EUDAATK

Hellenic Federation of Underwater Activities, Fishing, Technical Swimming Sports

Columnist: George Petrou

Photos: EOUDAATK Archive, Nikos Kartelias

The EUDAATK (Hellenic Federation of Underwater Activities, Sport Fishing & Technical Swimming) has been our home for many years and the birthplace of Scuba Diving in Greece. EUDA has many sectors and activities such as free diving competitions, fishing, swimming, etc. This tribute is made to the sector of Scuba Diving since this has been a part of me.

Today, when foreign organizations dominate the certification of scuba divers and scuba diving instructors, we must refer to the great and important work that the Greek Association of Scuba Divers and Instructors has done in our country.

Personally, as a 3 *** instructor of our federation, I feel proud to have been and continue to be a member of it. Having the experience and being certified at the level of Master Scuba Trainer & Advanced (Cave, Rebreather etc.) Trimix Instructor Trainer in many well-known amateur and technical diving organizations (in one of them I was also a representative of Greece and Cyprus) I cannot but recognize the HIGHEST level that EOUDA offered compared to them. The practical lessons and theoretical teaching had a quality that I do not think that foreign organizations have the ability and willingness to offer.

The Greek Instructors who for so many years assumed the responsibility (on behalf of the Greek Federation of Diving Instructors) to carry out the training schools of the federation provided excellent and SUBSTANTIAL training. The candidate instructors had to know very well how to swim, all three styles, have excellent physical condition and lifeguarding ability. The underwater exercises with breathing devices were very demanding. Buoyancy, the compass, night diving, deep diving, aquatic life ... there were high demands on everything. The lectures on all the topics of autonomous diving were given in the hall by the best scientists and very analytically. The candidates had to give many lectures themselves and the exams were difficult, long, with the aim of proving the competence of the new instructor. Yes, the training was harsh and excessive, but the new instructors were certified with all the equipment in their educational quiver to properly train the new diver, protect him, and finally instill in him the right spirit and mentality.

The federation on the other hand lacked the organization, the logistical infrastructure, the technology and the communication “Marketing”, but we cannot always have everything in this life. The days and nights we spent in the federation as candidate trainers and as Trainers of new trainers later will remain forever etched in our memory.

Θα μπορούσα να αναφέρω άπειρα ονόματα αλλά φοβάμαι πως θα παραλείψω πολλούς και σημαντικούς εκπαιδευτές, ενδεικτικά αναφέρω: Παπαγρηγοράκης, Κουλικούρδης, Μπισταράκης, Μπακανδρέας, Ζωίδης, Μοσχονάς, Παπασταύρου, Ζαχαριάδης, Κοτιλέας, Ali Pourakbar, Σωτηράκος, Πατεράκης, Καλιγέρης, Ρούμπος, Σωτηρίου, Αναστασιάδης και πάρα πολλοί άλλοι…

Η ποιότητα και εμπειρία των εκπαιδευτών της ΕΟΥΔΑ αποτέλεσε την καλύτερη βάση ανάπτυξης των ξένων οργανισμών κατάδυσης.

Today, EOUDA is in new offices in the New World.

Evrydamantos 40 Neos Kosmos, Athens, 117 45 Tel. : 210 9819961 – 210 9823840, Fax : 210 9817558 Email : info@eoyda.gr, https://www.eoyda.gr

To get to know EOUDA, let's get to know the current Board of Directors and its history.

The composition of the new Board of Directors of EOUDA, which came after elections held on 16/10/2016, and was formed into a body, is as follows:

President: Demitrios Galinas - Evangelos Rakantas

1st Vice President: Konstantinos Anagnostou

Second Vice President: Nicholas Anastasiades

Secretary General: Dimitrios Galinas

Deputy Secretary General: Andreas Pliatsikas

Treasurer: Nikolaos Korres

Scientific Committee Supervisor: Irene Anagnostou

Underwater Activity Supervisor: Georgios Nikolaidis

Sports Fishing Supervisor: Efstratios Liardakis

 Έφορος  Άπνοιας:                  Αικατερίνη Τοπούζογλου

Member: George Sotiralis

Ιστορία

The Federation was founded on July 2, 1952 by the associations 1) Athens Amateur Fishermen's Association, 2) Chalkida Amateur Fishermen's Association, 3) Heraklion Crete Amateur Fishermen's Association, 4) Nature Worship Association "Sun - Air Water", 5) Sitia Crete Amateur Fishermen's Association and 6) Paleo Faliro Amateur Fishermen's Association and took the name "HELLENIC FEDERATION OF AMATEUR FISHERIES" - "E.O.E.A.". Its initial headquarters were at 9 Panepistimiou Street in Athens. Its emblem was circular and bore an archaic representation depicting the head of Poseidon, a trident and a fish.

