By Yasmine Salamah----

Twenty two-year-old Aline Bsaibes, an agriculture graduate, is currently doing her master's degree in irrigation. Her five years at AUB have also been spent competing on the AUB varsity swim team, of which she was voted Most Valuable Player last year. Aline was only ten years old when she started swimming. "I started at Rimal, a beach with a swim team, and have been on the Rimal Team for twelve years." She won her first minor championship at age eleven, and then moved on in 1995 to win the Lebanese Championship for the first time in a 200 meter freestyle race. Attaining such high status requires discipline and long hours of training. "We train four hours a day in the summer; two in the morning and two in the afternoon. We sacrifice everything for swimming and after a whole year of sacrifice, you realize you did it all for a simple 200 meter race. When you get first place it is very self satisfying." When asked whether she's planning on pursing a professional career in swimming or whether she has thought of competing at the Olympics, Aline immediately replied, "Of course not. In Lebanon, swimmers don't have the opportunity to get anything other than self-satisfaction out of the sport. We don't get any benefits whatsoever; we actually pay for the team." For five years, Aline traveled with the team to Rhodes to compete. "I was the only one remaining from the first trip during this last trip to Rhodes. At first I was this young little girl, and now I feel like I've grown up without realizing it." Aline also pointed out that individual sports at AUB, specifically swimming, need improvement. She emphasized that the swim team lacks proper organization, which is attributed to the low sports budget set by the University administration. Although she has been champion of Lebanon many times, Aline admits to having stopped being as competitive upon entering the University. "I stopped being a champion and getting first place at University in 1996. I actually stopped real training three years ago." Although Aline still trains two hours every day in the summer she isn't as ambitious anymore. "I've graduated with distinction, so when you study that much you have to make a compromise and set your priorities right. I'm a member of SRC and USFC also, as representative of agriculture [and that as well is time consuming]." Aline was never the typical popular girl at school obsessed about clothes and other teenage preoccupations. In high school she was on both the swim and track and field team. She claims to have been an average student academically and never "hung out" with specific groups. "I had [and still have] a lot of individual friends. I don't like girl gossip, as it really gets on my nerves." Aline held track records in the 600 and 2000 meter distances at, Jamhour High School, where she was on the CAEJ track team, a renowned track and field team. Not one to forget about the arts, Aline also played the guitar when she was younger. Aline credits her parents, who, like all other parents "wanted to give everything to their children. When I was young I did all the activities, but in the end, you come to an age where you have to start choosing and eliminating." She first eliminated the guitar, insisting she was never a talented player. In whatever free time Aline has, she dances. "I love to dance. I dance to everything. Saturday night is the night I [break loose]." She jokingly states that the "number one quality in a guy who wants to present himself to me is for him to be a good dancer, as it really matter whether the partner is good or not." Swimming, Aline affirms, has greatly affected her personality. An athlete, she believes, is automatically an ambitious person. "An athletic spirit means you work hard to obtain something specific. You set a goal for yourself and try your best to achieve it. When you achieve that goal, you become a winner, even if you don't get a championship."