The Tunisia Open Masters Meet: quite the Adventure!

The Tunisia Open Masters held its Fifth meet in Tunis, Tunisia between May 11 and 15. The LCM pool events were held the 11^th thru 13^th at a complex built for Olympic style events with multiple venues in one location. The indoor 50-meter pool also had an outdoor 50-meter pool and an indoor 25-meter warmup/cool down pool. May 14 to 15 were Open Water events held east of Tunis in the resort area of Hammett.

I arrived in Tunis at 11:30 PM, cleared Customs and Immigration, then went looking for a cab. There were several eager cabbies at the cab stand. I said ‘I am going to Ezzahra; how much in Euros?”, and got a variety of answers in French, Arabic, and very broken English. As I speak only English, I was at a disadvantage but settled on a driver. Another driver took my bag and headed for his taxi. After exercising my vocal cords, the bag was returned.

The ride to our Airbnb was an adventure. The cab got lost! My driver called our Airbnb host who immediately dropped his phone after answering, causing it to die, so we called another number. As the cabbie was driving around, I asked if he knew where he was going as we passed the same Mosque for the third time. After many phone calls, I arrived at our Villa and was greeted by my host and world renowned Masters swimmer and friend, Karlyn Pipes. I was excited to share this adventure with Karlyn and her husband Christopher.

Our villa was at the bottom of a house built in 1936, French style. Later that morning we had coffee out on our terrace which was very nice, surrounded by a tall hedge with plenty of birds for music. The plan was to go for a swim in the 50-meter indoor pool across the street, for which Karlyn had made arrangements. This was my introduction to the Muslim rules governing modesty; we were clearly instructed to stay “covered” while changing into our suits and showering. The swim was good after a long trip.

After the swim our host had his driver take us to Sidi Bou Said, a picturesque area of Tunis on a hillside with white buildings and blue doors, narrow streets, lots of shops, and tourist traps and prices. It was very worth the trip. While on the way to this attraction I saw my first Police vehicle. ‘So what’, you say? WELL, all the windows in this community were covered with grating to stop rocks and bottles. Not what I was used to at home. I think this was a carryover from a time of unrest several years earlier.

Now to share some things – not to complain but to illustrate some of the challenges faced when competition is in a foreign country, and you do not understand the language spoken.

The first day of competition arrived; warmups were at 3PM, and the meet started at 4PM. The drive to the meet venue went ok, but when we arrived, there were lots of Police and roadblocks. Turns out there was a Handball match between two teams who did not like each other; the match was cancelled after shots were fired! At no time were we in any danger as this incident happened about a quarter mile from us.

So, we are inside the pool venue and find our way to the locker rooms to change. Warm up procedures are not per USMS standards; feet first happens only by accident; the blocks are there to use, so take care if you are turning. To add to this, everything spoken is not in English. The other challenge was my events to swim would get changed or dropped, and I was assigned something else. Fortunately, Karlyn used her influence to get things straightened out for the most part.

On the first day I swam the 100 Fly instead of the 200 IM and 100 Back I had intended. The vertical learning curve involved finding the clerk of course and getting a ticket that you presented to the timer for your lane. The procedure was that he would hold up a number and shout out the event. Again, I did not understand French. And then he’d give out lane tickets. After the first day, I had an even greater appreciation for the way USMS handles meet procedures.

Meeting people and making friends is all part of swimming. While I was unable to converse, I was able to communicate with other swimmers. I and a man from Portugal who was in my same age group gave it a good try. And by the third day, I met his wife who is Canadian, so we were able to talk with her as an interpreter.

After the meet, we went back to our Villa and walked into our local town to find something for dinner. We ended up at a street café with a good meal, then a walk down the street for ice cream. The country of Tunisia seems to come to life after dark. Sidewalk cafes are filled with young men visiting and drinking coffee. Alcohol is not permitted unless you are staying at certain resort hotels.

Day two of the meet started with the 50 Back. This was a fun event because of the mix up in my entry times. I was a complete sleeper and had a stellar finish. It was a lot of fun standing on the podium with the other swimmers. The awards got a lot of fanfare and celebration which added to the overall fun of the meet.

Later that evening I swam the 200 Fly. There were only five men swimming this event. I was not the oldest but was the last to finish, and by finishing, I achieved a first for me. In the course of two months, I have swum the 200 Fly in all three course venues. After the meet we had a similar evening as our first in preparation for the final day.

On day three, I had only one event, the 200 Back. This did allow for time to interact with other swimmers and trade a few swim caps. I did meet a lady swimming for Canada who is a member of the Las Vegas Masters, and another German Lady who went to Hollywood, met a Tunisian man, got married, and eventually moved back to Tunis.

With the pool part of the meet complete, it was time to reflect on lessons learned. Some of these I will share. One of the reasons for this adventure was to be exposed to a meet in a foreign country – outside of my comfort zone – in preparation for attending Worlds next year. The method of signup and administration for the meet was via Facebook and Personal Messenger. The challenge here was there were no records (thank you, Club Assistant) and the formality found in USMS or Senior Games meets was absent. By far a frustration was not understanding what was being said. If I return, I will take the time to learn some rudimentary French.

With the meet portion of my adventure complete, Karlyn, Christopher, and I drove east along the coast to the town of Mahdia at Cape Africa. This is one of many Tunisian tourist areas along the Mediterranean coastline. We had an Airbnb on the beach separated by the main drag, complete with lots of cars, motor bikes, and scooters.

Here I must digress. After leaving greater Tunis, the most common mode of transportation is a motor bike or scooter. It was not unusual to see a family of four on a scooter, oldest child standing between Dad’s legs, and Mom holding the youngest on the seat behind Dad, or to see two men transporting building materials. I saw a small sheet of plywood being transported in this way, and on the day we left, there was a marble countertop athwart one of these scooters.

Back to the adventure. Our first day following the meet included time walking the beach and swimming in the Mediterranean. We took a trip into the old town to explore the Cape and the market. While having lunch we talked with a Tunisian who will be working in Belgium before coming back to his country for holiday.

The next day we went to the town of El Jem where there is a Roman Coliseum in excellent condition. We took an unguided tour and visited a reconstructed Roman House complete with original Mosaics. The skill and craftsmanship of construction is just mind blowing. The drive back to the coast was similar to what we saw during our travels: Olive Groves upon Olive Groves. The country side appears to be very dry, much like high desert with some impressive (6ft tall) Prickly Pear.

Our final two days were in the city of Kairouan where we stayed at a hotel. I spent a lot of time and mental energy trying to get a Covid test so I could fly home. Our first night after dinner we wandered through a market area built in the 1300’s – a fine example of multiple use planning. Stalls and shops on the ground floor had living spaces above. Everything needed for living is just a short walk from your quarters.

— Steve Fogg