Iranian Kayaking Girls
Three girls from Iranian national team train in U.S.
A trio of Iranian girls visit the US without permission from the Iran government. Their quest to learn white water kayaking techniques land them in hot water when they return home.
YouTube - Iranian Kayaking Girls
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مسوولان برگزاري مسابقات جهاني قايقراني در آلمان ، اجازه شركت به تيم ايران را به دليل آنچه كه عدم پرداخت وروديه و هزينه*هاي مربوط به اقامت اعلام كردند، ندادند.
به*گزارش خبرگزاري آلماني د.پ.آ ، "اولريش ولتهوف" رييس فدراسيون جهاني قايقراني مدعي شد:بااين وضعيت اعضاي تيم ايران نمي*توانند درمسابقات جهاني كه در دويسبورگ در جنوب اين كشور در جريان است، حضور داشته باشند.
وي افزود:قبلا به مسوولان فدراسيون قايقراني ايران اعلام شده بود كه بايد صورتحساب هتل و هزينه*هاي وروديه را كه بالغ بر ۱۸هزار يورو است ، پرداخت كنند، اما آنان اين كار را انجام ندادند.
وي*ادعاكرد كه فدراسيون قايقراني ايران هزينه عضويت ساليانه خود را نيز پرداخت نكرده است.
وي*اضافه*كرد:به اين ترتيب تيم*ايران ديگر هيچ شانسي براي حضوردر مسابقات قايقراني بازيهاي المپيك ۲۰۰۸چين ندارند، زيرا لازمه حضور در آن بازيها ، كسب مجوز در مسابقات انتخابي و جهاني آلمان بود.
در اين حال خبرنگار ايرنا تلاش كرد براي اطلاع از صحت و سقم اين گزارش با مسوولان اعزامي تيم ملي قايقراني ايران به آلمان تماس بگيرد،اما هيچ يك از آنان در دسترس نبودند.
دراين حال يك مقام هماهنگ*كننده برگزاري*اين مسابقات هم درتماس خبرنگار ايرنا در آلمان تاييد كرد كه تيم ايران اجازه شركت دراين مسابقات را بدست نياورده است،اما به دلايل آن اشاره*اي نكرد.
يك مسوول ديگر برگزاري اين مسابقات هم گفت كه در مسابقات امروز هيچيك از قايقرانان ايراني شركت نداشتند.
تيم ملي قايقراني آبهاي آرام ايران از روز سه شنبه گذشته و به منظور شركت در سي و ششمين دوره مسابقه*هاي قايقراني قهرماني آبهاي آرام جهان در آلمان و انتخابي بازيهاي المپيك ۲۰۰۸پكن وارد اين كشور شده بود.
اين مسابقه*ها از ۱۸تا ۲۱مرداد ماه در شهر دويسبورگ آلمان و با شركت ۱۴۰۰قايقران از ۹۰كشور جهان در حال برگزاري است.
كشورهاي الجزاير، آنگولا، آرژانتين،ارمنستان، استراليا ، اتريش ، بلژيك ،بلاروس ، بوليوي ، برزيل ، كانادا ، بلغارستان ، چين ، كروواسي، كامرون، كلمبيا ، شيلي ، كوبا ، چك ، دانمارك ، مصر ، دومينيكن،اكوادور ، اسپانيا ،فنلاند،فرانسه ، انگليس ، آلمان ، گوام ، گواتمالا ، هنگ كنگ ، مجارستان، اندونزي ، ايرلند ، عراق ، ايتاليا ، ژاپن ، قزاقستان، كنيا، كره جنوبي، ليتواني،لوكزامبورگ، مولداوي،مكزيك ،مالت ، ميانمار، هلند، نروژ، پاكستان ، نيوزيلند ، پاراگوئه ، فيليپين ، پرتغال، روماني، روسيه، سنگال،سنگاپور ، اسلووني ، صربستان ، سوئد ، اسلواكي ، تايلند، تاجيكستان ،تايوان،تركيه ،اوكراين، اروگوئه ، آمريكا ، ازبكستان،ونزوئلا و ويتنام از جمله كشورهاي شركت*كننده در اين مسابقه*ها هستند.
صيادي ، محمديان ، صياد حق شمار ، صبوري ، رئيسي ، ميلاد و هدايتي در قسمت مردان و عروجي ، كفيلي ، معتمدي و خوارزمي در قسمت زنان اعضاي تيم ملي قايقراني آبهاي آرام ايران در مسابقه*هاي جهاني آلمان هستند.
قايقرانان ايراني قرار بود در رشته*هاي كاياك يك ، دو و چهار نفره با حريفان جهاني خود به رقابت بپردازند.
