Despite growing up in a conservative community, and was part of a family believed girls belonged inside their homes only, 17-years-old Nada Mohamed Hasan managed to break tradition when she was only 15; with perseverance and hard work she didn’t only left home, but also practised one of the sports that was known to be exclusive only to men: rowing.
Nada started dreaming of practising rowing 3 years ago, when she used to encourage her friend to play this fun sport, she brought her friend food and used to watch her practising, until she liked how the boats floated on water. Nada couldn’t swim at that time, but she seriously considered playing this sport, and finally talked to her parents about it, her mother’s reply was: “girls shouldn’t go outside their homes”.
Nada grabbed the thin thread of hope when her father agreed to let her practise rowing on the condition, she passes her preparatory exams with high grades that would get her to high school, which Nada did, and she took her first step towards being a professional player indicating that she was a good player from the start. After 3 months of training, she travelled to participate in the first international championship which was held in New Alamein city, to obtain third place and a bronze medal.
Nada is not scared of water or that her boat would turn upside down because of its waves, for despite the fragility of these boats, Nada strongly believes in her talent, and that’s why she practised rowing for two years without learning how to swim, until recently she decided to learn it.
Nada explained to “Ain Al-Aswani” the steps of rowing, saying “there are four stages, in each stage we use a certain number of oars; in the first and second stages we use 4 oars, after that we use only 2. Before travelling to take part in my first international championship, I asked my coach to let me play in the fourth stage of the game, which is called Skiffs, but he refused because there was a possibility the boat would capsize and I couldn’t swim at that time”.
Then she added, “after I returned things changed, the coach was enthralled by my enthusiasm, especially as there were 4 girls playing in the team for 4 years and didn’t reach the same level, whereas I only started playing 4 months ago, so the coach agreed to let me participate in this level despite its difficulty and I was the best girl in the team”.
Nada’s mother's harsh words hurt her more than the physical pains of the tough training, her mother wasn’t convinced that girls should practise sports, she has always discouraged her, and that’s why Nada resorted to her dad for support.
“My father used to convince my mother to let me train, she was totally against me leaving the house during the first two years of me joining the game”, said Nada clarifying how the situation was getting harder for her when she had to travel with the team alone to participate in the international games, or when she left the house for training at 5 in the morning then returns at noon, to go back again afternoon, her mother was totally against all this.
Nada used to divide her time between training and convincing her mother, she was daily at the risk of being deprived from playing if her mother refused to let her go to the club. After two years of continuous trying, the mother finally got used to her daughter’s success in sports, she even encouraged and was proud of her.
“What do you mean you’re rowing a canoe?”, this is how one of Nada’s friends made fun of her; she didn’t receive a single word of encouragement from them, or from her family who bullied her and called her “Fishy” because she used to travel alone and come back home late after training.
Nada floated over her mother’s disappointment and family and friend’s bullying and reached the final line thanks to the encouragement of her coach, who taught her not to care about the criticism of others, and to focus only on developing herself, and she did that, until she became a player in the Arab Contractors Club.
Nada proved to everybody that she deserves their support, and she is worthy to have a chance, she is a special athlete. She won bronze in the Republic Rowing Championship, the first championship she participated in, then she got first and second place in two successive championships, she then participated in the Republic Championship winning this time the silver medal.
Thanks to her surpassing skills, Nada was chosen to join the national team, yet again obstacles were there obstructing her way, “I had a chance to join the national team during school, by the end of my second secondary grade, and as I couldn’t leave school and live in Cairo to attend training regularly, I had to decline until I finish my high school, but my name is still in the national team list until now and I’ll travel once I finish school, my ambition has no limits, especially as my heart is attached to this game”.
After Nada was shining like a star in rowing, all the bullying changed to cheering; her friends congratulated her on her success, her family embraced their “excellent” daughter, and “Fishy” changed to “Captain Nada”, which everyone started calling her, even the neighbourhood’s children cheered her with it in the street, wishing they would practise rowing and become like her.
Many of the neighbourhood’s families were encouraged to register their children’s names in rowing, despite their young age, which didn’t exceed seven years old. The cheering and encouragement reached inside Nada’s home; her third-grade sister asked to join the training amidst everyone’s astonishment; how did the older sister resist the family's opposition when she was in the first year of secondary school, to pave the way for her sister to play the game at such a younger age?
Based on her experience, Nada advised many of those willing to join rowing, first to learn how to swim in order to be ready in case the boat was capsized any time, and her main advice was for the families with daughters who wish to play sports, “I wish families would encourage their children, especially daughters, and say positive words to them, for I used to train without any passion for anything. Parents should motivate their children to play sports, it is healthy and they will learn many things like strong will and perseverance”.
A few years ago, Nada dreamed of joining the Police or Military School, but after her success in rowing, her current goal is to join the Faculty of Physical Education, so that studying there would help her participate and win world championships.
