The heat of battle for supremacy is rising. Teams from the United States, Trinidad & Tobago and the Bahamas will all converge on the Atlantis Crown Convention Center for the largest competitive meet in the Caribbean for 2011. Who will walk away with the “crown”? Will the USA with 26 clubs entered for the competition dominate or will it be Caribbean contenders from the Bahamas or Trinidad & Tobago to claim the title? It will be the first showdown between rival Bahamian clubs, Nassau Nastics and BGPBC-Bahamas Star Gymnastics. Who will emerge with the local bragging rights? Will it be the old guard, Nassau Nastics, under Head Coach Trevor Ramsey who has held monotony for almost 2 decades as the sole gymnastics program in the country? Or will the new upstart Club, BGPBC-Bahamas Star Gymnastics, under Cuban born and trained Head Coach Alexander Mayet prove that they have the rights to compete with the best? To find out, the competition kicks off December 16-18, 2011 at Atlantis.
The event, the brain child of Michigan based coaches, records its genesis during the summer of 2010 while these coaches were serving as clinicians at the Starmania Summer Camp of Bahamas Star Gymnastics. Having fallen in love with the beauty of the island, Al & Cindy Scharns and Claudia Kretschmer who are owners of Branch Gymnastics and Gym America respectively, saw potential for a meet of the magnitude that they run at least 3-4 times a year on US soil being hosted in Nassau. Tyrone Sawyer of the Ministry of Tourism and Mr. Miles Yallop of the Ministry of Sports played a pivotal role in convincing the government to place their support behind the meet. Atlantis Resort placed their own “crown” on the event by permitting their signature brand to be used in the name of the meet, Atlantis Crown Gymnastics Invitational which will feature both men’s and women’s competition.
With a little over a week to the official start, local and international organizers are working feverishly to put the finishing touches on preparations for the event. Approximately 400 athletes have registered to compete drawing 1,700 visitors to our shores. Next year’s event is expected to be even larger. Event information is available on the meet’s website www.atlantiscrown.com and bahamaslocal.com.
Coach Alexander Mayet, a physical education teacher in the Bahamas at Sadie Curtis Primary School and former member of Cuba’s men’s gymnastics national team now Head Coach at Bahamas Star Gymnastics.
Al & Cindy Scharns of Branch Gymnastics, one of the Atlantis Crown event organizers, during a courtesy call on Mr. Miles Yallop of Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture
