Fresh start for 2007-A new year. A fresh start for Seychelles sports… |03 January 2007
Like during the past seasons, the actions will keep spreading in 2007, with local sportsmen
Other than those regional and continental Games, there will be different world championships in many sports and local athletes are expected to compete in most of them, thus aiming for a good position in the final ranking and a possible qualification for next year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Sportsmen and women have to prove their worth by competing at their best locally to be picked on the different selections preparing for the many international meets. Snubbing national team training and making a pass on defending your country’s colours is proof of a lack of patriotism for our beloved Seychelles.
With the very long list of competitions, athletes have to stay healthy, work hard, guard against burn-out and keep themselves in shape to help their teams to victory and bring home a tractor-load of wins in all the competitions they compete in.
Potential sponsors need to open up their wallets this year to give sportsmen and women the boost they need so that they can succeed.
Sports administrators, coaches as well as sportsmen and women know that they have to make bold and good decisions. They have to be ready to face the challenge that lies ahead as the common goal in Seychelles sports is winning.
Sportsmen and women should make their wish for the 2007 season and vow to live up to their own promise to generate the buzz needed in Seychelles sports.
Local fans expect to see a lot of tension in tough match-ups to keep them on the edge of their seats.
All sportsmen and women need to double their determination as local sports fans can no longer accept below-par performances. The fact that sports is about either winning or losing, sports fans only like to root for sportsmen and women who defend their clubs’ or country’s colours with verve and determination. In Seychelles sports, there is no place for athletes who don’t give their best.
Defying the odds is the name of the game and to be able to do so, Seychellois athletes need to go a little deeper in their reserves and work hard as every sporting season has its own odds
No one is naive enough to believe that all Seychellois sportsmen and women are clean, but those who abuse drugs now know of the consequences.
Doping tests for performance-enhancing drugs are expected to start this year and it will still be tough on the ministry responsible for sports to eradicate drugs in Seychelles sports.
The fact that sportsmen and women, coaches and sports administrators have such a big exposure in the media, they are therefore role models. They have to accept responsibility for their behaviour on and off the court, the playing field or any other sporting arena.
Together, for the Love of Seychelles!
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New Year’s wishes
Denis Rose – Principal Secretary for the Arts, Culture and Sports: “My wish for the new year is that we all take President James Michel’s dedication for 2007 very seriously in sports so that we can achieve the best possible performance on all fronts.
Working together for the love of Seychelles will allow us to give the best of ourselves, be it in the organisation and management of sports or actual performance. Working together with more patriotism is especially important this year in view of the major games in which we will be taking part.
We need to give the best of ourselves and work together to enable our country as a whole to maintain its rightful place in sports in the region, the continent and the world.
We must make maximum use of the means put at our disposal to prepare and compete in those games bearing in mind our limitations as a small country.
I would like to wish all sportsmen/women a very prosperous new year full of achievements. Let us all work hard together for the love of ourselves and our country.”
Antonio Gopal – President of the Seychelles National Olympic Committee: “It’s going to be a year filled with many exciting Games. Seychelles sports has progressed over the years and local sportsmen and women have to continue working hard to achieve the results expected of them. Sports administrators too have to do their part. I wish that local sportsmen and women achieve good results in the Seventh Indian Ocean Islands Games in Madagascar, the Ninth All-Africa Games in Algeria and the Second Afro-Asian games in Algeria. Hopefully, we will have a good group of athletes for next year’s Olympic Games.”
Giovanna Rousseau – Director High Level Sports within the National Sports Council: “My wish is to see all local sportsmen and women who are presented with training and high competition opportunities make the most of the chances given to them so that at least five of them meet the qualifying standards for next year’s Olympic Games.”
Lindy Leveau-Agricole – Outgoing Sportslady of the Year: “My wish is to have some good results in the competitions I compete in this year. I would also like to ask my fellow sportsmen and women to stop doing drugs and play clean. There is no place for cheaters in Seychelles sports.”
Allan Julie – Outgoing Sportsman of the Year: “My wish is to win a gold medal at the Ninth All-Africa Games in Algeria and qualify for next year’s Olympic Games. I would also like to see Seychellois sportsmen and women do well at both the Indian Ocean Islands Games and the All-Africa Games so that more of them could get the chance to participate in the Olympics.”
G. G.