Egyptian fencer Ayman Alaa Eldin won a silver medal at the Junior and Cadet World Fencing Championship, Ghada Abdel-Kader reports Cairo Sporting Club, founded in 1936, is forever linked to the Olympian Farid Semeika, who won a silver and bronze medal in diving for Egypt in the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928. At the time Egypt knew next to nothing about diving. The man who did know something about the sport was Semeika but he was training in the US. Semeika's Olympic achievement -- he insisted on playing in the Olympics in Egypt's name -- was a big honour for Egyptians especially in the wake of British colonialism. After the Semeika feat, the International Olympic Committee chose Ismail Taher Pasha as its representative in Egypt who established the national Olympic committee in 1932. In 1935, the committee sent a letter asking Semeika to return to Egypt, after he helped spread diving in the US, to help prepare divers and swimmers who could represent Egypt in the Olympic Games in 1936. Although it was short notice as only one year was left and the preparation of an Olympic champion should take not less than four years, Semeika did not hesitate to take over the responsibility, leaving behind his dreams and future in the US. As soon as he arrived Semeika faced a huge problem: there was only one pool in Egypt, that of the Ma'raf, or Education Ministry. It was not an Olympic-sized pool and did not have any diving boards to jump from. Since diving was still largely unknown Semeika had little choice except to choose from among teens who used to jump from trees by the River Nile or youngsters from Alexandria who used to jump from cliffs into the Mediterranean Sea or from boats and ships. Semeika chose the best but it was a hectic job to train them because he kept moving from Ma'ref pool to the Mediterranean, all the while dreaming of finding a place where a pool could be built and which was not less than 3 metres in depth. As he was touring Cairo searching for a place for his dream, Semeika visited Khedive Ismail Garden, known today as Horreya Garden, where he found the owner of a funfair in the area, Ali Hassan. Semeika explained what he wanted. Hassan, who liked sports, agreed but asked Semeika to prepare the pool's designs in only two days and also asked him to look for funds with which to build the pool. There was one other hitch: the pool would be taken down after 15 days. Excited by the idea nevertheless, Semeika went directly to one of his youngest athletes, Ahmed Ibrahim Kamel, who was an architect, and asked him to draw the pool's designs. Kamel kept drawing and designing for four nights before succeeding. But sponsors were needed; the national committee could not help since its budget was only LE15,000 and the pool needed LE950. Semeika himself paid LE250 while the Royal Agriculture Society shelled out LE450 on condition that the pool would be used in a diving and swimming festival for two months and that the money would be refunded. It was also agreed that the pool would be torn down after the festival. Semeika agreed and his swimmers and divers lent a hand in the construction of the pool. On the 15th day, the day of the pool's inauguration, the machines that were supposed to fill the pool with water jammed. It was discovered the machines were not the right equipment for the job. Semeika was about to faint and ran to Taher Ismail Pasha's office to tell him of what had happened. Taher Pasha ordered the fire brigades to go and fill the pool. They worked for 24 hours until the pool was filled. Every day, Semeika's diving and swimming team performed in front of the fun fair visitors. Tickets were for two piastres. One performance was conducted by Semeika himself, the only way to train the team that was to participate in the Olympics. Semeika took the opportunity of Prime Minister Mustafa El-Nahas Pasha attending the last performance, asked him to keep the pool which he agreed too. In 1947 Semeika started training the swimming and diving teams participating in the London Olympics in 1948 which included two female swimmers for the first time in Egyptian history. In the meantime, two tennis courts were built. In 1952 before the 23 July Revolution, the Cairo Baladia (the present-day governorate) took over the club, renaming it Baladia Club. In 1962 it was renamed Cairo Sporting Club and its first board members were elected. In 1966, the club was chosen as the venue for the new Opera House but the club's members rejected the plan, deciding to keep the club as is. In 1968, table tennis and croquet were introduced. It was also the first club to scout for junior talents. The result was that gymnastics, diving and swimming started to collect gold medals in international events. At a press conference held to celebrate the diamond jubilee, Hossameddin Mustafa, the club's president, announced that an agreement had between reached with Gold Gym to open a new health club which will be "one of the best in the country." He also announced new scholarships for athletes who take first place in national tournaments. A new football school for juniors will be opened and the players trained by Abdel-Rahim Mohamed, a former Zamalek football star. Sponsorship packages will also be offered to gymnasts, one of the club's most promising athletes. Cairo Sporting Club has 45,000 members, forcing the club to buy a new piece of land, 16 feddans, in 6 October city. Mustafa said celebrations will continue throughout 2011 and will include various social, sporting and cultural activities. International championships will also be hosted at the club's premises.
