The President of the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine, Oleksandr Svishchov, shared his impressions of the past year with the media centre of the WPFU. Future plans and evaluation of team results – read about everything in the extensive interview.
About the preservation of water polo in Ukraine
When a full-scale war began in Ukraine, we, as the leadership of the WPFU, first of all, tried to take our athletes to a safe place from the regions where active hostilities were taking place. More than 160 children under 18 left our country due to the invasion by the enemy. As the management, we tried to quickly organise conditions for young water polo players and girls of different ages. However, many still remain abroad where they can train adequately and feel safe. Accordingly, the championship, both among men and among women, has changed a lot. Objectively speaking, it has become significantly weaker because many players are still abroad.
During the full-scale war, the main task of the federation’s leadership was to preserve water polo in Ukraine
In this challenging situation, we actually felt who our good neighbour really is. Many European water polo federations immediately responded and helped us to take the children. I am infinitely grateful for these gestures for our sport. Young water polo players still play and train in Poland, and girls participate in the German championship. Our teams were allowed to participate in European championships. Of course, I am sorry that our young talents are now abroad and cannot join Ukrainian competitions. On the other hand, I am glad that water polo players are safe and doing what they love.
About the participation of men’s and women’s national teams in international competitions
– Despite the difficulty of gathering all athletes, all our national teams participated in international competitions. For me, the most important task was that our athletes under the blue-yellow flag represented our country worthily on the international stage during the war. Yes, maybe the result could have been better than our fans would be wanted. But I was pleasantly surprised by our women’s national team of Ukraine U-19. The girls made it to the top 10 teams in Europe. This is a very worthy result; I don’t even remember the women’s national team being in the top ten teams in Europe. We proved that our sport, water polo, lives and develops in Ukraine.
When the war began, the leadership of the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine had two tasks: to find a safe place for water polo players and to represent our national teams of all age categories at international competitions
– Subsequently, after our men’s and women’s national teams took part in international competitions, the main task of WPFU was to restore the domestic championship. Due to the war, we did not finish the 2021-2022 season and worked out options with coaches and team management on how to resume the championships of Ukraine in water polo. There were many discussions about the venues and the competition format, and here we were looking for a consensus for all the teams because we understood the difficult situation they were in, especially the representatives of Kharkiv and Mariupol. First, we held the Ukrainian Water Polo Cup among men and women in Lviv. During this tournament, the main problems of all teams were discussed. I personally saw in the eyes of the coaches how their hearts hurt for our sport. They all wanted their wards to play and participate in competitions. And then, with joint efforts, we began to restore them—first, the championship of Ukraine among children born in 2010 and younger. I saw the joy on the children’s faces that they had the opportunity to compete. And then we already talked about the format and resumption of the Ukrainian water polo super league. It was possible to hold the first round to divide the teams into two subgroups. And this format, in our conditions, is the most successful, primarily from a logistical point of view.
The lack of electricity added to the difficulty. Somewhere there needs to be power in the pool – generators, and only then could we play matches. Nevertheless, we managed to provide conditions, and water polo players had the opportunity to hold contests. Four teams were in groups “A” and “B”.
About losses in the water polo family and the state of infrastructure for water polo in Ukraine during a full-scale war
– Our country’s swimming pool situation was difficult even before the full-scale war. In the east of Ukraine, the most important thing now is to save water polo schools, especially in Kharkiv. There are several swimming pools where children have the opportunity to train. This is a massive problem for our sport. Kharkiv is a city where water polo has always been at a high level. There is a powerful training system, and there are two sports boarding schools – water polo has developed very dynamically in this region. But, as of now, the Russian enemy has destroyed four basins.
There was strong recruitment of children in Kharkiv, both among boys and girls. Not all cities where water polo is present can boast of this. If we talk about adult water polo, then in the Donetsk region, there is a women’s team in Kramatorsk and a men’s team in Mariupol; in Kyiv, there is strong recruitment in the women’s team, and the men’s team is on the way to development, I hope it will be shortly. In Lviv, on the contrary, male enrollment in schools is excellent, while female enrollment is only developing. Therefore, in this situation, I am very sorry that the development of water polo in Kharkiv is on pause. The coaches have left for different parts of the country. Now we are talking about the growth of our sport with caution. The most important thing is the victory of our Armed Forces of Ukraine, and when they drive the enemy out of our land, our sport will be able to live and develop normally.
The war took away from us a great PROFESSIONAL in his field – Vitaliy Lisun. This is an irreparable loss for the entire water polo family
– This year is tough for all of us. It was excruciating for me personally to hear the news about the death of our state coach, Vitaliy Lisun, in the war. This person loved water polo and did a lot for its development. Currently, we do not have such a functionary in Ukraine. He worked for 20 years in the Ministry of Youth and Sports and knew all the subtleties of water polo. This is an irreparable loss for us. I want to express my condolences to the family of the Hero of Ukraine. He is forever in our hearts.
About the first year of work as the president of the water polo federation of Ukraine.
– I am a maximalist in life, and when I was elected to the position of president of the WPFU, I set high tasks for myself and the team. Of course, this is the participation and victories of our national teams in the European and international arena. But the war changed everything. Instead of developing water polo, I now think about how we should preserve it. The state should have given us funding for international competitions, but they did not. All expenses fell, as they say, on the shoulders of the leadership of the WPFU. This is where I would like to mention all the people from the water polo environment: coaches, players, and officials who did everything possible to make the water polo live. We survived a difficult year and stayed afloat. Then, we should start the development. I can assure you that next year our national teams will participate in all international competitions where we are present, and it will also be thanks to our defenders. I believe in the victory of our country shortly. Glory to Ukraine and glory to our defenders.
In the first part of the interview, the president of WPFU summarised the past year. Soon you will hear Oleksandr Svishchov’s thoughts on the goals for the water polo family for 2023.
