Renzo Tjon A Joe makes 100 m. frestyle final in Toronto PanAm games

Renzo Tjon A Joe has made the A final for the 100 meters freestyle. He had the sixth  fastest time and set a new Surinamese record 49.47. The top eight make the A finals and swim for medals.He was third in heat 2 which was the fastest heat.

Renzo in Toronto

He swims tonight in lane 1 at 7.15 pm Canada time EST. 8.15 our time in Suriname.

Send him thoughts of excellence and success.

Auburn Pan Am Finalists.

His friends at AlphaMax Academy and at Oasis swim club are willing him on to get a medal.Of course the The Auburn Pan Am team is looking real good! 100 Free A-Final Tonight ‪#‎Auburnfast‬ ‪#‎Wareagle‬ ‪#‎Toronto2015‬


Results of the three heats  (first three):
Heat 1
1. Canada  CONDORELLI Santo
48.88
2 Canada KISIL Yuri
49.07
3 Trinidad and Tobago CARTER Dylan
49.29
Heat 2
1.Argentina GRABICH Federico
48.60
2. Brazil CHIERIGHINI Marc..
48.92
3.Suriname TJON-A-JOE Renzo
49.47
Heat 3
1.Venezuela QUINTERO Cristian
49.07
2.Brazil SANTANA Matheus
49.52
3.Cayman Islands FRASER Brett
49.58

A Tribute for Graduation Day-Kaye Dunn ACT Education Solutions Ltd.

A Tribute for Graduation Day, 29th June 2015

From Kaye Dunn Senior Academic Manager (Global) ACT Education Solutions, Ltd.

I would dearly love to be with you today on this wonderful occasion –your graduation from the Global Assessment Certificate (GAC)! This year’s cohort has worked hard with their teachers to develop the skills that will help them to succeed in their future studies, career and life.

Michelle Chow GAC Graduate and Valedictorian

Although I have never met you, I do feel that I know each of you very well and have in many ways been on the GAC journey with you. I have observed your academic and personal development from afar throughout this academic year. I have read all of the assessments that come into our shared Dropbox folder and watched with great pleasure your role plays, oral presentations and seminars. Now I do have to admit one guilty pleasure – I always look forward to moderating assessments from AlphaMax Academy as they always demonstrate confidence and a willingness to examine complex and difficult issues. This can only come from a supportive educational environment that encourages all those involved to push the envelope. Through your written and spoken work I have been privileged to be participant – in a small way – in preparing you for a life in a new and changing world. I am confident that you will all make great contributions in the coming years. It has also been a great pleasure to continue learning about Suriname and I look forward to visiting in person!

I would also like to applaud you because now you are part of a large global family of high-achievers who can proudly claim, “I survived the GAC!” and as you know from experience, this is a well-earned achievement and not for the faint at heart! I am sure that there were times you thought you would never get to this day! You have worked your way through the sometimes seemingly endless expectations of the GAC and are now ready for the next stage of your life. You can be sure that all the academic and social skills that you have developed over the course of this academic year in the GAC have prepared you for a successful future in whatever course you choose to follow. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said; “The things taught in schools and colleges are not an education, but the means of education.” It is my hope that GAC has provided you with the building blocks that will foster your ongoing growth and development as you move through life’s journey.

As you embark on this new journey I would ask that you keep three things in your mind and heart:

First of all, NEVER lose faith in yourself and what you can do. Follow your heart and your intuition. Let them lead you towards to person you really want to become and help you achieve everything you really want to achieve. Believe in yourself and follow your heart! As Steve Jobs once said: Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart, and intuition

Secondly, don’t ever compromise your basic values – do only what you truly believe is the right thing to do. Even if everyone else is doing something else, trust in yourself and the values you have been taught by your parents, your community, your school and your teachers. Define your values – commit to your values. As Time Cook, CEO of Apple said: “Your values matter. They are your North Star. You don’t have to choose between doing good and doing well. It’s a false choice, today more than ever. Your challenge is to find work that pays the rent, puts food on the table, and lets you do what is right and good and just. Find your North Star. Let it guide you in life and work and in your life’s work.”


And finally please remember to dream! After all, as Mark Twain said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

And so to each of you in this graduating class of 2015 – Congratulations and Good Luck!

And many congratulations to your wonderful teachers who have guided and nurtured you through this stage of your education with a great deal of care and dedication.

Congratulations and best wishes to all of you!


From Kaye Dunn, Senior Academic Manager(Global) on behalf of Ros Washington, the Academic Director and all the staff of ACT Education Solutions Ltd.

