by Steve Fogg
Last Fall former PSM Teammate Dan Phillips encouraged me to think about going to the World Aquatics Masters Championships (WAMC) in Doha, Qatar. Over the course of the fall, I made my decision and started the process of making arrangements and selecting events. As my departure date of February 19th arrived, I had some misgivings due to the unknown and unfounded perceptions of that part of the world. My internet queries of Qatar (Doha) were helpful.
The trip to Doha was via Frankfurt, Germany. My flight on Qatar Air was interesting in the route that we flew; from Frankfort following the Danube River to the Black Sea, then east of Istanbul to west of Baghdad then SE to the Persian Gulf east of Kuwait City continuing down the west coast of the Persian Gulf to Qatar. We arrived at 11:30 PM, the airport is a major hub and quite large. After a prolonged hike I got to Baggage Claim, cleared Customs and Immigration, then the challenge began to find my ride to the Hotel. After we connected, the drive to the Hotel was interesting in that Doha really loves their night lights, most of the light poles were decorated with multiple-colored lights. I was in my room around 1:00 AM local time.
The first full day in-country was a steep learning curve as I figured out my way from Old Town to the Aspire Dome Complex. I successfully got lost several times, however as English was readily spoken, I got back on course. The Underground had instructions in both English and Arabic, and at my Metro stop at Sports City there was a person available to direct me to transportation to the facility to get my WAMC credentials. After I got the credentials, I started exploring. The Complex is massive. It includes two different aquatic venues, a World Cup Soccer Stadium, other buildings, open spaces, and a mall on the southwest side, complete with a Venice like Canal system and hockey rink. The Aspire Dome included two indoor 50-meter pools and a Water Polo facility plus an outdoor 50-meter pool a short walk from the indoor pools.
The first evening I walked to the Old Town Waterfront, took a left turn when I should have gone right and ended up in the Dhow Harbor, I was looking for the Open Water venue. The following morning, I started walking again, this time I made the correct decisions on my turns and made it to the venue including the picturesque Mina District with the many-colored buildings. On the walk back I became painfully aware that I was doing too much walking. Many cars passed honking horns. What’s this about? Well, it turns out the horn honkers were for-hire cars trying to get my business. Lesson learned for the future.
Dan Phillips arrived and the next day we got his credentials (I was now feeling like an old hand) and did a little more exploring. I elected to try to let my feet heal so I didn’t do an afternoon stroll with Dan, but he elected to walk to and from the Open Water facility (3.2 km each way).
The next morning at breakfast we met two gentlemen from Australia, they were both Open Water swimmers, Cyrill Baldock (80-84) is a legend as an Open Water swimmer locally and internationally. I understand that he once held the record for the fastest English Channel crossing for the 70-74 age group, he also has a local beach named after him. We enjoyed the time shared with them before they departed for home.
So, Men’s Open Water Day had arrived. Everyone took an Uber or taxi to the venue. I first went to the Aspire Dome for a training swim and to explore the vast facility. After lunch I taxied to the open water venue to watch Dan swim in his wave. I have to say that I am glad that I did not sign up for it! After a post-race meal, we took an Uber back to the hotel.
Open water was over, and the pool competition began. I had a couple of days with only training swims, then my turn arrived. First up was the 100 Back. I had not swum in a 50-meter pool since last August. I was surprised and thrilled to learn that I had finished 3rd in my age group! Next up was the 200 IM, that was a 6th place finish, then we had a day off for relays (there were no US Relays). Dan and I took the day to walk (one way) around the West Bay area to bird watch and see the sights. We ended up at the Sheridan Grand. Boy, is it GRAND! We were definitely out of place, and so we took an Uber back to our hotel. The next day was the 50 Back (4th place) followed by the 200 Fly (2nd place). In both events I swam with a man from France (their National Champion) whom I had met in Tunisia a couple of years ago. The final morning, I swam the 400 IM (2nd place) and had the privilege of spending a few moments with the winner, who is from Estonia.
Doha is a very international city. it is very clean, little to no litter, and everyone is very polite. Oil was discovered in 1939 and with the discovery, and subsequent wealth, the city has grown. With wealth and growth, a large population of workers have been imported. We met people from Northern Africa, India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Philippines, and several other countries.
Souq Waqif is a large open-air market filled with shops, restaurants, and other businesses. It is a place to see and be seen apparently, as it would fill with people after dark. A large majority just gathered in the streets and alleyways.
So, some thoughts and lessons learned. The Call Room: Similar to staging areas at USMS Championship meets, we had a bull pen to get our announcement to report to the Call Room where we were put into rows for heat assignments and lane placements. In Doha, you were to report to the call room 30 minutes prior to your event, but you couldn’t get there unless you spent time in the assembly area between the two 50m pools. So, after your warmup you might have 40 to 60 minutes of waiting time before your swim. The areas were crowded so your personal space was very limited. In hindsight, I should have found a less crowded hallway for some exercises prior to the call room. The pre-meet information spoke of a large vendor village. Oh boy! T-shirts and mementos, NOT!! It turned out that virtually nothing was available that mentioned WAMC.
An item of conflict at the event was the openness of many Europeans on deck changing vs. the modesty rules present in Qatar. A special shout out to Nadine Day. She was the head meet official from USMS. She worked tirelessly to resolve issues on behalf of the athletes. I can’t imagine how challenging it was.
Another issue for me was not having a 50-meter pool in which to train. How many times have you been on an early swim in the LCM pool after training in SCY and wondering, where is the wall? I felt that I was conditioned to so many stroke cycles then the turn. Personally, I hope to see another 50-meter pool (or more than one!) in our area soon. I was given some suggestions to help overcome the SCY vs. LCM differences, I hope they help.
I met many wonderful people; some I could converse with, while others were more challenging. Everyone was pleasant and courteous. Of note was a fellow competitor from Australia, Stephen Lamy. He asked about fellow PSM’er Frank Warner, who he had spent time with, in South Korea.
The information that we had for the awards ceremony was very scripted and specific. This must have been a copy from the Worlds event two weeks previously, as the rules weren’t enforced about what you could and couldn’t wear. Security was very present everywhere, with TSA style screening, when going into the swim venue, and into hotels, and museums.
Future WAMC’s? YES, YES, YES! While the US Masters environment is very competitive and challenging, I feel that exposure to foreign venues supports the great competitive environment that we have at home.
