Exercise-to-music course-Motivated participants eager to learn |10 September 2004

The programme, introduced by the Sports For All Unit (SFAU) within the National Sports Council (NSC) in May last year, has so far achieved its aim of providing existing instructors with the necessary tools to upgrade their knowledge and giving those interested in becoming instructors the chance to learn the basics.

According to fitness instructor Isidore, the participants who are following the classe are very motivated and willing to learn.

"Compared to last year, this time the participants are motivated and willing to learn. The classes have gone on very well and a lot have been learned during the four days. Most of the participants attended the session last year and this has facilitated our work as they are familiar with the basics. We thus had more time to teach new things," said Isidore.

She added that "all participants are given the chance to lead the class so that they know exactly what to do if they ever set up their own class. We place a lot of emphasis on practical sessions and everything went on smoothly."

For his part, Roger David, who like Isidore is a certified instructor, said that there is a need to have more qualified instructors as more people are getting interested in exercising.

"Nowadays, more people are getting interested in physical workouts and doing exercise, but there is a lack of qualified instructors. Therefore, we would like to organise the course annually so that we can train more instructors who can lead classes properly," he said.

After the week-long course, participants of the basic exercise-to-music course will meet every Saturday for more practice sessions in preparation for a level one course to be conducted by an international tutor next year.

Apart from Isidore and David who concentrated on the physical aspects of training, two
health officials – Christina Esther and Jacqueline Hoareau – from the Nutrition Unit gave talks on healthy eating and first aid. As for Paul Denis, he lectured on the human anatomy and physiology.

C. J.