The GAC program at AlphaMax Academy

My name is Chayenne Crystal Flohr.  I am one of the members of the 2015 AlphaMax Academy graduating class. This year was my 3rd year at AlphaMax. During this year, I got the opportunity to participate in the Global Assessment Certificate (GAC) program which is a preparation program for college and university. I am thankful, blessed, and have no regrets  taking this great opportunity.

Chayenne Flohr

The Global Assessment Certificate program prepares each student for college and university. It provides students from mostly non-English-speaking backgrounds with the knowledge and skills to prepare them for tertiary education. The GAC is accredited in Australia by ACT Education Solutions Ltd. 

All our  the tests and assignments were moderated there. For all subjects assignments and tests need to be done. Then, the tests and assignments will be corrected by a teacher, and then sent to Australia for moderation.

The GAC consists of three levels. Level 1 has six subjects – Academic English 1, Mathematics, Computing, Study Skills, Communication Skills. Level 2 has Academic English, Mathematics, Science, Computing, Business and Social Science.

Students are allowed to choose whether they want to do Social Science or Mathematics in level 2 and Level 3.
Lever 3 has Academic English, Business, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, and Computing.

The GAC class of 2014-2015
This year, eight students have participated in the GAC course of 2015 – Michelle Chow, Angelique Doorson, Chayenne Flohr, Jamiel Habieb, Joy Jones, Daniel Kolf, Alain Soekhlal & Tianshu Zhang. During this last year, the eight of us became so close with each other. We became one big team, including our instructor, Mr. Milton Drepaul, and our other teachers like Mr. Leroy Marshall, Mr. Emile Krak, Mrs. Sharon Hoppie and Mr. Sean Taylor.

GAC 2015 AlphaMax Academy

In order to complete this course, we needed to do several  tests and assignments for each level. The assignments consisted of PowerPoint presentations, research papers and reports. For a science research report, we went on an environmental field trip to the Anton De Kom University of Suriname. To complete the other assignments, we needed to do a lot of research online.

I think, at some point, we underestimated this course. The reason why is that we thought it was not difficult. It was a lot of work, because a lot of research was needed to do the reports. A research process does not last an hour, but several days or even weeks. This was the point where most of us struggled a lot. One problem we all had was procrastination.

I want to advise all the future GAC students to take this course seriously. Don’t put things off. For example, if you have got an assignment to do belief start today. Don’t start a day before the due day. Stay dedicated, focused and positive. There is a time for fun, and a time for seriousness. If it is time to be serious, be serious! Be open-minded, and do not fear to learn. You all can do it. Have belief in yourself and your actions. Don’t look at others, but start by yourself. You all are the leaders of tomorrow!
Chayenne Flohr--Alphamax Academy and GAC 2015 Graduate.

My good friend and fellow GAC student Alain Soekhlal

Alain Soekhlal  is one of 2015 graduates from the AlphaMax Academy.  He will be reciving both the AlphaMax Advanced Diploma and the Global Assessment Certificate from ACT Education Solutions in Australia. 

Alain is a good student. He was` ranked second in our GAC class group. He is also a good friend. Alain is like a brother to me;we have known each other for over four years now. 

During our last school year here at the AlphaMaxAcademy we did the very testing GAC course to prepare ourselves for university academic work.We studied together and we did most of our homework together. This is also a reason why we became so close to each other. Alain's first big dream is to become a great Architect. His second  dream is to become a famous Equestrian.

Alain is now going to study at the SCAD University (Savannah Collage of Art and Design). This is a University in Georgia where he is going to study to become an Architect  Alain is looking forward to studyinging in the United States and he feels  his dreams will come true there.

Alain is now a member of Club Neuteraal. Club Neuteraal is club in Suriname where Equestrians can come and practice horse riding. Thy also compete in competitions in Suriname and also out of Suriname. Alain went to different countries to represent Suriname at horse jumping compositions.

Alain & I on our GAC Science Field Trip

   

Alain on Dakota-one of his horses

Even though we are both going to study in different places, we will still remain brothers. Our last year here at the AlphaMax Academy taught us that friendship is very important. Good friends are always there for each other and that is what Alain and I have. During our GAC course we were always supporting each other and pushing each other to do our best.

Friends who will push you to your limit are the ones you should keep!

Jamiel Habieb-AlphaMax and GAC 2015 Graduate.

Ambassador Subrashini's remarks on garlanding of Tagore's bust- AlphaMax Academy

In a short but moving ceremony the ICC and the AlphaMax community honored Rabindranath Tagore by garlanding his bust in the school compound.

Students and staff did school assembly around the bust. The school's anthem prayer " Where the head is held  high " - a poem from Tagore's Gitangali was said. Two hymns were sung then the bust was garlanded by Ambassador of India in Suriname Ms. Subrashini, Senior teachers, Members of ICC and the youngest students in the school.

Ambassador Subrashini of India

Mr. Taylor, Mr. Drepaul, Mr. Kraak, other teachers, staff and students.
A very good morning to all of you.
Once again I am happy to be here to celebrate Rabindranath Tagore’s 154th birth anniversary in the esteemed institution of Alpha Max Academy.

We all know Tagore as a great poet, playwright and educationist. Tagore’s belief in scientific knowledge and his concept of humanism which transcended nationalism and patriotism into universal brotherhood makes him a visionary who anticipated the global village in which we live today.

His thoughts on these issues are of great relevance even today and I quote “  to accept the truth of our own age it will be necessary to establish a new education on the basis, not of nationalism but of a wider relationship of humanity”.

He believed that education should be comprehensive to teach us different aspects of life including the mundane and the spiritual. As a visionary his views on environment and women’s rights make him relevant to our existence today. Strong sense of aesthetics, freedom and dignity of human beings were some of the themes of his works.
Tagore saw the world as a vast give-and-take of ideas and innovations. He insisted that “whatever we understand and enjoy in human products instantly becomes ours, wherever they might have their origin.” He went on to proclaim, “I am proud of my humanity when I can acknowledge the poets and artists of other countries as my own. Let me feel with unalloyed gladness that all the great glories of man are mine.” The importance of such ideas has not diminished in the divisive world in which we now live.

It is imperative that we deliberate on these modern thoughts and ideas of Tagore and derive benefits to better our lives Thank you.

AlphaMax Academy wins English Spelling Bee for third time.

AlphaMax Academy won the first prize for Suriname English language schools or the third time in succession in the English Spelling Bee Contest. The contest was held on Saturday 18th August in the Congreshal in Paramaribo.This also means that the Academy is now the proud owner of the challenge trophy!

Photo: de Ware Tijd

There also was an English Spelling Bee contest for schools in which Dutch is the medium of instruction.

 In a separate round in this year's contest students had to give the meaning of English words.

“By going bigger, we want to realize a long-term goal, which is participating in the foreign Spelling Bee”, says Ms. Monique Brown, director of Stichting Leren voor een goede toekomst (Foundation of Learning for a good future). (Quote from article in de Ware Tijd Daily 20 April, 2015.)

One of the goals of the organization is promoting English language education in schools. She said that she was surprised that the children were so good.

This year AlphaMax Academy was the only participant in the category of schools in which English is the medium of instruction. Other English Language schools did not participate for a variety of reasons.

Since AlphaMax was the only school contestant,  AlphaMax students had to compete with each other. The overall winner was Archana Mangal. In second place was Joanna Daher and Sheetal Anroedh came  third . They got prizes; Archana Mangal got a trophy to keep and a laptop.

Archana Mangal said: “I not only wanted to participate but to broaden my knowledge, I also wanted to prove myself. And it is very important to be able to communicate in the English language.”

The students were prepared by AlphaMax Academy English instructors Kawita Thani,  Sharon Hoppie, Simone Griffith and  Cheryylyn Cambridge .

Carinlangs students -Kawita Thani,Vishal Ramjiawan and Gina Persaud were members of the jury  AlphaMax put  a lot of effort into preparing its students and helping to to organize the contest.

AlphaMax, and Archana, Joanna, Sheetal in particular, Congratulations!
 Source:  de Ware Tijd
Mr. Atma Jagbandhan,

Science instructor -AlphaMax Academy

IELTS Examination on 23-25 April

The IELTS Examination will take place at the AlphaMax Academy from April 23 to 25.

The IELTS  session is scheduled as follows:

-       23rd April –
                   IELTS speaking at 2:30 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. approx. (8 candidates)

-       24th April – IELTS speaking from 9 a.m. to 12 m (8 candidates)

      IELTS speaking from 1:30 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. (9 candidates)

-       25th April – IELTS written session from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (25 candidates) All candidates must show up at 12 noon.

Renzo Tjon A Joe--riding forward to greater success.

AlphaMax Academy sends out advent greeting for the 15 December

Last year our talented swimmer Renzo Tjon A Joe ( ranked number 7 in the world in the 50m) gave a sterling performance as Herod in the school's unique version of the Nativity .