From the beginning, it was involved in surface fishing competitions (vertical, kalamidi, trolling) as well as speedboats (Kris Craft, as they were called at the time...). The first president and the one who held this position for a long time (until 1972) was the retired Rear Admiral Theofanis Voutsaras. It is a common confession of the people of his time that Voutsaras had a true passion for the Federation and that in the years he led it, all its activities enjoyed the highest prestige. He was an emblematic figure for Underwater Activity in Greece and after his death, a Long Distance Swimming Cup (7 miles) was established in his memory, which later became international).

Like any sports federation, the E.O.E.A. had the structure of an association with members exclusively and only clubs with the initial purpose of "the performance of amateur fishing" or clubs, foundations and Schools with the purpose of "the establishment of a fishing department". The member clubs had the right to elect and their representatives the right to be elected to the Board of Directors of the Federation. In 1959, the Friends of the Coast Association (OFA) became a member of the Federation, which would constitute the core of the development of all its sports without exception and its president, Kostas Totsikas, would serve for decades (1959 - 1987) as vice-president of the Board of Directors and the usual Chief of Staff of all its large or small competitive events.

The federation maintained close ties with the wartime (then Royal) Navy from the beginning, due to the officers who were on its Board of Directors, but also the navy's responsibility in autonomous diving with the development of the underwater disaster unit, and the maintenance of a decompression chamber at the Salamis Naval Station.

In 1954, the Federation was officially recognized as a sports organization with the passage of law 2890/1954 (article 1 designates the president of the E.O.E.A. as a member of the new Council of Marine Sports) and sent a national team to the first pan-European spearfishing championship in Sestri Levante, Italy. This championship was organized by the Underwater Sports Committee of the International Confederation of Sport Fishing (Confédération Internationale de la Peche Sportive (CIPS)), which had been founded on February 22, 1952 and of which the E.O.E.A. had been a registered member since its establishment.

In 1956, the Federation organized the first Panhellenic championship in underwater fishing and deep-sea fishing (the precursor to today's "apnea" which, however, inexplicably disappeared after 1959) in Vleves, Attica. In 1956, a Panhellenic championship was also organized "through Kalamidi". In 1957, a second Panhellenic spearfishing championship followed, again in Vleves, as well as a "Panhellenic Surface Fishing Championship". The Federation already had 22 members - nautical clubs that year.

Το 1958 διεξάγεται στην Κέρκυρα το 3ο πανελλήνιο πρωτάθλημα ψαροτούφεκου και η εθνική μας ομάδα ταξιδεύει στη Sesimbra της Πορτογαλίας για το παγκόσμιο πρωτάθλημα (είναι η δεύτερη διοργάνωση παγκοσμίου πρωταθλήματος στην ιστορία).

In 1959, the World Confederation of Underwater Activities (CMAS) was founded in Monaco, essentially continuing the work of the Underwater Sports Committee (Comité des Sports Sous-Marins) of (CIPS), essentially separating from it, and our own E.O.E.A. is one of its 12 founding members. Of course, it always remains a member of (CIPS) for surface fishing events. It is the time when the Federation turns with intensity towards the underwater world and autonomous diving, which at that time was beginning its rapid course of conquering the depths and the television viewers of the entire planet through the films of Jacques Yves Cousteau (co-founder and president of CMAS until 1973).

Το 1960, η Ομοσπονδία μετονομάζεται σε «ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΟΜΟΣΠΟΝΔΙΑ ΕΡΑΣΙΤΕΧΝΙΚΗΣ ΑΛΙΕΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΥΠΟΒΡΥΧΙΑΣ ΔΡΑΣΤΗΡΙΟΤΗΤΑΣ». Έχει ήδη 34 σωματεία – μέλη. Στις 23 Ιουλίου του 1961 στη Βουλιαγμένη, η Ε.Ο.Ε.Α.Υ.Δ., πλέον, διοργανώνει το πρώτο πανελλήνιο πρωτάθλημα «Κολυμβήσεως δια Πτερυγίων», όπου οι αθλητές κολυμπούν στην πισίνα διάφορες αποστάσεις (400μ., 1000μ. και 2000μ.) με μάσκα, αναπνευστήρα και βατραχοπέδιλα. Είναι ουσιαστικά το πρώτο πρωτάθλημα Τεχνικής Κολύμβησης.

