Ambassadors

“We live in water and we are made by water; 75% of our planet is covered by and 95% of our body is constituted by water. This explains why the history of aquatics is a so intriguing theme for a symposium and a film festival. Let’s meet in the Mecca of Aquatics to witness the extraordinary achievements that we have made from antiquity until today”

Dr Stathis Avramidis
IAHSFF Co-Chairman

“We are initiating this symposium because we believe that the heritage of swimming is a fundamental component of its future and we want to be sure that today’s generation learns to respect and appreciate those who have gone before them.”

Bruce Wigo
President/CEO, International Swimming Hall of Fame

“I commend the International Swimming Hall of Fame for supporting and hosting the first-ever International Aquatic History Symposium Film Festival. The history of aquatics as revealed in art and film is an area that deserves more study and attention. The Symposium will be an exciting event that I would encourage aquatic scholars and practitioners to attend.”

Professor Stephen Langendorfer
Bowling Green State University, USA
Editor, International J. of Aquatic Research & Education

My father introduced me to swimming when I was 2 years old. It became the social and professional fabric of my life. It seems only natural that my passion for swimming and the water would lead me to my first job as a Los  Angeles County Beach Lifeguard. When I pursued a career in television I was encouraged to “write what you know”, so I wrote about the heroes that patrol the beaches of Southern California. Swimming, the ocean and filmaking have been the key elements that shaped and molded me as a man and guided my life, so I was very excited when I heard the ISHOF was putting together this symposium”.

Gregory J. Bonann
Creator/Director/Producer – “Baywatch”

Since the dawn of human history, aquatic pathways have provided the major means of exploration, communication, and trade across divergent societies worldwide.  Indeed, among the greatest episodes in human history, are those involved at navigating the watercourses of the world.  Mastery of water, then, forms the basis of much of our aquatic legacy, including, by extension, the world of aquatic sports and activities. The history of such, in both research literature and film, provides a focus for this new Swimming Hall of Fame endeavor. Please ponder the possibility of joining us and contributing your own particular passion and/or research study to the May 2012 festival.

Professor Bob Barney
University of Western Ontario

Among the many purposes of the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to preserve the history of aquatics. This first-ever international symposium seeks writer’s and author’s submissions of papers or film for the purpose of “keeping alive” our rich heritage and to disseminate these writings around the world. Submit your abstract today and be a contributor to history.

“Today, most African Americans are inadequate swimmers and swimming is largely regarded as a “white” or “un-black” activity.  The Center for Disease Controls recently reported that black Americans are at least 50% more likely to drown than white Americans, labeling the black drowning rate an epidemic.  Ironically, the African Americans antecedents in both Africa and enslaved in America were proficient swimmers and historical sources reveal that they were routinely better swimmers than people of European descent.  The historical study of swimming can be used to promote swimming in today’s African-American Community.” 

Kevin Dawson, PhD
Assosiate Professor
Department of History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas