Swasa congratulates beauty pageant contestants |30 May 2015

Stefanie Underwood (left) and Petra Richard have been congratulated for their great initiatives to focus their ‘Beauty with a purpose ‘project on sports

Inspiring female involvement in sports at all levels is one of the main objectives of the Seychelles Women and Sports Association.

Seychelles Women and Sports Association (Swasa) chairperson Delta Horner has said they are pleased to know that Stefanie Underwood and Petra Richard – two of the contestants in today’s Miss Seychelles … Another World beauty pageant – are focusing their ‘Beauty with a purpose ‘project on sports.

“Sports is still heavily centered around men in Seychelles, inspiring female involvement in sports at all level is one of the main objectives of Swasa.  Seeing two young and beautiful women taking this step to promote sports is really encouraging,” said Ms Horner.

She said there is no better way to teach the youths of today other than on the field of sports.

“Sports teach one how to win with class but at the same time how to accept defeat. It promotes respect for your opponents and teammates and also how to work as a team towards a certain goal. All of these traits can be beneficial in life and not just in the arena. Sports teach a person how to fight a good fight and never give up, as well as keeping healthy.

“In the age where technology dominates our everyday lives, too often the youth are indoors running the Play Station for hours (which has been proven to have a negative outcome) or staring at the computer or TV for far too long. Whereas engaging in sports and recreational activities allows youths to have fun, but at the same time to work hard to achieve their goals,” said Ms Horner.

The Swasa head noted that those who are not the best players still learn as much as all the good ones. “The star players learn how to be leaders and teach and inspire others and try to lead their teams to new heights. The lesser players learn how to be more committed and persevere. They can actually learn more about life more than anyone else as they understand there are no free rides and one must work hard to earn everything they get in this world. Youth who have more self-confidence and self-esteem are more likely to be able to resist peer pressure,” emphasised Ms Horner.

She has also said sport reflect more than what is easily seen on the surface. Apart from the physical benefits which are obvious and the social benefits, it allows for those taking part to find their role in life and can also redefine who they are.

“The involvement in sports helps teach you benefits of hard work and determination and how to co-exist with others even if you don’t particularly like them. These are traits that can be invaluable in the real world, and developing such traits at an early age can only increase the chances for success later in life,” concluded Ms Horner, who also congratulated Stefanie Underwood and Petra Richard for their great initiatives.

Underwood is a former distance runner while Richard is a member of the Cascade and Seychelles women’s national volleyball teams.