In 1962, the Federation was renamed the "HELLENIC FEDERATION OF UNDERWATER ACTIVITY AND SPORTS FISHING". This year also saw the publication of the "Orion" magazine, which would continue with 4-5 issues per year until 1970 (with the only exception of 1964), which is of particularly high quality for the time and constitutes to this day a unique historical reference for the commons of our area, since the magazine "Underwater World" began publication in 1972. Unfortunately, there is no complete series of "Orion" issues anywhere today (neither in the OFA, nor in the Federation itself).

In 1964, Fin Swimming was enriched with 100, 200, 800 and 1000 m events, while the Federation's underwater sports were recognized by the Hellenic Olympic Committee.

In 1965, the Government, through the legal entity of the "National Youth Center of Agios Kosmas" and with the approval of the General Secretariat of the Federation, granted to the Federation (by notarial deed of usufruct dated 23.12.1965) for 20 years an area of approximately 14 acres with a 280-meter harbor on the beach of Agios Kosmas in Elliniko, Attica, in replacement of the limited and insufficient space it had until then in Paleo Faliro.

In 1966, the first Panhellenic Underwater Swimming Championship was held in a pool with an autonomous diving device. The distances were 200 m. individual and team and 400 m. individual and team (today the distances are 100 – 400 – 800 m.). Later, the “Freediving Swimming” event was added to these championships in which athletes swim holding their breath in the pool for 20 and 30 m. for women and 30 and 40 m. for men (this event was later added to Technical Swimming with a 50 m. course and is today its most spectacular event). During this year, the offices of the Federation were moved from the center of Athens and Panepistimiou Street to the concessioned plot of land of Ag. Kosmas, in two shacks that were erected temporarily until the completion of the final buildings.

With the securing of the then staggering sum of 1,000,000 drachmas from the Greek National Tourist Organization, the construction of the current facilities of the Federation began in April of the "national salvation" year 1967. It is worth mentioning that the Greek National Tourist Organization (according to consistent Greek tradition) wanted 250,000 drachmas of this amount to be given as a study fee to a specific architectural office, but Voutsaras refused and after a 4-month battle, he saved this money, after forcing the Greek National Tourist Organization to withdraw the condition for the preparation of the study by the specific office. With new actions of the president, a new fund of 1,300,000 drachmas was also secured from the Greek National Tourist Organization. and after a competition for the assignment of the design of the buildings, in early 1967, in the presence of "Queen Mother" Frederick, the Prime Minister, Ministers, Chiefs of the Armed Forces and Security Forces, the reconstruction works of the EOUDAA facilities were inaugurated.

The facilities included an above-ground swimming pool of great depth with the possibility of telephone and visual communication between the instructor and the apprentice diver. Around the swimming pool, covered areas of many square meters were formed for offices, rooms and changing rooms. The harbor was deepened, widened and protected with a breakwater, the entire area was fenced in order for the "palace" of EOYDAA to become a reality (However, the above-ground swimming pool was an unfortunate inspiration and had many watertightness problems, as a result of which it remained "inactive" for a decade. After successive repairs, it finally operated at the end of 1979, but again only for a few years).

In 1967, the first European Finswimming Championship (Technical Swimming) was held in Italy.

In 1968, the Federation announced a national underwater photography competition with great appeal and participation for the time.

In 1969, the Federation finally inaugurated its new home and changed its emblem. Poseidon was now depicted riding a dolphin holding a trident and accompanied by other dolphins. The new emblem was copied from a 4th century BC coin from Taranto in Southern Italy. Its activity immediately multiplied. An Underwater Activity School was established and scuba diving in Greece began to spread rapidly with the issuance of many amateur and educational certificates. The same year, the first Panhellenic championship in underwater navigation and orientation (with an autonomous device) was held.

