At the age of 3, Spring Ativ accidentally arrived at a lake in Southern Park in Tel Aviv and her life has changed since then.

• Spring is in action. An example of perseverance

  Photo: 

  Danny Maron

At the age of 3, Aviv Ativ arrived with her family by chance to the artificial lake for cable water skiing in South Park in Tel Aviv for a visit that changed her life. With parents who love sports and a brother who is five years older and also fell in love with the industry, the lake soon became her second home.

At moments when she didn't catch a nap in the cart, she would play, jump into the water, and in between, also ski on the hands of old surfers. Two years later, at the age of 5, she had already started surfing herself. At the age of 12, she first represented the Israeli national team, and today, when she is 24, she ranks third in the world in the slalom category, having won a bronze at the 2018 World Championships, a moment that is right up to this moment until the next contest, which is currently rejected due to the Corona.

Cable water skiing is not an Olympic sport, so the budget is substantially smaller. To persevere, an athlete or athlete who engages in these kinds of industries should be driven primarily - and perhaps only - by a huge love for what they do. This interview took place just minutes after Attive had completed a morning workout that began at seven. Her sparkle in her eyes is not only the result of the adrenaline rushing in her body, but also the constant emotion she has for the sport.

When you see your achievements and your abilities, didn't you think about moving to another industry?

"I wouldn't give myself to another branch anymore. As I grew up, I came to understand that this is the branch that takes me away from seriousness and love. One year before I won a bronze at the World Championships, I broke my ankle and it was clear that I was recovering and coming back while people seemed weird, Intends to retire.

Good. "Believe in what I do" // Photo by Danny Maron

"At that time, financial thoughts came up. I thought myself about profit versus loss, and I came to the conclusion that the gains I get in sports, empowerment, dealing with challenges and obstacles, the ability to give feedback to myself - are things I take for granted as well."

And yet, when you see an athlete in the Olympic industry with more exposure, doesn't that tickle?

"In the mainstream, there is not much room, and he also dictates to the company, 'It's okay, it's less.' It's just that all unconventional is what's diverse, the rainbow is beautiful when all the colors are in it. When a child comes to enjoy water skiing and not football, it's exciting, everything is allowed. Being that I am not in the media or at the front does not mean that my work is not difficult and that I do not represent Israel with respect or that my mission is less important, believes in what I do. "

Round the clock training

Spring trains 5-4 times a week in skiing and also works out in the gym, doing pilates, yoga, release training and strengthening. In order to sustain herself financially and in thinking about the future, she is currently finishing her electrical engineering degree, holds a gym instructor certificate and previously worked in waitresses. She needs most of the support that allows her to be concentrated in the sport to two organizations without which she would probably have long since given up - "Ayelet" and "Athena".

Good in action. "Without 'Eilat', many industries would not exist" // Photo: Danny Maron

From Eilat, a body that supports all non-Olympic industries, it receives a scholarship, and on behalf of Athena, which was established to promote female empowerment through sports, she teaches in schools as a significant part of the agenda of giving equal opportunity to both sexes.

When she talks about these bodies, her eyes sparkle. "Without 'Eilat' many branches would not exist. The scholarship holds its head above water. People couldn't invest so much without having anything to eat. 'Athena' gives women the social approval that they are in the right place.

"There is a great desire to make a perception and change in people. Sport does not harm the beauty model and it is also suitable for girls. Sport is also a women's world. I tell what the sport has given me in my personal life and I also feel a stronger and more powerful woman."

Good. "Experience and hours on the water only help" // Photo by Danny Maron 

Do you hurt if water skiing becomes Olympic just after you retire?

"It will hurt me that it didn't happen in my time, but I'll be happy for the sport and more - for the world, this industry is a miss that people don't know enough and aren't exposed to."

What are the aspirations for the future?

"In this industry, age is less of a factor. Experience and hours on the water only help, so in this sport the years are doing well. I really want to be a world champion and be in the industry as long as I feel I can make an impact."