Rovini had the rare privilege of captaining a national team when the team took wing to participate in the Japan Synchronized Swimming Open Championships in 2006. She has the honor of representing the Sri Lankan women’s team in water polo. She was awarded the most outstanding sports personality of the year for the year 2006 by Vishaka Vidyalaya recognizing her achievements in her chosen fields. She received National Sporting honors by the Ministry of Sports in Sri Lanka in 2008. She now coaches the synchronized swimming teams Bishops College Anula Vidyalaya and her alma mater Visakha Vidyalaya.

How did you take to swimming?
Swimming was not a choice I made on my own. It was my parents who persuaded me to learn swimming as I often suffered from the wheeze and swimming was said to help improve breathing. Up to date I continue to swim for the same reason. Hence I began to swim not with a goal to be a competitive swimmer; it was something that came along the way which was never intended.

What was your age then?
I was around 7 years old.

Why swimming as opposed to any other sport.
It was not only swimming that I started at that age. I was learning to play tennis as well, and swimming as I mentioned was done to prevent my wheezing. Although even then I preferred swimming over tennis. I always liked spending hours swimming up and down or just playing with water even under the hot sun but not tennis. After a couple of years of both sports I was again being swayed by my parents to enter into competitions. This is when I chose swimming as I felt more natural to compete in water than land. Hence tennis was gradually stopped.

Do you think that this was something you were born with or later developed because of the passion for it?
I partly believe that swimming was something that I was born with, but it was definitely developed later. My journey as a competitive swimmer started when I won my first championship in the school swim meet as the under 9 champion, this is when I was exposed to inter-school competitions along with hard squad training. Placing and reaching qualifying standards in inter school meets in my early years is not something every swimmer who under did the same training I did achieved. Therefore I guess it’s a talent I have within me along with of course the training.

What was it like to be a swimmer growing up? How did the training schedules and fit in with studies?
Back then there were only a very limited number of competitive swimmers in my school. And at one point I was the youngest swimmer who represented school. Hence became to be known as a swimmer and every time I didn’t do so well in class my teachers were more than willing to put the blame on swimming, which although was of course the main reason. Swimming morning and evening never left me with enough time to study or do my home work. But this didn’t affect me much until my O/L years, where I really had to start balancing my swimming and studies. Until then I was never the kid who studied, I would swim in the morning come to school sleep during the first periods have fun with my friends go home and get ready to go swim again. This was the routine until my 9th or 10th grade, and that’s what it was like to be a swimmer. Thereafter the real challenge began. As by this time it was not swimming that I had to juggle with my studies but synchronized swimming and water polo. Studies since then for me was about how well I cram before an exam to get good results specially to show my parents so that they wont make me stop my sports.

Did you have any inspiration?
I like taking up challenges. The only motivation I had then was to complete the challenge I made to myself. I wanted to continue my sports and other activities I did in school while achieving the highest there, as well as in my studies. I didn’t have targets as such in my sports but had in my studies particularly in order to not have my parents make me give them up. Hence my inspiration was to take up that challenge and completing it.

Any particular person that you looked up to while growing up?
Up to date the only person I look up to and who inspires me to keep trying hard is my father. Seeing him work so hard makes me never want to give up or leave something I started unfinished.

What are the sports you got into?
Swimming and Tennis was started together, later I was led into synchronized swimming, water polo and a bit of diving.

What made you get in to other areas of sports as well..?
My passion for swimming made me want to do everything in water. When I was excelling in swimming at school, the seniors at that time who was doing synchronized swimming called me to join the water ballet team. In a couple of years school started water polo, and I was being called for that too. For me it was another opportunity to spend more time in water, which was not just about swimming straight lengths, thus grabbed the chance. Later there was a need for more divers in our school diving team in order to win the championship at inter school games. If you can swim, learning to do water ballet or water polo for the novice level isn’t a difficult task relative to diving, to dive you need to learn a whole new set of skills and a lot of practice to get your body to fall straight into water. Yet when our diving captain called me to join the team I took up the challenge as I wanted to be able to do all the sports that can be done in water. Though diving was stopped soon after I won first place in the novices, as I wanted to focus more on synchronized swimming and water polo.