From then on and consistently until official recognition by the state and other organizations (except CMAS), the Federation was the one that issued every autonomous diver's certificate issued in Greece (itself or through contracted private schools, which had Federation educational certificates), thus ensuring a large income. After the death of Voutsaras, in the year 1972, things in the Federation slowly changed. Admiral Konstantinos Skiadopoulos assumed the presidency until 1974, from 1974 (after the coup) until 1982 the doctor Konstantinos Kalantzis and from 1982 – 1995 Dimitris Siapatis. The Federation's finances declined. The national underwater fishing team, which until 1970 had participated 8 times in European and world championships and another 7 times in international tournaments, made only 1 participation from then until 1985 (i.e. for a period of 15 years) in the "poor" tournament of neighboring Bulgaria "Silver Amphora" (1977).

In 1978, the Hellenic National Diving Association successfully organized a conference of scuba divers at the Eugenidion Foundation.

In 1983, the collaborator of EOYDAA, Mrs. E. Hook-Apostolopoulou, brought the Underwater Photography and Film Festival to Greece. The Festival continues every year with great success and participation from many countries. But a cuckoo does not bring spring and the majority of the people of the Federation do not dedicate time and money to it, resulting in a general decline in its affairs.

In 1985, the Federation opened a Scuba Diving School for the first time in Greece with students from the Greek National Diving Association. In the same year, the first Game Fishing Championship (for tuna) was held in Halkidiki at the initiative of the National Diving Association of Greece.

Στον τομέα της αυτόνομης κατάδυσης η Ελλάδα ασφυκτιούσε από τις απαγορεύσεις λόγω αρχαιοτήτων. Το 1980 η CMAS διαγράφει την PADI από μέλος της και μια μεγάλη ιστορία ανταγωνισμού ξεκινάει μεταξύ των δύο οργανισμών. Το 1985 τη Σχολή Αυτόνομης της Ομοσπονδίας αναλαμβάνει και πάλι ο Ναύαρχος ε.α. και τέως διοικητής της Μ.Υ.Κ. Μανώλης Παπαγρηγοράκης, ο οποίος, όμως στο τέλος του 1986 εξαναγκάζεται σε παραίτηση. Ταυτόχρονα η PADI και άλλοι μεγάλοι διεθνείς οργανισμοί άρχισαν να διεκδικούν μερίδιο από την πίτα των πτυχίων. Μπορεί να μην ήταν αναγνωρισμένα από την Ομοσπονδία, αλλά μέσω νόμιμων dive clubs (που είχαν εκπαιδευτή Ε.Ο.Υ.Δ.Α.Τ.Κ.) χορηγούσαν πτυχία σε τουρίστες σε καλοκαιρινά θέρετρα μα ισχύ στο εξωτερικό και κάποια στιγμή αργότερα πέτυχαν να αναγνωρισθούν τα πτυχία τους από το κράτος.

In 1987, the Federation held the first night diving school with instructors Stavros Bakandreas and Alexis Zoidis (the latter resigned a few months later as chairman of the Federation's Underwater Activity Committee).

"Underwater Hunting" was abolished in 1980 after the fatal hypoxia and drowning of the Corfiot champion Dimitris Tarantos at the Panhellenic Games in Kavala (1979). It returned in 1983 in a team format until 1997, when an individual competition was reorganized.

"Finnel Swimming" and "Underwater Swimming" merged after 1980 and were renamed "Technical Swimming". Technical Swimming even sent a national team to a world championship (Bologna) for the first time that year (1980).

Το 1986 η Διεθνής Ολυμπιακή Επιτροπή (Δ.Ο.Ε.) αναγνώρισε στην Παγκόσμια Ομοσπονδία Υποβρύχιας Δραστηριότητας (C.M.A.S.) το άθλημα της Τεχνικής Κολύμβησης.

In 1988, the Federation changed its name once again to "HELLENIC FEDERATION OF UNDERWATER ACTIVITY SPORTS FISHING AND TECHNICAL SWIMMING". The original emblem was restored and around it were added representations of all the events of the Federation. The course of the sport, which was now officially added to the name of EOYDATK, was impressive thereafter, since its administration after 1995, with small but steady steps, led it to a prominent position in the international arena.

