Ateneo Grade School pool named

ATENEO de Davao University president Fr. Joel Tabora, SJ, named the newly-constructed Grade School (GS) swimming pool after the late Rev. Rodolfo A. Malasmas, SJ, during the naming ceremony at the Ateneo Matina campus on Tuesday afternoon.

Tabora, in his message during the ceremony, said the Grade School community made the suggestion to name the facility in honor of Malasmas who is best remembered for his stint as GS headmaster.

Tabora said Malasmas "was always present in the school, teaching, encouraging, laughing, affirming our people in their service of our GS community, and as a Jesuit priest, leading them to God".
He added, "We dedicate this swimming facility to him with deep humility, knowing that actually we should dedicate to him a much more appropriate monument: a huge statue, a skyscraper, or a pyramid."

Tabora, in an interview, said the swimming pool is intended to give an opportunity for the grade school students to learn the basics of swimming before they graduate. He also hopes that the athletics program of the school will fully utilize the pool to produce quality swimmers.

Tabora also bared the construction of a new swimming pool for the High School students next year and another pool for the college students in 2014.

Ateneo athletic director William "Butch" Ramirez, in a separate interview, said the pool is intended to entice elementary students to learn swimming.

"It will just be a bonus if we happen to produce good swimmers with the help of our new facility," Ramirez said.

Ramirez added that the high school and college swimming pools may pave the way for a formidable diving team in the future.

Ateneo swimming team head coach Rose Rodriguez, for her part, said she will do her best to produce swimmers the likes of former Ateneo standouts Jose Joaquin "Joboy" and Celina Gonzalez. (RPSA)