Renzo has moved from success to success. He became a professional swimmer for Auburn ( one of the leading teams in the US); he won silver and bronze .

Renzo Riding in the Desert 2014

Renzo as Herod

medals in the Carifta, Central American and Caribbean Games and the recent Doha World Junior Championships.

He continues to  break the national records in his events.

Here is Renzo--riding a camel in the Sahara desert.
We salute him and his achievements. This year we remember fondly your powerful acting performance which earned you a standing ovation.

Nativity Play 2013

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

AlphaMax Graduation & Opening of Cosmic Heart Fountain

2014 Graduates

 with Milton Drepaul

Last weekend, the school year at the AlphaMax Academy came to a close in a sphere of festive activities.  On Saturday, nine students received their diplomas.

Valedictorian for the Class of 2014 was Reann Kersenhout.  Reann received the highest school awards for her super performance in the Global Assessment Certificate program, which she completed with 17 distinctions out of 18 subjects.  Her super performance gave the 16 year student of Suriname a perfect average score of 4.00.  This very rare achievement – perhaps the only one this year worldwide – was applauded with a special Certificate of Achievement and a Scholarship Award from examiners in Australia.

Among the highlights of this year’s Graduation and Awards ceremonies was the opening in the Academy’s courtyard of the Cosmic Heart fountain.  It is a unique gift from Caribbean sculptor, James Barrow, who lives in Barbados.

The AlphaMax Academy was established in Suriname in September 1998; the school attracts students from Suriname who are keen to receive their education in English, the world language.  The Academy offers classes to students from Kindergarten through the VWO level, the first-year of University study.

Reann Kersenhout achieves perfect GPA score for GAC 2014

The GAC team in Australia has congratulated Reann Kersenhout on achieving a perfect GPA of 4.0 from her GAC work this year.

To acknowledge her work Reaan will receive two awards.

Reann speaking at Mandela Memorial

One is a certificate of Achievement from Ros Washington , Head of GAC and her AES academic team. The second is a cash award from the General Manager , Gaye Pullyn.

The AlphaMax community is proud of Reann's achievements.

Excellent Professional Tagore Performance

AlphaMax Academy students put on an excellent, professional performance last night in the Tagore celebration of Gitanjali.

Eight dancers trained by Mrs.Kawita Thani thrilled the audience with their skill and stage finesse. Surinamers were proud that students from all the major Suriname communities could master the cultural dance from another country.

Reann Kersenhout -GAC 2014 class as well as AlphaMax 2014 graduating class joined Randy Esajas also a 2014 graduate and Daniel Kolf to give intensely focused powerful dramatic presentations of Tagore ' s poetry that left many marveling at the acting skills of Suriname ' s young people in English.

Parents were impressed that the school's director, dance/drama tutor and five other members of staff were fully involved with the production and either performed or worked alongside the student team.

The three ambassadors and other distinguished guests asked the school to convey their congratulations on a thoroughly professional performance.
Members of the audience also praised the smooth, flawless collaboration between AlphaMax, the Indian Cultural Center and Carinlangs.

Tagore bust at AlphaMax Academy

Rabindranath Tagore was born on May 7th, 1861, and died on August 7th, 1941.

Tagore bust at AlphaMax Academy in Suriname.

The Tagore bust at the AlphaMax Academy is one of a dozen effigies unveiled worldwide to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations worldwide. Tagore is the author of one of the anthems students and teachers of the AlphaMax community use daily in school assemblies.

Suriname's First Lady speaking at the unveiling of Tagore bust. 

The Tagore Bust-unveiling ceremony  was done on June 4th, 2011. Suriname’s First Lady Ingrid Waldring-Bouterse unveiled the bust with Ambassador K.J.S. Sodhi. 

One of the highlights of the Tagore bust-unveiling ceremony was the ICC-sponsored Bihu Dance Troupe which had travelled from Assim, India, to perform. This was their premiere performance in Paramaribo.

Tagore Ideals on Education

The curriculum at AlphaMax Academy is strongly influenced by the ideals of India's celebrated poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore.

Tagore Bust in the courtyard at AlphaMax Academy

From its inception in September 1998, teachers and students of the Academy have recited, often daily, those memorable words which first appeared in Tagore’s world-famous and respected collection of poetry, "Gitanjali."

            

"Where the mind is without fear and head is held high           

 Where knowledge is free             

 Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls         

 Where words come out from the depth of truth              

 Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection               

 Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary dead sand of dead habit              

 Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action      

 Into that heaven of free, my dear beloved God, let us all awake”.

