The sending ceremony of the athletes for the next Games of the Commission of Youth and Sports of the Indian Ocean (CJSOI) which will be held in Mauritius from December 4 to 11 took place yesterday afternoon at Seychelles International Conference Centre.
A total of 200 Seychellois, the second largest delegation after host country Mauritius, will leave the country on November 28, December 1 and December 3 and return on December 14 and 15.
The Seychelles flag bearers for these Games will be Gaël Barreau and Khema Elizabeth, and the head of delegation will be Mr. Alain Alcindor. For the first time, the athletes will be accompanied by a person who will provide them with psychological support during the games.
During the ceremony there was a parade of athletes followed by a song by Elijah who will also participate in the closing ceremony of the Games.
During her speech, the Minister of Youth, Sports and Family, Mrs. Marie-Céline Zialor encouraged all young people to give the best of themselves. “If we don’t participate in competitions, we won’t know the ability of our young people; that is why our ministry decided to send such a large group. We have a lot of hope in you and among the participants are those who will participate in the youth component, two young entrepreneurs as well as two members of the Assembly of Youth in Seychelles,” Minister Zialor said.
The Minister spoke strongly about the expectation of these Games. “During the last edition we had 11 medals, three of which were gold. If the President (Wavel Ramkalawan) was with us, he was going to ask us to double or even triple the number of medals. We believe in you and we believe in your ability. The country relies heavily on you and we expect you to be very disciplined. There will be no tolerance in this area,” she said.
The Minister also launched an appeal to adults. “The disciplinary law also applies to adults, because we have a large number of children with us. Their responsibility lies with us. I also make a request to Seychellois to encourage these young people and post positive messages,” she added.
After a presentation of the youth component, under Leko Tanbour, the Designated Minister, Mr. Jean-François Ferrari handed over the official flag of Seychelles to the two bearers – Gaël Barreau and Khema Elizabeth.
Beach handball athlete Naisha Cafrine shared that her team prepared well to win a medal. They practiced three times a week.
Head of delegation Alain Alcindor added that preparations have been made by sports federations and the National Youth Council. “We are chartering a flight that will leave the Seychelles on December 3. There are new disciplines during these games and we will do our best to perform well and also continue to do so in Seychelles. »
One of the flag bearers, Gaël Barreau expressed his pride in having had this honor and asked the Seychellois to encourage them.
There will be eleven competitive disciplines on the program, all open to girls and boys. Namely: athletics and disabled athletics, beach handball, boxing, futsal, weightlifting, swimming, petanque, tennis, table tennis, triathlon and sailing. Seychellois will participate in all disciplines on the program – except triathlon.
The ministers Dr. Justin Valentin, Rose-Marie Hoareau, Devika Vidot, the principal secretaries and the members of the federations were also present at this ceremony.
Source: Seychelles Nation