In July 1997, with a substantial invitation from the IOC, Technical Swimming participated outside the official program in the Mediterranean Games. The National Team won 4 silver and 4 bronze medals and was ranked 3rd. In August of the same year, the National Youth Team won 3rd place in the World Youth Championship. In 1998, the National Youth Team won 2nd place in the European Championship. In 1999, the Pan-European Championship was organized in Athens where the Greek National Team took 2nd place, winning 4 gold, 7 silver and 1 bronze medals.

In 1999, Law 2725/1999 on sports was passed, which did not bring about any substantial changes in the affairs of the Federation, but the then (since 1996) president Mr. Elias Xiarchos was forced to resign in 2000 after he also participated in the Board of Directors of the Greek Swimming Federation and this was no longer permissible under the new law. Mr. Xiarchos remained an unpaid advisor to EOYDATK and its leader to this day. The Board of Directors of the Federation was changed and Mr. K. Anagnostou took over as president. Another significant change brought about by the new sports law was the abolition of the possibility for athletes of the association to be its members. The obstacles to election to the board of directors of a club and an athletic federation were also widened, with the result that very experienced figures cannot officially continue in their positions.

In 2000-2001, in Technical Swimming, we have a flurry of individual distinctions and medals from our athletes in world and pan-European championships and in all categories. In 2001, the Men's and Women's National Team again wins 2nd place in the Pan-European Championship in Hungary and 2nd in the overall standings behind Russia. In 2002, the World Technical Swimming Championship is held at the Patras swimming pool, where Greek swimmers achieve significant success, winning 4 silver and 4 bronze medals.

The people of the Federation believed that this sport could become an Olympic sport in view of Athens 2004. In vain, however, 2004 passed, but the "Technique" never found the path to "Olympic recognition". Despite this, the sport continues to flourish in Greece and to continuously provide us with international distinctions. In 2005, Evi Georgiou won gold at the European Championships in the 800 m. surface and in 2007, the champion of the Chania National Swimming Federation, Giannis Tsourounakis, won with the Greek Colors in Bari, Italy, 2 gold medals in the 400 and 800 m. underwater and 1 silver medal in the 800 m. surface in the first CMAS World Games except for spearfishing (not to mention the silver and bronze medals of our own and other athletes).

Since the mid-1990s, two new underwater sports have appeared in Greece, but also internationally: "Apnoea" and Underwater Shooting.

CMAS was slow to react to the emerging thirst of free divers everywhere for "Maximum Depth" competitions, i.e. competitions that are relatively expensive and have several safety issues. Today, the competent CMAS committee has approved competition regulations for Static Apnea, Dynamic Apnea, Fixed Weights, Alternating Weights, Free Immersion and "Jump Blue" (an event that takes place in the sea or lake and the athlete must travel the maximum possible distance while being apnea around a square measuring 15 meters on each side at a depth of 10 meters). CMAS has been organizing Apnea World Championships since 2006, but our country has not yet managed to participate in them.

Από εκπαιδευτικής πλευράς στην ελεύθερη κατάδυση, το 2002, το Διοικητικό Συμβούλιο της ΕΟΥΔΑΤΚ διοργάνωσε το 1ο Σχολείο Εκπαιδευτών Ελεύθερης Κατάδυσης δίνοντας επίσημη υπόσταση και οντότητα στην Εκπαιδευτική Ελεύθερη Κατάδυση στην Ελλάδα, σύμφωνα με πρότυπα της C.M.A.S. Έτσι εγκαινιάσθηκε επίσημα ο θεσμός των σχολών Ελεύθερης Κατάδυσης που λειτουργούν πλέον σε όλη την Ελλάδα.

As for Underwater Shooting, as in Apnea, the activity began and remained outside the Federation until 2010. The world federation tried to organize a world shooting championship in 2005 in Kiev, Ukraine, but it was canceled due to lack of participation. Today, this sport has its first two international events to show for it with the Pan-European Championships of 2012 and 2013.

In September 2003, the EAKN of Agios Kosmas requested the return of the leased property from the EOUDATK due to the expiration of the lease (since 1997) and in view of the country's Olympic preparations for 2004. The great evil of the "eviction" of the Federation was finally avoided, but its use of the port was definitively taken away and the property was "invaded" by the Ippokampos sailing club in a toll booth right in front of its offices, while nothing definitive has been done since then to secure the legal use of the property. In 2003, V. Rakantas assumed the presidency of the EOUDATK. The following year, Ms. Aim. Schiza assumed the presidency, who served until 2012. She was succeeded by the current president, Mr. Vangelis Rakantas.

