THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The sight of a few blondes huddled around a lean, capped lady stood out in the rippling blue swimming pool at LNCPE swimming complex on Sunday. This group comprising of 15 members, that has a mix of French, English and German nationals, represents Pondicherry, at the ongoing National Lifesaving Championship organised by Rashtriya Lifesaving Society(RLSS) at LNCPE. The team is led by Tanja Rost, the German lady who coaches the Aureville swimming team from Pondicherry. The championship is their first national event and Tanja and her group hardly show any jitters. They have already bagged a silver and bronze each in 50 m manikin carry under-15 and under-13 categories respectively to shake off any sign of hiccups. Though they are yet to strike a gold in the event, the glow on their faces is still golden and they have a reason for that. Tanja coaches her children in a small public pool in the town of Aureville, a pool which is half the size of 50-m-long swimming pool in which they now contest. The local flavour in her team is limited to Soundarya, Bhuvan and two or three more members. The rest are mostly French, German and English like Masha, Marissa, Milla and Aaron. For Tanja, who came to India four years ago in search of spirituality, the new role as a swimming coach was sheer coincidence. ‘’I used to swim regularly in the public pool. One day, I met a man who asked me if I could teach his son swimming. Later, more and more kids joined and now we are a 30-member team,’’ says Tanja. The children began their practice for the lifesaving championship just three weeks ago. They collected the money themselves and ordered for a manikin from Pune. ‘’We then practised in turns since we had only one manikin for practice. Before that, we did it using real persons. After all, that is what manikin carry is all about,’’ says Masha, the German girl. Having worked as a lifesaver in Germany, Tanja is a bit surprised that lifesaving is hardly appreciated as a sport in India. ‘’Although I was an architect professionally, I used to be an active lifesaver. That is why I was desperate to be a part of this big event. It is unfortunate that people rarely care about this sport despite its immense importance to the society.’’ She is now doing her bit on her own at Aureville with her team to promote swimming and lifesaving. ‘’The parents of these kids have been really supportive and have been donating generously. In the coming years, I expect more local people to be a part of this initiative,’’ says Tanja.
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