First Lady of Suriname speaking at the  unveiling of Tagore monument

On June 4th 2011 Suriname’s First Lady Ingrid Bouterse Waldring unveiled the Tagore monument, a sculpted bronze figure of Tagore, which has a plaque that bears this inspiring prayer.This monument, a gift from India to Suriname, is one of several worldwide. AlphaMax Academy is proud to be the custodian of Tagore's bust for the people of Suriname.

In 1918, Tagore founded Visva Bharati University – an international center of Culture and Humanistic Studies.

Tagore considered the lack of education to be the main obstacle in the way of national progress and at the root of all its problems. He thought that the basic objectives of any worthwhile national education system were to promote, creativity, freedom, joy, and an awareness of a country’s cultural heritage.

Therefore he worked assiduously towards developing an appropriate system of national education. He felt that each nation was different and this fact should be reflected in its system of education.

Some of his salient thoughts on this topic were:
“In every nation, education [should be] intimately associated with the life of the people.”

“Let the students gather knowledge and materials from different regions of the country, from direct sources and from their own independent efforts.”

“We must try to understand how [our native] genius express[es] itself… Unless we try to put these together and discover the integrating factors behind these diverse streams of thought and make them a subject of study at our universities, we would only be borrowing knowledge from abroad. The natural habitat for knowledge is where it is produced. The main task of universities is to produce knowledge, its dissemination is its secondary function. We must invite those intellectuals and scholars to our universities who are engaged in research, invention or creative activity.”

To help foster and enrich the holistic formation of its young scholars, from its inception, the Academy has devoted four of its five school days to left-brain academic and ratiocinative development and activities, and one full school day to right-brain creative endeavors.

An unswerving resilient insistence on the latter is vintage Tagore, who like his Occidental contemporaries, Rudolf Steiner and Maria Montessori deplored lop or one-sided child/human development at the expense of a willful fostering and guidance of creative gifts and skills.  Indeed it is through the latter that the inner ‘child’ is nurtured and brought to a ripe maturity.

To illustrate how important contact with nature was to the life of the educator and poet, during one of his many travels to lecture in the West, Tagore wrote:

“I wish I could be released from this mission.  For such missions are like a  mist that envelops our souls – they seem to shut us off from the direct touch of God’s world…  The springtime has come – the sky is over-flowing  with sunshine.  I long to be one with the birds, and trees and the green  earth.  The call comes to me from the air to sing, but, wretched creature  that I am, I lecture – and by doing it I ostracize myself from this great world of songs to which I was born.”

New York, March 18th, 1921.

On Mat 7th 2014 there will be a garlanding of Tagore's Bust at AlphaMax Academy.

Carinlangs and AlphaMax Invite you to celebrate Tagore's birth anniversary

First Lady of Suriname with Former Ambassador of Suriname in front of Tagore bust at AlphaMax Academy.

You are warmly invited to a Celebration of Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali:” An Evening of Poetry, Music & Dance” on Saturday, May 10th, 2014 at  7 p.m.

This special evening of celebration for India’s most  prolific and best known artist takes place at the AlphaMax Educational complex - Stanvastestraat 18-24 (Zorg en hoop).

The program is being done by the Caribbean Institute ofLanguage Studies (Carinlangs^®) and AlphaMax Academy in collaboration with Indian Cultural Center and Embassy of India.
Read a book on Tagore.

Suriname Renzo Tjon A Joe 7th in World Class Field at Mesa Arizona

MESA, Arizona, April 25.

Suriname’s sprint champion Renzo Tjon A Joe reached the finals of the men’s 50-meter freestyle at the Arena Grand Prix in Arizona Mesa Grand Priz, USA swimming.Mesa. He placed 7th in this world class field with a time of 22.84.

Suriname Sprint Champion Renzo Tjon A Joe.

Sprint star Nathan Adrian won the men's 50-meter freestyle in 21.73 - a top five time in the world .
Nathan is a three-time Olympic gold medalist who currently holds the American record in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events.

Adrian now moves to fifth in the SwimVortex world rankings, bettering his 21.89 from the Austin stop of the Arena Grand Prix. Phoenix Swim Club's Roland Schoeman touched down second in 22.19, while the South African Nationals. NYAC's Josh Schneider earned third in 22.24.



Nathan Adrian

Also in the final with Renzo Tjon A Joe were :NYAC's Jimmy Feigen (22.55), California's Anthony Ervin (22.57), PASA's Alex Coville (22.65), and SwimAtlanta's Karl Krug (22.92).

