Fitness and sporting clubs benefit
Nine fitness instructors and eight beneficiaries of the Sports Trust Fund for 2022 received sports equipment of their choice, during a short ceremony at the Family House, Bel Eau last Thursday afternoon.
The event hosted by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Family, was attended by Minister Marie-Celine Zialor, principal secretary for youth and sports Ralph Jean-Louis, member of the National Assembly for English River Andy Labonte and the chief executive of the National Sports Council (NSC) Marc Arrisol.
It was Minister Zialor who presented the equipment to the nine fitness instructors who participated in a nationwide campaign she spearheaded in November last year dubbed ‘Guide to Fitness’. During the campaign, which kicked off on November 14, the minister attended several sessions hosted by various fitness clubs on the main island Mahé, to see what the country had in terms of recreational sports, specifically at district level.
Speaking to the local media last Thursday, Minister Zialor said it was a way to give the clubs more visibility, and support their initiative to promote fitness and health among the population. They targeted the fitness clubs outside the town area and those who were more regular.
“We have noticed that there is a major health concern in the country and we want to develop a culture of sports in terms of modernising our strategic plan. This was one of our targets last year. Secondly, I wanted to set an example, where instead of having a sit-down meeting, a group of us from the secretariat went out there and did those fitness exercises, where if at my age I can do fitness exercise, so can anyone,” said the minister.
She added that being in the field with them, also allowed her to identify the challenges they face while helping the population to stay fit and healthy and how the ministry could collaborate and assist them.
“For example in Anse Royale, the night session was disrupted due to interruption in the power supply, or toilet facilities are so far away from their premises. So we wanted to see all those conditions they go through, because they are doing it out of the goodness of their heart,” she said.
‘Guide to Fitness’ will continue throughout the year and this initiative will also be introduced on Praslin and La Digue.
Meanwhile, the last cohort of beneficiaries for the Sports Trust Fund for 2022 also received their sets of equipment from PS Jean-Louis. Managed by the youth and sports department, this fund exists since 2013 and each year a sum of R400,000 is made available for applicants to fund sports activities.
Mr Jean-Louis said last year sixteen (16) applicants benefitted and those who received the equipment had applied during the latter part of 2022. There were eight of them altogether.
He has called on other animators who are interested to come forward and seek funding for other projects.
“We will do the call-up in February so that you can apply as from next month. Most of the time we see football-related sports and when you apply and fail, you tend to get frustrated. I would like to advise that there are other interesting sports so we would like to see a variety of sports seeking funding,” said PS Jean-Louis.
One of the fitness clubs present was SEICW (Steven Extreme, Insanity, Cardio workout) run by Steven Freminot, which conducts fitness classes in various parts of the island, either in groups or on a personal/private basis. Mr Freminot had requested funding for weights and steps equipment used during his workout sessions.
Pria Denousse is from Francis Labrosse fitness coaching club and is based in seven districts, with plans to expand. Their youngest athlete is 9 years old and the oldest is 74 years old. They have welcomed the ‘Guide to Fitness’ initiative and the assistance.
“We call ourselves ambassadors, we are like a family and other than training we have a monthly event calendar like hikes, or mass sports like the upcoming one scheduled for next month, so we welcome the donation,” said Ms Denousse.
One club that benefitted under the Sports Trust Fund, was the Vocational Training Centre sporting club. Some 20 students from the North East Point-based school are taking part in daily football and athletic activities organised by the club. Their training takes place at Stad Popiler. According to the club’s chairperson, Herald Kowlessur, they had requested some equipment for track events.
“Some of our athletes took part in the last Indian Ocean Islands Games and some are actually training for the upcoming one this year, so we need the proper equipment to facilitate their training,” said Mr Kowlessur.
The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Family said the Sports Trust Fund will continue this year, adding that it was looking at other ways to collaborate with the clubs.
Source: Seychelles Nation