The Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports is organizing a press conference to discuss the MIND OVER MATTER CHALLENGE hosted by Miss Felicity Passon

Date: Friday 09^th April 2021

Time: 09.00am

Panellists:

Miss Felicity Passon

Mr. Neil Puresh (Passon’s father)

National Sports Council CEO Jean Larue

Quality of Life Division DG Beryl Naiken

Aside to the details of the actual event and donation drive, Mrs. Naiken overseeing the Quality of Life Division (recipient of the activity) will go over the mental health project which entails to extend the psychosocial support  by establishing a Telephone & E-Counselling Service.

On the final day of the 10^th IOIG swimming competition at Côte d’Or Swimming Pool yesterday, Passon collected her seventh gold medal which, along with her three silver and a bronze, makes her the best Seychellois swimmer ever for this competition.

https://www.nation.sc/articles/897/10th-indian-ocean-islands-games

During the morning assembly he presented a copy of the National Youth Policy with the Headboy and headgirl of the La Digue Secondary School.

MR. Palmyre also visited  the Vijay International School and met with school headteacher Mr. Mark Howell and all the athletes who participated in the inter-School Competition and presented the School with a copy of the National Youth Policy.

The event is held every two years, in even years, and gives young open water swimmers between the ages of 14 and 19 an opportunity to compete at the highest level.

The youth (14-16 years old) races take place on a 5km distance, while the juniors (17-18 years old) compete on a 7.5km course.

Team races which take place on the third day cover 3km.

Seychelles was being represented at the last event in 2018 by three swimmers, with young Bertrand Payet honoured to read the oath of the championships.

In a press conference yesterday at the Gecko Bar, Savoy Seychelles Resort & Spa at Beau Vallon, Seychelles Swimming Association (SSA) chairman David Vidot said Seychelles won the bid to organise the event while attending the 14th Fina world swimming short course championships at the Hangzhou Olympic and International Expo Centre in Hangzhou, China last year.

Yesterday’s event was also attended by the Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, chief executive of the National Sports Council (NSC) Jean Larue, chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Sherin Naiken, principal secretary for youth and sports Fabian Palmyre and NSC board chairman Eddie Micock.

Mr Vidot said the event will boost the chance of Seychelles becoming a pioneer in open water swimming at regional and continental level.

He explained that no other African country has ever been so audacious to bring such an event to their shores.

Mr Vidot also noted that the event will serve as an inspiration for our youngsters as it will offer them the chance of a lifetime to swim in a world championship.

This, he said, will motivate them to train harder, knowing that the event is world class and only the best will take part.

He also urged all the partners to join forces as they will all have their share of benefits and success through the event

On behalf of the NSC, Mr Larue said hosting the event is a great achievement for our small country, compared to the size of previous hosts.

He added that the event is also very important as emphasis is currently being put on youth development, especially the ‘learn to swim campaign’ which encourages all kids to learn to swim.

Mr Larue added that our natural resources offer equal opportunities to most sporting activities and on that note commended the SSA for its initiative and encouraged other sports governing bodies to follow the example by coming up with similar initiatives which, he said, will benefit the whole country.

Mrs Francis said the STB welcomes the idea and will bring its full support as they will greatly benefit from it as an industry, especially through media coverage.

She also urged every partner in the tourism industry to back up the event as it will also be greatly beneficial to them.

On behalf of the Seychelles government, Mr Loustau-Lalanne said such an initiative will be financially backed, as preserving youth development remains a key target.

He also noted that similar initiatives are always welcomed, on the condition that they are properly organised and on that note he also commended the SSA for its commitment and boldness in bidding for such a big event.

Seychelles will soon host for the second time the Fina/Hosa Marathon Swim World Series. The event is scheduled for Sunday May 12 at the Beau Vallon beach.

Like last year, the event will also feature the open challenge – mass participation races – which will be organised in parallel of the 10km elite race.