In 2005, the new diving law was passed that essentially liberalized the scuba diving regime throughout Greece except for certain areas. The Federation made sure to be certified by the international organization that the law provided for in order to be able to legally issue degrees in Greece. Of course, now EOYDATK was no longer alone. Now the competition was fierce with PADI and other international organizations fighting furiously for the largest pieces of the market of prospective scuba diving graduates.

On the surface fishing front, in the last decade there has been intense pressure on the Federation from the clubs of its events to organize competitions and send national teams to international championships. The pressure resulted in a position of trustee on the Board of Directors of the Federation for surface fishing in the person of Ms. Rena Vgenopoulou. In 2012, the current trustee of the Federation, Ms. A. Michaelides, was also elected to the Board of Directors from Fisheries.

In recent years, however, the state has been continuously reducing the funding of EOYDATK (from approximately €430,000 in 2002 to 2005 to €250,000 in 2007, €200,000 in 2008 and €130,000 in 2009), and has also delayed the payment of even the approved funds. In the last three years, the national spearfishing and surface fishing teams have not received a single euro of state money for their travel expenses on missions abroad, while at one point parents of the national technical swimming athletes were also asked to participate in the expenses of their children's mission. The situation in the Federation began to become tragic. Despite this, spearfishing brought the first international medals in its history in 2007 and 2008 and showed that money can often be found in many ways and what had been missing from the sport for so many years was the love and passion of the people who love it.

In 2008, an international financial crisis broke out, which the following year also affected state economies, including Greece, which fell into a tragic situation. With the state's bankruptcy on the horizon, in 2010 the foretold death of a large part of Greek sports was completed. No more money for small Federations of non-Olympic sports and a big cut for the rest! As if that were not enough, the provision that allowed individuals or businesses to deduct the cost of their donations to sports clubs or Federations from their taxable income was simultaneously abolished.

For the sports of EOYDATK, this meant the end for "Techniki" and uncertainty for the rest. "Techniki" was the one that was condemned by the "weight" of the state decision. With summary procedures, EOYDATK, KOE and GGA agreed that the sport would be saved and brought under the Greek Swimming Federation. The Federation removed the sport from its name and renamed itself again to EOYDA, deciding to continue its operation with self-financing. The administration continued until the end of its term in 2012 with contributions from its sports, so as not to go bankrupt. In 2012, the new administration was elected, which continues on the path of self-financing and manages to maintain its sports activity and even manages to organize international competitions and achieve international distinctions in both surface fishing and underwater fishing.

Finally, the decision to officially cultivate sports lifeguarding is made by the Greek Federation of Lifeguards and a work contract is signed with a coach of the sport. The contract is signed by Costas Anagnostou (First Vice President of the Greek Federation of Lifeguards), Dr. Stathis Avramidis (Federal Director) and Eleftheria Avramidiou (Federal Coach). Since then, the Federation has placed under its auspices: (a) 2 Greek lifesaving conferences, (b) 2 international lifesaving and aquatics conferences (Spain, America), (c) a television social message on drowning with permission from the National Radio and Television Council, (d) the television column "Prevention & Rescue", (e) the documentary "Ode to the Joy of Rescue", (f) 2 books ("Games Manual" and the fairy tale "An Opportunity for Children"), while it is preparing to organize a Sports Lifesaving Seminar for coaches, judges/timekeepers and the public (athletes, parents, fans, club officials) with the aim of cultivating the sport.

The problems that the last Board of Directors of EOYDA was called upon to face included the building problem, since the area in front of the old airport and its shoreline will be granted by the state to private individuals for exploitation and the Federation was forced on June 1, 2014, after 45 years, to change offices, abandoning its physical headquarters and moving to N. Kosmos. EOYDA, at one of the most critical turning points in its history, is gathering its forces to continue offering work to Greek society, which is facing such a great impasse. EOYDA, with its 62 years of history, must become strong again at all costs, since it symbolizes the submarine and fishing profile of a country that is literally "emerging" from the sea...

For 67 consecutive years, the EOUDAATK has been contributing to many sectors of our society by creating athletes and trainers, contributing to the 'Shaping of Children' and a better tomorrow.