Lebanon's Champion Mrs. Olga Nader Speaks about Water Skiing

Physical sport occupies a prominent place in the activity of the youth of this age, and we see material and moral efforts lavished upon it with all generosity — so much so that this modern sporting wave, which began to flow from the shores of the West, has reached us with a good deal of its spray in recent years. A band of our athletic young people has risen up to practice the various sports, and clubs have been founded for swimming, tennis, football, basketball, snow skiing, water skiing, and others...

Silver cups have been set aside by this institution or that, by this gentleman or that lady, as encouragement to those enrolled in the arts of sport toward diligence, excellence, and ambition, to win the championship in this game or that.

There appeared in Beirut recently a new variety of physical sport toward which all eyes have turned with approval — I mean water skiing... The young people's interest in it has reached such a point that a large portion of Lebanese families have come, because of it, to prefer the sea to the mountain, in view of its benefit to health, and of the delightful pleasure that no other pleasure can match — a pleasure felt only by those who practice this sport.

The Saint George swimming pool, in the person of its owner Mr. Michel Nader, was in the vanguard of the pools that took an interest in water skiing. It gives us pleasure to present Mrs. Olga Michel Nader, one of the champions of water skiing, who will speak about the importance and benefit of this newly introduced sport and its development in Lebanon.

Q — My first question, Mrs. Nader, is this: in view of your experience as an inveterate water skier, do you believe that skiing is a difficult sport for the fair sex, as they call us?

A — According to my experience, I find that skiing is an excellent sport for ladies. For the skier is expected to be physically strong, and to have the endurance to keep on skiing for a long stretch without tiring of it. He must also be able to keep his balance. And since ladies possess these qualities, I can now say: water skiing is a women's sport just as much as it is a men's.

Q — And how much time does a skier need in order to master this sport?

A — That depends on his desire, and on the time he spends every day in continuous practice...

Q — Do skiers differ from one another? I mean, is there a disparity in the effort and the time that one puts in as against another?

A — Yes. Skiers, like swimmers, are of two kinds: one kind skis merely for amusement, and this kind skis as he pleases and as suits him, without exerting himself in long practice, or in clearing obstacles, or in jumping.

Q — The first kind, then, skis for amusement — and what is the second kind?

A — The second kind is made up of those who aspire to win a local or a world championship, and this kind never ceases to persevere in constant training until satisfied with the results of his skiing.

Q — And roughly how much daily practice does this kind require?

A — It requires at least one hour of continuous skiing. And this hour costs the body as much effort and fatigue as hours of walking uphill — from here to the mountain, for example!

Q — Do you know, roughly, the number of those who practice water skiing in Beirut, women and men?

A — Yes. In Beirut there are about 150 men skiers, and seventy ladies and young ladies.

Q — In other words, the men are double the women!.. And now, Mrs. Nader: what is the feeling that takes hold of skiers and makes them give themselves over to keeping company with the sea all through the summer season, preferring it to the refreshing mountain air?

A — The truth is that there is in water skiing a refreshing delight whose worth is known only to those who have kept close company with the sea — to use your own expression — from the sea breeze playing with one's hair, to the spray of water scattering on one's face... to the rays of the sun that give the body health and vigor and lend it a beloved coppery color... A person among us, in the thick of his exhausting daily labors, finds it pleasant to break loose from the fetters of civilization to enjoy nature in her natural state; and in this breaking loose there is refreshment for the spirit and invigoration for the body.

Q — And do not forget, likewise, the effective part that skiing, on water and off it, plays in the gracefulness and trimness of a woman's figure, and in checking the quantity of fat that usually gathers in certain regions of her body... All these reasons are fit to make water skiing a popular sport among our ladies... Yet it seems to me, from my watching of skiing, that it is not without danger at times — for instance, if the skier should fall into the water, or his head should strike the motor launch.

A — This danger never crosses our minds, because we know from our experience that the truth is exactly the opposite. When the skier falls into the water, all he has to do is swim — and those who take up skiing are naturally expected to know how to swim... As for the head striking the motor launch, that never happens at all.

Q — You have set my mind at rest on that score!! And now here is another question: I have read repeatedly in the papers that your husband, Mr. Michel Nader, was the one who introduced water skiing into Beirut. When exactly was that?

A — We began skiing on a small scale, among ourselves and our friends, in 1949. As for the club, it was not officially founded until 1950.

Q — How many times have you held a competition for the championship of Lebanon in water skiing?

A — Twice, in the years '50 and '51.

Q — And in which of those did you win the championship of Lebanon, Mrs. Nader?

A — In both!

Q — Very good. You are, then, to this very day, the undisputed champion of Lebanon. And have you set a date for this year's competition?

A — Yes, we have set the middle of the month of August as an approximate date for this year's competition.

Q — It has come to my ears that the international competition will be held this year in Lebanon. Is what I heard true?

A — Yes, and it will be on the 27th, 28th, and 29th of August.

Q — How many countries will take part in this competition?

A — The countries registered so far, apart from Lebanon, are six: France, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, and America.

Q — You mean that this number may grow before the date of the competition arrives?

A — Yes, because the field is still open for registration, and there is ample time until the end of August. We have great hope that Brazil and Austria will take part.

Q — How many champions, men or women, take part in the competition from each country?

A — From each country about three or four champions take part in the competition.

Q — Is there any distinction or separation made between men and women?

A — No, never — no difference whatsoever between men and women!

Q — And do you equip all this number with skis and whatever equipment they need?

A — Of course not, for every skier brings his own skis with him, because he is accustomed to them and cannot use any others well — like a man who is used to his own automobile or his own horse!

Q — And now, Mrs. Nader — has Lebanon taken part so far in a world competition in water skiing?

A — No; but we took part in an international exhibition last summer in the city of Velden (Austria) and in Paris. And on the first of July the champion of Europe will visit us — he is an expert in world championships — and his task will be to prepare the champions of Lebanon, men and women, in water skiing, so that they may occupy a worthy place among the countries taking part in the championship of Europe to be held on the Côte d'Azur on the 29th of next July.

Q — Have you succeeded so far in obtaining a license for an independent federation for water skiing?

A — Yes, we succeeded this year.

Q — And how many clubs have joined your federation?

A — Four.

Q — Who is the president of the water skiing federation?

A — Mrs. Jacqueline Khalil Khoury.

Q — And did she assume the presidency by election or by appointment?

A — By election, rather — for Mrs. Jacqueline Khoury is a champion in water skiing, and she is among the most ardent in encouraging this sport and spreading it in Lebanon.

Q — Does the Ministry of Tourism and Summering encourage this variety of sport?

A — Yes, and last year they helped us by bearing a large part of the budget for holding the water exhibitions in which the champion and the lady champion of France took part. And thanks to Mr. Michel Touma, it has been decided this year to allot a quite respectable sum, set aside to cover the expenses to be spent on our international guests at the international competition.

Q — Very well. And now, Mrs. Nader, I have another question: who are the outstanding figures in water skiing, women and men?

A — The most outstanding among the women: Mesdames Jacqueline Khoury, Jacqueline Bassoul, Andrée Khachou, Dolly Trad.

Q — And you yourself, of course — do not forget yourself! And now, who are the champions of Lebanon among the men?

A — We have, of course, champions among the men, the foremost being: Simon Khoury, Khalil Haidar, Roger Nader, Robert Nader, Badih Halawani, and Jo and Anwar Arida.

Q — In closing, I must express my intense admiration and esteem for your sporting renaissance in our country, and I wish the champions of Lebanon, men and women, a brilliant success in this year's competition, and in the years to come.