تلاش خبرنگار ايرنا درتهران براي گفت وگو با مسوولان فدراسيون قايقراني جهت دستيابي به صحت و سقم اين خبر راه به جايي نبرد.
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Iranian girls dream of being Olympic kayaking pioneers
Three teenage girls from Iran who have spent the past month training on US whitewater slalom courses might one day be Olympic paddling pioneers for Iranian and Muslim women.
Roxana Razeghian, Shadi Kalantar and Kimya Vaezi overcame worries on the water just as their coach, Katayoon Ashraff, navigated political headaches to allow them a US visit and the chance to compete in a world junior kayak event.
"These girls are going to be catapults to something greater happening in the world," said Chris Wiegand, a US junior coach who hosted the Iranians. "We're not even to the first gate, because it's more than these girls going to the Olympics. The goal is competitors from every Muslim and Islamic nation."
Ignoring US-Iran political tensions three hour's drive away in Washington, the girls enjoyed a new mountain-top facility while Ashraff vowed to win the support of Iran's government for their dream despite possible fundamentalist objections.
"They will agree. I'm sure they will," Ashraff said. "I can solve these problems, I'm sure. I'm not afraid. Who knows what is in front of a stone when you are paddling in the water? This sport promotes getting beyond obstacles. That transcends to the heart."
Competing at Beijing next year is a dream. Getting ready for London in 2012 and beyond is a broader goal.
"I worked very hard for them to be able to come. It was very important to me," Ashraff said.
"It was not easy, but I achieved this. If we have the chance to work more we can be successful. These girls, they are the best message I can send. They came from far down to a level where they are very comfortable. They were scared. Now they aren't," he said.
"Sport is another language for people to connect and relate to each other. No politics can affect this," Ashraff said.
Matt Taylor, director of the Adventure Sports Center and a two-time US canoe Olympian, marvels at the girls' achievements.
"They've got tremendous character. That's a tribute to them and their culture," he said.Leave a comment:
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Iran's kayakers take crash course in America
Teens won't quit
The girls were confident enough to compete in the USA Canoe/Kayak National Championships on Saturday at the ASCI facility high atop the Wisp ski resort.
Despite a large crowd and dozens of photographers and video crews, the Iranian girls showed that although they may not have been as experienced as their fellow competitors, they were just as tough.
"The game plan was to miss a few of the more difficult gates," Wiegand says, "but their competitive spirit took over and they tried everything."
With their determined game faces and white-green-and-red Iranian Junior Kayaking Team helmets, the girls won over the crowd. When they missed slalom gates, they paddled back and fought the hard currents until they made a successful pass as the spectators roared their approval.
The Iranian girls finished at the bottom of the standings but stood proud at the shoreline knowing they had met a challenge after only six weeks of serious whitewater training.
They face more rigorous practice in the next few months as they prepare for a series of competitions, including a venue test event near Beijing, that could lead to a spot in the 2008 Summer Games.
The odds are in their favor: Paddling is not a popular sport for women in Asia and the Middle East. But the world federation that governs the sport is under pressure from the International Olympic Committee to improve on its 20% female participation level.
For Ashraf, the bigger goal is at the heart of the Olympic movement: global understanding.
"We have made so many friends here," she says with her large brown eyes glistening. "Before we came, people told us to be careful because it would be dangerous for Iranians in America. It has been the opposite. People have been so warm to us."
She has spent some time explaining her country to geographically challenged Americans, many of whom have expressed surprise when they learn there are many mountains and rivers in Iran.
"They think it is a big desert," she says with a laugh.
For the girls, shopping in America has been a highlight.
"We have been able to buy lightweight clothing for paddling," says Kalantar. "The gear we brought was heavy (neoprene) and only in black."
Wiegand says the clothing allows them to meet their religious requirements that they cover their head, arms and legs in public, "but now they can do it with some real girly shades of pink."
Language of sport
Wiegand and Ashraf recently received a funding commitment to expand female kayak training into other Muslim nations.
"There were plenty of doubters and naysayers when we started this program," Wiegand says. "But they were able to learn quickly. When one girl would master a skill, the others would soon follow, leapfrogging through the skills."
When she returns to Tehran, Ashraf will give a report on her trip to Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"We have learned from this experience that people are the same all over the world," Ashraf says. "We have witnessed kindness everywhere.
"Sport can help humanity. It is a language that is common for all people, a language to connect humanity."
Then, pointing to her wet, tired and happy charges standing proudly with their paddles held aloft, she said, "Look at these girls and you will see what I want to say. It doesn't matter that we have different politics, different beliefs. Through sport, we can make everything pure."
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