How did you take to synchronized swimming.?
When my life as a competitive swimmer began I had to under go immense training sessions morning and night, this eventually made me start to dislike swimming. As I said I loved to leisurely swim up and down a pool hence not so much of hard ‘sprinting’ work outs, done in squad training.

Hence when I was given the opening to do a sport in water which didn’t involve tough training or rather I thought it didn’t, I grasped the opportunity.

What did you find so enthralling about it?
I have seen senior synchronized swimmers in our school performing at our annual house meets, and have always wanted to learn it. It was all about swimming under water holding your breath, doing flips and turns; that was just about the things I would love to do in water in fact those that I do when I get a break in between swimming sets. So synchronized swimming was just the sport that I was dreaming of. I joined during my 6th grade, and was the youngest member of the team. My parents were more towards swimming, but I was in love with synchronized swimming which had everything to with what I would want to do in water. So my aim at that time was to excel in water ballet and make my parents love the sport too, and then gradually stop competitive swimming.

Able to win in my first synchro meet it self made it clear to my parents that my immense enthusiasm for the sport will be a waste if not supported, hence they let me gradually give up swimming. After winning the solo championship title in 2003, my journey as a national synchronized swimmer began.

How would u rate synchronized swimming in terms of difficulty with other sports?
Synchro is just as much difficult as any other sport. I would say that it is perhaps more difficult than others, as it requires holding your breath under water. Yes, swimming too requires holding your breath but if you are finding it hard you can always come out and grasp for air. While in synchro everything from a movement to breathing is all timed according to synchronization. Hence no matter how hard it is you have to hold your breath till the right time comes, or you loose points for the entire team. It is also a blend of many other sports, you need to be flexible as in gymnastics, your movements have to be strong as in tae kwon do, and creative with a sense for music as in ballet. In short synchro is about holding your breath with moving your legs in the air to music, synchronization and most importantly timing. Hence it requires just as much as stamina as in any other sport.

What does it take to be a synchro swimmer.?
Being able to swim and holding your breath is merely not enough to be a successive synchronized swimmier. As mentioned earlier, you have to be creative when it comes to choreographing a routine. What makes you outstanding among other synchronize swimmers is how well you choreograph your routine with movements that blend with the right choice of music together with facial expressions, especially in the solo competitions.

What was your biggest achievement?
I would say my biggest achievement was rather two particular achievements I earned together at the same time. Hence the biggest achievement was achieving them both at the same time. 2006/07 was my A/Level years in school. 2006 December was when I competed at the 15th Asian Games representing the SL synchro team. In 2006 May we were sent to compete at the Japan Open Synchro swimming open championships as a trial to get chosen to be sent for the Asian Games. I was appointed captain of the team to Japan, and was able to win a bronze at Japan making us qualified to go for the Asian Games. Hence being able to compete at Asian Games as a member of the team was thus my biggest achievement few months before my next big achievement. Soon after coming down from Doha there was no excuse what so ever but to start cramming my studies to sit for A/Levels in just 6 months. Yet, in 2007 I didn’t stop my sports or other activities in school, thus my only aim was to pass my A’s without failing. So I started studying juggling everything together. I didn’t want to let down my parents or school, so I kept pushing my self to study and earning those 3 A’s, I consider it as my biggest achievement together with being able to represent SL at the second biggest games in the world.

What was your most memorable moment in you career?
Again there are three most memorable moments I’m indifferent from. First was the moment I was performing at the Asian Games. I will never forget the feeling felt when we were standing in line watching the Olympic silver medalists perform as we were to go right after them. The nervousness and the voice in side saying that there are millions of people watching and that I cannot let down my team, and in case I do it means that let down my whole country cannot be described.

