MUSCAT, Nov 7 - Muscat city was the venue for the 14th AASF General Congress of the Asian Swimming Federation (AASF) which was held on Saturday at Kempinski Hotel. The meeting was presided over by Kuwait’s Hussain al Musallam, the first vice-president of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) on behalf of Shaikh Khalid al Sabah, Chairman of AASF, in presence of Taha al Kishry, Chairman of Oman Swimming Association (OSA), and 39 representatives of national federation members from Asia.
Qais al Zakwani, Secretary-General of Oman Swimming Association (OSA), delivered the welcome message. He commenced the speech welcoming all the guests to the Sultanate. “In light of the developments regarding COVID-19, I would like to first say that our thoughts and prayers are with those of our colleagues who have been affected by the pandemic. Over the past months, AASF and OSA have worked extensively to prepare for this Congress. We have experienced a lot of setbacks considering the challenging and uncertain situation that we are in; however, we are determined to fulfil the mission of this federation,” he said.
“I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has travelled just to be with us today despite all the travel restrictions and safety concerns. Hoping that the 14th AASF General Congress will represent for all delegates an unforgettable experience. I wish you a successful meeting and look forward to welcoming you back in the future,” he ended.
Then, Dr Julio Maglion, FINA Chairman, joined the meeting virtually and he shared his speech through video conference at “MS Teams” platform.
“I highly appreciate the positive efforts of the Asian national federations on continuity development of the water sporting events. The Asian continent will host many mega swimming events including the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and the FINA World Swimming Championship in Japan. I wish success for the Congress meeting in Muscat and to end with top outcomes that support the improvement of swimming sports,” he said.
The third speech was from Shaikh Khalid al Sabah, Chairman of AASF, and delivered by Hussain al Musallam. He thanked in his speech the Sultanate for excellent organisation and warm hospitality of the Congress.
“I am happy that the Asia Aquatics Family is back in Muscat after the extremely successful Asian Beach Games in Muscat in 2010. The AASF executive board made an unanimous decision to postpone all AASF events for the year 2020 until the situation improved. Despite the difficult conditions, I am very pleased that AASF has continued its operation and shows its cooperation with FINA and with all organising committees of different sports events,” he said.
Congress Agenda
The Congress agenda began with approving the previous minutes of meeting for 13th AASF General Congress in Jakarta. Then, the yearly activity and financial reports were discussed without any comments from the members. The technical committee members shared their reports to the congress members as Yuan Haoran shared the swimming reports while Katsumi Kuroda discussed the Water Polo report. Li Na shared the Diving report and Miwako Homma shared the Artistic Swimming report. Ronnie Wong briefed on Open Water report while Sheehrio Takahashi talked about the “Masters”.
Shaikh Abdulwahab bin Abdullah al Hinai presented the election of candidate from AASF to the FINA Bureau. The election of FINA will take place in Doha on June 5.
Kuwait’s Hussain al Musallam is competing at the “President” position while Oman’s Taha al Kishry on board membership position. Ji Hong Zhu from China is competing at the Vice-President position. Kazakhstan’s Karikoof, Japan’s Sozuki and Indian Veerendra Nanavati on the board membership positions.
Al Hinai confirmed to all the Asian candidates that they are meeting all the requirements as set by the FINA. During the Congress meeting, all the national federations recommend on the Asian candidates to proceed at the FINA election and wishing them all the best.
The Director of the Asian Swimming Championships in New Clark City in Philippines in 2021 presented a visual presentation including the latest preparations, competition venues, accommodation, logo and other related stuff.
At the end of the Congress meeting, Hussain al Musallam delivered a message to Asia congress family on his intention for presidential position. “There has never been a President from Asia. In fact, there has never been a Presidential candidates from Asia. The action that you have taken today has already made history,” he added.
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