly assemble the Ukrainian U-19 men’s national team, which qualified for the European Championship. Now the girls’ team is preparing for the final stage of the European U-19 Championship, which will be held in Israel, and in August, the World Championship among boys under 16 years of age will be held in Greece. I hope that we will be able to gather as many main players as possible and that there will be main water polo players at these tournaments. Today, we have a lot of support from the European water polo family, they all help us with reception and organization of training. Many countries give Ukrainian water polo players the opportunity to live and train for free. Many thanks to those who support Ukraine and our water polo players.
– The men’s national team will have the only, in fact, officially known competition ahead – the student universiade in Łódź, how and where will the team prepare?
– We are currently conducting negotiations, where we can hold a two-week meeting for water polo players. For us, these competitions are very important, because we will be able to preserve the team, and the boys will maintain their physical form. We want more competitions and tournaments for water polo players, but the reality is completely different now.
– Oleksandr, what would you say to the water polo players who are now on the front lines defending our country? – Personally, on behalf of me and the entire leadership of the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine, I would like to thank every water polo player who defends Ukraine. Low bow to those who protect the country from the russian invaders. I want all the boys from the front to return alive and healthy to their families. I believe that we will defeat the russian “orks” and in the near future the blue-yellow flag will fly in the Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk regions. And after our victory, I am convinced, we will rebuild and build many new swimming pools. Water polo in Ukraine will develop at a rapid pace. Our great victories are yet to come, now we have only one desire – the victory of the Armed Forces.
Source of the article: https://waterpolo.com.ua/tpost/e3sas13a21-v-umovah-povnomasshtabno-vini-ne-mozhe-i
