Follow us on:

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube

Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

Country’s national sports policy ready |17 April 2013

Social Affairs, Community Development and Sports Minister Vincent Meriton presented the document to the delegates and said that everyone should take ownership of the policy, adding that it will help guide the sports strategic plan 2013-2017 and beyond by ensuring that the aspirations, needs and perspectives of our sports community are taken into consideration.

Community development and sports principal secretary Denis Rose, National Sports Council (NSC) chairman Jean Larue and NSC chief executive Alain Volcère were also present.
In the policy’s foreword, the minister writes: “It (the policy) recognises that today’s generation of athletes and support personnel face new and unique challenges brought about by the rapidly changing technology, change of lifestyle, financing and the environmental changes.”

The minister notes that because sports remain a vector in the promotion of social cohesion and stability, this policy reaffirms the commitment shared by all to ensure that our children and young athletes continue to develop confidence, resilience and skills they need at all levels of the sports development continuum.

He also thanked all athletes, the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association, sports federations and associations, sports officers, parents, sponsors and the Seychellois community for their valuable contributions towards the realisation of the national sports policy.

The policy’s vision is to have by 2017 a more active, cohesive and healthier Seychelles for the social well-being of its citizens; and a sustainable sporting environment which enhances international relations, national and international success, economic benefits and a bolstered sense of national identity and pride.

Some of the objectives of this policy are: ensure that quality education and school sports are further enhanced in all educational and sports institutions; provide an enabling environment that will motivate all Seychellois to become more active participants, and foster the development of healthy, active lifestyles and a culture of lifelong participation at all levels and across the sports spectrum; ensure gender balance with particular emphasis on girls and women in sports; create and facilitate career development opportunities in emerging fields and specialisation in sports;
maximise the social benefit and economic potential of sports as an emerging industry and increase its contribution to the country’s development; develop and strengthen international cooperation and exchange between Seychelles and other national and international institutions; and provide competency-based education and training opportunities for a strong technical and human resource base.

The policy contains five statements – participation (physical education and school sports; sports for all; women and sports; leisure and recreation; and federations and associations), competitive sports (national competitions; sports clubs, federations and associations; coaches development), high level sports performance (talent identification and development; excellence pathways; long term athletes development programme; sports academy; science and medical support services; international competitions), sports development (sports federations; secretariat for federations; prioritising sports, volunteers; facilities, incentives and rewards; sports information centre; recording and archiving; ethical environment; use of prohibited substances and methods), and capacity building and service delivery (sports organisations support; financial resources; human resources development; international relations; marketing and media and information).

NSC boss Volcère told Sports Nation that the Ministry of Social Affairs, Community Development and Sports will come up with a strategic plan providing a framework that will map out the strategic direction and guide its efforts towards achieving the vision and objectives.

He added that to help sports federations and associations achieve their goals, their annual budget have been increased by between 10-15% this year and all coaches’ allowances have increased pending the implementation of the new coaches’ scheme the NSC is working on together with the department of public administration and the Seychelles Qualifications Authority.

The delegates were also told that the national sports technical committee is back on its feet with Mr Larue as the chairman. The other members are Giovanna Rousseau, Ulric Mathiot, Donald Célestine, Roland Raforme, Brenda Bastienne and Carole Andriamaro.

The sports department started working on finalising the policy on November 3, 2011 and when he launched the discussions at the Sports Training Centre, Mr Meriton said the new sporting cycle development will empower the country’s main sports body – the NSC – to attract more funding from the private sector, venture into businesses which will finance local sports, work with volunteers, improve the ability of local coaches and athletes through training programmes, implement a good level of sports medicine, develop sports tourism, and work with sports federations and associations so that they can deliver the goods expected of them while at the same time respecting their independence.

Before Saturday’s launch, the country’s last real sports strategic plan was launched in May 2004 and it expired in 2008.
According to Mr Larue, even though there was no sports strategic plan for the four-year period 2008-2011, the ministry responsible for sports had a policy for the 8th Indian Ocean Island Games which the country hosted from August 5-14 this year and a record 57 gold medals was won by Seychellois athletes.

G. G.

» Back to Archive