When Seychelles hosted the Fina/Hosa marathon open water swim world series for the first time on Sunday May 20 last year, there was a tight finish for the women’s and men’s second leg races as 2017 winners Arianna Bridi and Simone Ruffini of Italy sprinted to the finish line of the 10km contests in the turquoise sea at Beau Vallon.

Bridi’s winning time was 1 hour 58 minutes 32.3 seconds (1h58:32.3) while Ruffini reached home in 1h49.41.9.

According to the competitors, Seychelles deserved an A+ grade for organisation, especially after the organisers had to work overtime the day before the event (Saturday) after calling off the day’s mass event after all the pontoons and buoys were lost or damaged by bad weather late Friday afternoon.

The organisers had to recover everything and place them back on Saturday after the sea at Beau Vallon had returned to its usual calmness, ready for the Sunday morning event.

The competition will take place at the Emirates Palace on Friday and Payet who leaves the country today will be accompanied by French coach Guillaume Bachmann.

Friday’s competition will be organised on a 2km course where the swimmers must complete five laps.

It will be the third race for Payet in this year’s series and for the first time he will be competing without his brother Bertrand.

In the first series race held in Qatar, Payet did not complete the race, while in the second race held at the Beau Vallon beach in March, he completed the race 23rd overall in 2 hours, 11 minute 55.4 seconds in (2h11:55.4).

Very confident and prepared, Damien told Sports NATION he has been training very hard for the event and he is certain that he would complete it in a better time, compared to his last performance.

“I have been training very hard and I am sure i will perform much faster,” said the young swimmer.

Friday’s race will be the last in this year’s series which began in Doha (Qatar, March 3), Beau Vallon (Seychelles, May 20), Setubal (Portugal, June 9), Balatonfüred (Hungary, June 16), Lac St. Jean (Canada, July 26), Lac Megantic (Canada, August 11), Chun’An (China, September 16) and  Taiwan (September 22).

The Fina marathon swim world series annually staged elite-level competition is organised in over nine locations and takes places in either fresh water or sea.

Since 2007, Fina decided to focus the World Cup on the 10km distance only, as a direct consequence of the introduction of the 10km marathon swim into the Olympic programme in 2008.

Each event comprises one day competition programme (for men and women) and approximately +50 national federations and 370 athletes from all over the world.

The event prize money is US $30,000 while the overall prize money is US $250,000. Both prizes are divided across the first eight women and men swimmers, making a total prize money purse of US $550,000.

As of this year, Fina is staging officially together with the elite race (10km) which foresees the involvement of Olympic and World Championships medallists, the mass participation event (Open Challenge).

In each event, points are awarded to the swimmers depending upon their race finishing position.

Swimmers may accumulate points at each event in which they take part and finish, with their total points counting towards the overall final rankings for each year.

The overall annual winners will be decided by the male and female swimmers respectively, who have accumulated the most points at events in that year, provided that they have taken part in a minimum of 70 percent of events in that year, including the final event of the season.

Until now, the men’s standings is being led by Dutch swimmer Ferry Weetman (78 points), followed by Britain’s Jack Burnell (62 points). Simone Ruffini of Italy is third (55 points), followed by Dutchman Marcel Scouten (51 points) and Italian Mateo Furlan (50 points).

The women’s competition is being led by Brazilian Ana Marcela Cunha (96 points), followed by Sharon Van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands (66 points).

Italian Rachele Bruni is third also on 66 points, ahead of Leonie Beck of Germany who is on 62 points. Finnia Wunram also from Germany is fifth on 52 points.

The annual prize money to be awarded for both the men’s and women’s series overall winners is as follows:

1st US $38,000

2nd US $26,000

3rd US $18,000

4th US $15,000

5th US $11,000

6th US $8,500

7th US $5,000

8th US $3,500

This year’s Games follow two successful meetings in 2014 and 2016 and it is gathering students from the 11 public and four private secondary schools in the country, battling for the top spots in athletics, basketball, swimming, football, table tennis and volleyball.

At the last Games in 2016, it was the Anse Royale Secondary School who emerged as the best overall.