=== A - Final ===

1 Adrian, Nathan 25 California Aquat 22.75 21.73 891
r:+0.73
2 Schoeman, Rolan 33 Phoenix Swim Clu 22.43 22.19 836
r:+0.65
3 Schneider, Josh 26 New York Athleti 22.70 22.24 831
r:+0.69
4 Feigen, Jimmy 24 New York Athleti 22.94 22.55 797
r:+0.78
5 Ervin, Anthony 32 California Aquat 22.59 22.57 795
r:+0.64
6 Coville, Alex 25 Palo Alto Stanfo 22.90 22.65 786
r:+0.70
7 Tjon A Joe, Renzo 18 Azura Florida Aq 22.91 22.84 767
r:+0.67
8 Krug, Karl 24 SwimAtlanta-GA 22.89 22.92 759
r:+0.67

Renzo reaches final in 100m at Arizona.

On Friday, Renzo Tjon A Joe finished twelfth with a time of 22.75 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle to guarantee a place in the final of the Arena Grand Prix 2014 in Mesa.



Renzo in Arizona 100m

Former Olympic champion Ervin [Unlink] had the fastest entry time (21.42).Renzo is competing with 98 of the leading swimmers in the US. Later in the evening Renzo improved his time to 51.13 seconds finishing sixth in the B final and fourteenth overall.In the preliminaries he clocked 51.27.

The Arena Grand Prix at Mesa is the fourth stop of USA Swimming’s 2013-14 Arena Grand Prix Series, which provides the nation’s best swimmers six opportunities to face top-flight competition on U.S. soil. 50 members of the USA Swimming National Team are among the more than 500 athletes competing. The biggest name is undoubtedly the legendary Michael Phelps  - America's most successful Olympic swimmer who is returning to competitive swimming.

Phelps won silver in the 100m butterfly in 52.13, behind Ryan Lochte: 51.93. Renzo Tjon A Joe also swam the 100m butterfly. He finished 42th with a time of 56.94.

Renzo Tjon A Joe is Suriname's leading sprint swimmer and holder of the national 50m and 100m records. He is an AlphaMax Academy graduate and Sports prize winner. He was voted Suriname's Sportsman of the Year for his achievements.

Michael Grauwde off to Aruba to swim for Suriname

Michael Grauwde ,AlphaMax Academy Senior and member of the GAC 2014 class is taking part in the 29thCARIFTASwimming championships in Aruba from the 22 to the 26^th April. 

Michael is expected to take part in the backstroke events in the 15-17 year division. Mrs. Joan Grauwde, Michael’s mother and senior teacher at AlphaMax Academy is accompanying the team as a Surinamese swimming official. The meet will feature swimming, synchronized swimming and open water swimming.

Michael Grauwde Suriname Swimmer

The venue for the swimming and synchronized swimming will be the PISCINA OLIMPICO (Roly Bisslik”) in Savaneta_

The meet is the approved qualifier in swimming the Second Youth Olympic games and CAC 2014. The Youth Olympic Games will be held in Nanking ,China from August 16- 28 this year. The 22nd Central American and Caribbean Games will be held from Nov.14-30 in Vera Cruz,Mexico.

 The open water venue is the Mangel Halto Beach. There will be heats and finals from Tuesday to Friday in the Olympic Pool. On Saturday the open water event will be held before the closing ceremony.

Twenty-two swimming federations have been invited to participate. (Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba. Bahamas. Barbados. Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, French Guyana, Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands. British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands).

The Competition will be conducted in accordance with FINA Rules 2013-2017 in force at the start of the competition.

 Swimming Competitors will compete in the following age groups: Female & Male 11-12, 13-14 15-17. Synchronized Swimming Competitors will compete in Female 12 & Under, 13-15 and 16-18. Open Water Swimming will be for  Males and Females aged 13-14 and 15 to 17.

 Last year at the CARIFTA Games held in Jamaica ,Suriname  50m record holder Renzo Tjon A Joe won the 50m Gold medal in a time  of 23.44. Suriname came 8^th in the final ranking with 350.50 points. Guadeloupe topped with 742.  

Final CARIFTA points rankings: for the top ten teams were:

1. Guadeloupe – 742
2. Trinidad and Tobago – 698
3. Aruba – 659
4. Jamaica – 584
5. Bahamas – 507
6. Barbados – 485
7. Martinique – 353
8. Suriname – 350.50
9. Netherlands Antilles – 151
10. Cayman Islands – 107