Swimming is a tough sport. Very tough indeed. To excel in it, you need grit, persistence, patience and oodles of talent. And if god forbid, you are an Indian swimmer, you also need a set of tenacious hardy parents, who are able to take relentless hits, quake not at adversity, and be ready for jugaad at any and every opportunity.
Every swimming parent undergoes throes of struggle with his or her ward. The financial hit, the emotional trials, the logistical nightmares and so on. They try their very best to shield their kids from any sort of burden or strain. They are always trying to ensure that their kid gets the best, irrespective of whether it fits their budget or not. So what if you have to dip into your retirement funds, or shift to a new city overnight. All CLs and PLs are happily sacrificed on the altar of competitions as parents run from one city to another, tagging along with their expectant swimmers.
Trying to capture the heats with the mobile phones. Key, height helps 
Standing on a scooty is not allowed for kids, but moms can do it for sure 
Where there is a will, there is a stool 
Clambering is not just for monkeys 
Waiting for turns 
The roads are not meant for cars alone 
Trying to catch things from close quarters 
Resting in the sun 
Adjust please 
“Aap Qatar mein hain” 
Anything for the son 
Innova-tive ways to see things 
The rocks that stood the test of parental weight
But is there a limit to how much a swimming parent can endure? Is there a break-down point?
Well, the answer seems to be a firm no. And the proof of that is the recently held Maharashtra trials in Pune for the National Swimming Championship to be held in Bangalore in October 2021.
At the trials that were held at the century-old Tilak Tank in Deccan Gymkhana in Pune, swimmers and their parents went through much trials and tribulations of other kinds, about changing formats, inconsistent news, and organisational chaos. Yet, despite all this, they sallied on, taking everything in their stride, putting a brave front so that the kids are not perturbed.
From the very first day, the National Championships had been announced, the parents of Maharashtrian swimmers have been running from pillar to post to ensure that their kids have a fighting chance. This was simply because the pools in Maharashtra have been shut since the month of March. Unlike other states, where swimmers were able to practice regularly, the swimmers in Maharashtra have to make do with just dryland. Only a handful of private pools were open on the sly, and only a fortunate few were able to spend time in the pool for practice. As a result, a vast majority of swimmers that are appearing for the swimming trials are not in the shape or the practice to really give their best.
Some swimmers, whose parents could afford to, were able to beat the blues by shifting base to other states like Karnataka, where swimming classes were being held on a routine basis. The unfortunate ones that could not make that migration were left to fend for themselves, and wait despondently for good omens.
Well, none did arrive, except announcements that the trials for Maharashtra were to be held in the state of Gujarat, in the city of Dubai, in Bangalore, in Delhi and so on. All of sudden the swimming trials for Maharashtra had become a sort of an international event, being held in multiple locations of the country and even overseas — except for one place that it should be held — namely the state of Maharashtra.
Nonetheless, the parents as usual made the flight bookings, the hotel reservations for Ahmedabad, and then three days before the actual event came the shocker wrapped up as good news. The swimming trials were to be moved to Pune, as the Deccan Gymkhana had been permitted to hold it, with a whole set of conditions. Notwithstanding the financial loss, this sudden shift entailed a lot of new set of logistical challenges, right from making arrangements for travel to booking stay. All this had to be done in a jiffy, as there was hardly any time for any sort of margins. For instance, there was a mad scramble for racing suits, with only a handful available and that too at an exorbitant price.
To compound the issue, there was very little information that was percolating from the official channels. There were tonnes of messages that were being exchanged over Whatsapp among the parents. From simple queries to whether swimmers require RTPCR test to complex ones like would the heats be based on age or performance of the swimmers, there were hardly any answers to those.
Finally, as the parents landed on the venue, they were in for a bigger shock and challenge. Only swimmers will be allowed inside the venue, not the parents. While a message to the same had arrived a day earlier, there was hardly any time that the parents had to prepare their wards for such a contingency. Swimmers are dependent on their mums and dads, just like mobile phones are dependent on charging sockets and Wi-Fi. The parents provide essential support in terms of food, clothing and a lot of psychological encouragement. Swimmers are often at sea at such competitions, as they are zoned out. The parents in this case, keep a track of the event flow, make adjustments in what to eat or not and try their best to relax the kids. Even simple tasks like suiting up (wearing the racing suits) requires parental assistance. And this is not just the case for younger kids, but also of children above 12 to 16.
With the organisers firm on the contention of not allowing the parents inside, the poor parents were literally left on the roads to fend for themselves. Initially, they crowded around the gates in the hope that there might be a change in stance over a period of time. But then it was not. Unable to leave the kids, the survival instincts of the parents kicked in. For instance, in many cases, one of the parents shared their mobile phones with the kids and connected through the other. In addition, wanting to watch the races, they would peer over walls, stand atop two-wheelers, park themselves on four-wheelers, sneak into the venue on the pretence of using the toilets. Many parents, unable to find any seating place, made home on the road itself in the by-lanes next to the swimming pool.
Accustomed to watching their kids from close quarters and cheering loudly, the parents were now a desolate bunch of worried guardians moving anxiously from one place to another.
But brave the troubles, they did. Standing atop a roadside rock, they did manage to make a few videos or shout their hearts out. They also connected with one another, sharing their concerns on how unfair the competition was as it allowed for multiple trials in multiple places. “If we can leave our things and travel to Pune, why can’t all those swimmers in Bangalore, Delhi or Dubai?” was a familiar refrain.
A little more care and consideration could have gone many miles in easing the tired minds of the swimmers. For instance, streaming the competition live on YouTube would have helped so much for all those parents who were trying to be part of the action by peering over the stone-walls. Transparency and timely pronouncements would also have helped in preparing for the event. Take the case of races itself, since there were no timings displayed (no electronic touchpads), the parents are yet to know the performance of their wards and whether they have qualified for the state or not. Unlike the counterpoints in Karnataka, there was no announcement at the end of the day about the timings of the contestants.
In the end, the swimmers and their parents coped through the tough googly that fate threw at them. From being unable to practice regularly to suddenly being asked to better their PBs, the swimmers proved that they were a hardy lot. And while, only a few select swimmers from the 200 odd swimmers might get a chance to represent their state, they were all winners at the state trials — winners because they were not ready to give in, not ready to admit defeat.
And somehow, this bravado was also reflected in the manner in which the parents conducted themselves at the event. Not baulking at challenges and putting their heads down and doing what they think is the best, supporting and enabling the dreams of the kids. A round of applause for all these valiant souls and their dreamer kids..
P.S. All the shots of parents here are taken randomly and without prior permission. They are meant to exhibit the hardships they endured and not to make any fun or mockery.