Second was my final year playing for school at the water polo nationals. It the final year of four of our senior players with me being one of them, it’s also the last match of the season. We won the previous year and if we lose this it will be the memory the four of us will have to leave with. Pressure was immense to win, finally we started scoring and I scored at the second half which was again an incredible feeling I’ll always remember, especially after the final whistle was blown to say we won.

Third was when all my achievements through sports finally paid off at my last colours award ceremony at school. That is when I was awarded the ‘most outstanding sports personality of the year’ Visakha Vidyalaya.

How did you motivate yourself to go through all the tough training schedules?
Once you get in to a team there is no turning back. Whether you represent SL or your school there is always a reserve that would be put to your place if you don’t commit your self to training. And there isn’t a greater privilege for me than representing my country or school. So I would train with all my effort to keep earning my place.

What do u think is lacking in the current SL system for synchro swimming?
I would say that it lacks proper administration. Synchro too needs just as much as funding as any other sport to get down the appropriate equipments. One of the major draw backs in our national meets is that we lack an under water speaker system that is essential for conducting professional synchro competitions. The lack of sufficient number of coaches promoted is also another draw back.

do think has to happen if SL is going to be a serious contender for synchro events?
The problem in synchro which might be the case as in any other sport is that most swimmers tend to give up the sport once they are through with school to pursue in higher education. In synchro it takes a number of years to come close to the now dominating teams like Russia or Japan. Merely training during school is not sufficient to reach that standard. Thus to reach them you need to develop a swimmer who would devote her self for as long as it takes to get there. Yet SL still can be a serious contender if proper training is given. I suppose that this could be done if the administration brings down an international coach annually for clinics so we can learn the new evolving training techniques etc. or even paying an international coach for a few months to train the team before an international competition.

What would a normal day for Rovini be like.?
Apart from studying during my exams which I would do almost the whole day with little breaks in between; as I’m used to cramming, when I get my holidays I would spend the day helping my mother with cooking, playing with our dogs and watching TV. Later in the evening I would go for coaching.

What are your pastimes?
I’m currently in my third year at Royal Institute doing my B. Sc in Economics and Management. I also just completed my first year at the University of Colombo undergoing an arts degree.

Describe a day that you will term as "fun"?
Spending the day with my school friends or my team mates talking about our past times recalling all the fun and exciting moments we shared while having a good laugh.

What are your hobbies?
Coaching synchro and tutoring economics to my friends who needs help with the subject.

As a coach how do you motivate your team?
Coaching synchronize swimming at Visakha for me is the most natural contribution I can give to the school, as I practically grew up with the sport, captaining the team from 2005 to 2007. When I coach I always make it a point to get in to the pool and coach, although it can be done staying outside. Seeing me illustrating every ‘scull’ and ‘move’ gracefully is what motivates my swimmers, sometimes showing them harder moves also makes them want to keep trying and work hard to try to do them. And I will teach and show one move as much many numbers it takes to individual swimmers until they get it right inspires them the most.

What do you think are the most essential qualities when being a coach?
Merely being an excellent swimmer or player in any sport is not sufficient to be an excellent coach. You have to have the ability to teach those skills you hold to others in a way they easily understand and pick up. I believe coaches should not make training too rigid and boring; they should always make it fun and interesting so that the players would eventually love the sport rather than taking it as a load.

What inspires you to be by the pool telling youngsters what to do?
Every time I go to the pool and see the youngsters it takes me back to my early days reminding me how once I was where they are right now. So it makes me want to coach them with everything I have learnt from my coaches and things that I have figured alone leaving no room to struggle on their own to learn. Thus seeing them so enthusiastic and doing well in competitions making me proud inspires me to keep going back and help them improve them selves, reaching what I have achieved or even more.

What are you ambition for the future?
Right now my ambitions are to do well in my two degrees aiming for the highest and try to achieve it with the best I can.

Where does Ms Illukkumbura see her self 5 years from now?
I don’t have any set targets as such. I just focus on my day and always long to be the best I ca be in whatever I do. I believe the rest will fall in line.