Yesterday’s opening ceremony which was held in partnership with the Youth Festival organising committee was attended by principal secretary for youth and sports Fabian Palmyre, chief executive of the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) Alvin Laurence, board chairman of the National Sports Council (NSC) Eddie Micock, chief executive of the NSC Jean Larue, head teachers, staff of the SNYC and NSC.

It started with a march past by athletes, before the Games’ hymn was performed by Christiana Alexis.

Launching the third Games, Mr Laurence reminded the athletes that it is the perfect opportunity for them to prove themselves and show what they can do as the youth of their country, despite the negative image which presently portrays the younger generation.

On his part, PS Palmyre urged the athletes to compete in unity, respect and tolerance towards one another.

“Despite being in opposite teams, it is important to practice unity and friendship,” he added.

Young athlete Kiran Bhageeruty and official Tasha Barbé then took the oath on behalf of their colleagues, before some cheer leading and dance performances put the guests on the edge of their seats.

The official opening ceremony ended with a series of boxing exhibition bouts.

The Zwe Lespwar was initiated as a tool to get the youngsters to enjoy sports, make friends, and develop good values and attitudes, including discipline, tolerance and fairness, while keeping them away from social ills.

The accompanying photos were taken during yesterday afternoon’s ceremony.

Mr Micock made the statement during the NSC’s first forum for the year, held last week at the Maison Football auditorium, Roche Caïman.

The meeting which gathered leaders and other senior representatives of the various local sports governing bodies, representatives of the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga), NSC board members was attended by principal secretary for youth and sports Fabian Palmyre, chief executive of the NSC Giovanna Rousseau who is also a board member along with senior officials of the NSC.

Mr Micock said each and every sporting body should take its own responsibility in preparing and handing in their programmes well in advance so that the authority can work on how to better accommodate them financially.

With the full cooperation and dedication of the federations, Mr Micock said, it will be easier to help them.

He also urged them to, as much as they can, to try and look for some sponsors to compliment the support from the government.

Illustrating the proper structure of sports and how it should run, Mr Micock referred to Seychelles’ sports as a vehicle, with members of the public being the owner, while the NSC team is the engine.

The board, Mr Micock said, is the fuel, while the sporting federations and associations were referred to as the driver.

“All parties are important for the vehicle to reach its destination,” explained Mr Micock.

He also added that the board encourages the involvement of the public, especially all those who can help financially, or through their various areas of expertise.

Speaking in his capacity as the chairman of the Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) technical committee Mr Palmyre said they are very disappointed as only five sports federations – football, cycling, athletics, volleyball and yachting – out of the 12 selected for next year’s Games in Mauritius, have submitted their plans and costing.

The deadline to hand in the documents was set at end of April 2018.

He explained that the longer they take, the more delay there will be in receiving the funding, thus affecting their preparations for the Games.

Mr Palmyre also urged the federations and associations to include a youth development programme in the plans and to also work harder in that area.

Delegates at the forum also had the chance to learn about the new development regarding the sports medicine unit through a presentation by head of the unit Derick Sauzier.

Mr Sauzier said the unit has now acquired the service of an orthopedic surgeon who will deal with the more serious injury cases, as well as prevention.

He also talked on the setbacks encountered by the unit, especially through lack of communication with the federations and associations.

One typical example is short notice request for health personnel at events.

This, Mr Sauzier said, can cause some inconveniences as they do not have a lot of staff, or in the cases of contact sports, a medical doctor is compulsory at the event.

He noted that some federations and associations are not respecting the 10 working days notice set by the NSC.

Mr Rousseau then walked the delegates through the audited accounts reports, before the director for sports management and development within the NSC Terrence Barbé talked about the sports development plan.

Chairman of the Seychelles Swimming Association (SSA) David Vidot also seized the opportunity at the forum to thank everyone who helped the SSA to organise the recently-held Fédération internationale de natation (Fina) marathon swim world series.

He expressed his gratitude on behalf of the SSA and commented on the way Seychelles transformed into a sporting family for the occasion.