"Every year when I restart training, I dream about HaBaWaBa"

"Every year, on the first day of training with my team at Olympiacos, I dream of participating in HaBaWaBa”. 11 years-old Spiros, who is an Olympiacos little player and son of former Greek international Nikolas Deligiannis, wrote those words in his essay for school: the topic was "Describe an event you have participated in these days or in your life". His father posted Spiros’ essay on Facebook in order to tell what has been stolen from children by the coronavirus epidemic and the measures that governments all over the world have taken to fight it, such as the closure of swimming pools: in Greece the sports facilities are closed and only a few athletes of international level may train. In Italy the situation is not very different: kids are allowed to train, but many clubs have preferred to keep the pools closed because non-agonistic users can’t enter.

In this context, little Spiros' letter reminds us what HaBaWaBa and waterpolo mean to children. His simple story clearly explains to adults why for Spiros and his peers sport is not a simple hobby, but a tool for their growth, for sharing experiences and emotions with others, for their completing as future young men and women. Telling that, Spiros denounces the damage that the absence of sports is causing to children.  Spiros describes HaBaWaBa as "the most important event for kids from 6 to 12 years-old all over the world, it aims to promote sport and education of children. HaBaWaBa comes from the words Happy Baby Water Ball, which describe the feeling of joy we get when we play with a ball in the water. HaBaWaBa was created in Italy 13 years ago. Teams from all over Greece and Europe take part in it and many groups are formed, so every team can play many games during the tournament. Last year, when I participated with my team, we played against a lot of foreign teams like Szentes and Salerno, but also Greek teams like Faliro and Glyfada”.   "The best moment was when we defeated the strongest team in the group and we all celebrated together, while the best thing I did in that game was to score two goals and play an aggressive defense. It was our last game in the group. After we finished, we watched other games. When we weren't playing we could talk about other teams and make fun of each other. Also, when we had about 2 hours of free time, some of my teammates came to my room, before the game we rested and when it was time to play we stretched our muscles. The time passed pleasantly and quickly with the things we did. The coolest thing was when my team took a picture with the mascot, a walrus in a swimsuit and a hat with ‘HaBaWaBa’ written on it. In the finals, we won the bronze medal”. "It's such a great feeling to fight with your team for a goal - Spiros concludes his essay - to help your teammate, to celebrate together for victory and to grieve together for defeat. The emotions I feel every year at HaBaWaBa are so strong and I look forward to this moment every year”. 

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