I had the chance to learn swimming when my dad said that "It is important to know how to swim". Therefore, my mom was to send me to inquire about swimming lessons in our only public pool which is just 10 mins walk away from our house.
I was 9.5 years old at that time. We waited beside the pool in my purple swim suit with some frills at the side of my swim suit. I remembered feeling embarrassed being dressed that way, feeling quite naked.
After a few minutes' wait, my teacher came. She was a lady in her 60's, darkly tanned. I'm not sure whether I was afraid of water or how I behaved when I first started swimming. That was all that I remembered, perhaps I was feeling uneasy.
Uneasy I was, I remembered that the hind of my swim suit was torn due to my constant pulling it lower to cover my buttock. Haha, thereafter, I did change a lot of swim suits! Almost 10 I think, the one that was brought in the shop opposite our house, Sykt Tak Sin. Before changing to those quality ones.
The routine goes one till I was in my Std 5, when the swimming pool was closed for more than 1/2 a year for renovation. Haiz... I have grown fond of swimming & it was a method that my mom used to threaten me when I don't finish my homework before going for my lesson, at 5pm. I will be VERY "kang chong" to rush to the pool, which become a 5mins walk. Almost running. I ALWAYS try to be the FIRST to jump into the pool. After taking off my clothes in the toilet, straightaway RUN to THE POOL & jump in!!! YEAH!!!!
YEAAAHHHHH!!!
That was the most FUN Part! The second fun part come if I arrive early to the pool before the bell rings. The reason? The Playground! My favourite was the swing. I challenged myself on others too - monkey bars, a big bar structure which I climbed to the top, jongkang-jongket, hide & seek, basically everything that the playground offers.
Aunty's (my swimming teacher) skin was very smooth & soft in the water. I had a lot of body contact with her as she hold me when I was asked to swim out. I guess I lean to teach swimming from her, using the same technique. After learning for a year, stopping for almost a year & returning back to her, she never increase our swimming fees - RM 30 for twice a week's lesson. Even till my youngest sister's fees! How generous! The total duration of my learning swimming takes about 1.5 years if I remembered correctly...
Weird, since i love water, I stopped going to the swimming pool when I went into Form 1. I was afraid. Till my mom had to come to the school herself to meet the teacher in-charge of swimming & stated my name to be included if there is any competition. Haha, so embarrassing. Since I missed 1997's MSSM, I only started joining competition in Form 2. It was during these duration that I have 2 coaches that confuse me in my Freestyle. Aunty said that I should pull my hand this way while Mr Foo say it's another way. My freestyle became slower & I am always the 2nd last during competitions...
Starting in Form 4, I went for morning training which started at 5am under Mr Ng, while in the evening, normal swimming class under Mr Foo. These sporting life continued till I graduate my Secondary school. Again, I was inactive in my Form 6. Wasted, as I could still take part in competitions since I was still under 18 years old. Guess I don't like big crowds... Yet, I was sooo free in my Sixth Forms...
Journey continued & I start swimming again alone in UPM. Problem is the pool is always closed when I went. Under maintenance... I found that I've lost my stamina to swim long distance as we used to in trainings. So I swim short laps as the shallower pool is always crowded. However, when I became less busy in my studies & less activities in my college, I visited the pool more frequent. That was already my Third year. Till one day, the President of the Swimming Club noticed how well I swim & invited me to join their team as they were short of swimmers, especially ladies. There I agreed & suddenly became engrossed in swimming in my Final year. Following their training & competitions. My one & only swim suit, a dark blue Speedo served me throughout my Uni life...
That was my experimental year as I physically tried my body with different swim techniques. With Victor, Chun Cao, Kee Tzuen, Saiful & other team mates as my mentor. Thanks to them I have perfected my strokes tremendously, freestyle especially. I later improved other strokes by myself. True to say, that their presence had mean a lot to me & contributed in my learning. Physical, mental as well as attitude.