Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 20, 2022: The warm embrace between a couple of participants at the OCA diving development school on Saturday afternoon told its own story – that two sisters were very much a part of the group.
Shayma MEHA Altabbakh and her younger sister Altaf Mahmoud Altabbakh have travelled all the way from Kuwait to join the three-day judging workshop under the OCA’s week-long diving youth camp in Malaysia.
The hug and mutual congratulations followed the receipt of their scores from the FINA diving development examination earlier in the day.
Shayma had scored 90 per cent and younger sister Altaf managed 95 per cent from the 20-question test – putting them both in high spirits as they look ahead to one day sitting the official FINA certification examination to become a qualified international judge.
“This is our precious goal,” said 40-year-old Shayma, who has been judging locally for nine years, two years longer than Altaf, 38.
Neither of the sisters had any diving experience before they began the local certification process in Kuwait but they have a deep appreciation of the sport, ambition to be an international judge and a thorough knowledge of the rules to put them on the right course.
Shayma added: “I would like to give my great appreciation and gratefulness for the Olympic Council of Asia for this opportunity that they were nominating me for and, of course, the referees who are giving us the information and everyone who was responsible for me being here. I am so grateful for this chance.
“The next goal is to get the international certification. This is our greatest goal and we will work on that, hopefully.
“The OCA camp is a very great opportunity for us to develop the knowledge we have already, and it’s a great experience to meet up with different judges from different countries and enriching our experience. We have gained a lot of knowledge in these two days.”
