A mother's message
From Reem (mother of Bader & Dunia)
Our swim squad participated in the Middle East Unity Cup
on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th April.
This was their first time at this event and they competed along
with 800 other swimmers from 32 countries.
It doesn’t take much to be A CHAMPION!
All it takes is a commitment, a passion and a desire to learn, above all is the belief that NOHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.
This is what Bader has learned from his expert coaches Mr. Burak & Mr. Irakli and this is how the AJAC SQUAD team proved themselves in the Middle East Unity Cup swimming competition.
Bader started training one year ago with Mr. Burak. I remember his first days in the swimming pool, Bader had to stop in the middle of 25 meter pool to rest and take a deep breath.
Bader was just a SWIMMER and its taken him a year to be a CHAMPION.
Thanks to Mr. Burak for being a passionate coach and his ability to bring out the best of my son.
Mr. Burak is not an ordinary coach, he is a caring coach and a partner to his swimmers, he always gives constructive feedback and guidance not just about swimming, he guides the team on nutrition and physical health. He is keen to get the best out of them.
His passion to swimming has spread to our swimmers and his hardwork has been translated to a victory at Middle East Unity Cup Competition which was held @ HAMDAN COMPLEX.
On Friday 28th of April, 2017 and on the way to HAMDAN COMPLEX, Bader was nervous and his father tried to calm him down by saying “Bader calm down and consider this competition as a practice so do not stress out”. In my mind I was thinking that how is it possible that all the effort Mr. Burak has applied on our swimmers and Bader’s rigorous swimming will not be translated into success!!!
Then I said to Bader, “Bader, you need to win a medal from this competition, you need to get something out of this competition, you have worked hard and you should be rewarded for this” Well after saying this, I really hoped it would come true.
When we reached the complex, I felt part of something extraordinary, not only because there were 800 swimmers who came from different schools and countries but because of the overall atmosphere, the complex, the gun, the disqualification, the referees, the screams of the parents, the Olympic swimmers who came to support their teams, all of this made me feel that this is not an ordinary competition and it won’t be easy as a regular school swim gala.
When the race started, I was amazed by the performance of our swimmers; all of them were up and running, showing their best.
I was super amazed by the fact I was not able to differentiate our swimmers from other professional swimmers!
When our swimmers reached finals and Bader got the silver medal in 50m freestyle in championship team, I was convinced with the fact that “Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity"
The rigorous effort and the preparation that Mr. Burak has put in Bader and the SQUAD team was not wasted and it all showed how dedication and passion can make a difference.
My son and his team are very proud of Mr. Burak and Mr. Irakli as they made them champions last weekend.
I am happy and proud with Bader's achievement, is a translation of the hard work from expert coaching that Ajman Academy is lucky to have.
Reem X
Meet our Swim Coaches
Burak Bilgutay The Head Swim Coach
Burak is from Istanbul, Turkey, he speaks three languages (Turkish, English, French) and is married with two sons, who are the 4th generation swimmers in the family.
Burak was an active member of Turkish Swimming National Team during 1980s and 90s. He won the gold medal in 200 Butterfly and 200 Freestyle of his respected age in 1988 European Championship. He was also a member of National Freestyle relay team who broke numerous Turkish and Balkan records. Burak received full swimming scholorship from USA and completed his undergradute degrees there. Before arriving to UAE, he was an active member of Georgian Watersports Federation as Director of Swimming. His two sons, who are currently coached by him, are top ranked swimmers in Turkey, in Europe and in all Middle East.
Burak has numerous coaching certifications from ASCA. As a swimmer, coach and a member of swimming federations, he already devoted more than 25 years of his life to develop swimmers in Turkey, in USA and in Georgia.
Irakli Revishvili, Swim Coach
Irakli is from Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia and speaks three languages (English, Russian and Georgia).
Irakli has been an active member of Georgian National Swim Team since 2000. During the past 16 years, he represented his country in 5 European and 14 World Championships. He also participated to 2 Olympic Games including the most recent one in Rio, Brazil. He also currently holds, 6 National Records.
Irakli graduated from Georgian Sport and Physical Education College in 2008 and he has been coaching swimmers from all age groups and levels in Georgia and in Europe since 2010.
With his endless dedication and knowledge, Irakli will ensure to bring swimming and its positive attributes into the life of every student in Ajman Academy.
Luiza Marghescu, Swim Coach
Luiza was born in Romania and lived there until 2013 before she moved to the UAE. She speaks English, Spanish and Romanian. Away from school, Luiza likes to travel, listen to music and swim.
She graduated from the University of Sports Movement and Health Sciences in Romania, specialising in PE and swimming. Before coming to Ajman Academy she was teaching swimming from Kindergarten to Grade 10 in the International School of Chouiefat, Ras Al Khaimah, U.A.E.
Luiza believes that everything happens for a reason, education is a particular type of human action or intervention that influences our future. She is a strong believer that humanity will be better developed through education and that we can all reach our goals through persistence. She is eager to teach the students to swim and to have them represent Ajman Academy in swimming competitions in the future.