Domino - Jimmy Ismael takes over the helm |17 February 2016

After serving as vice-chairman for two years, Jimmy Ismaël has taken the helm of the Seychelles Domino Federation.

Mr Ismaël was elected the Seychelles Domino Federation (SDF) chairman during the annual general meeting held on Saturday.

He replaces Anselme Arnephie who was first elected chairman in 2012 and was re-elected for a second two-year term in 2014. Mr Arnephie had in 2012 succeeded Fabien Belle who had been in office for 19 years and chose not to run for re-election.

Speaking to Sports Nation, Mr Ismaël said his objective during his two-year mandate is to encourage more young people to play domino.

“We do not have many young people playing domino, therefore my objective for the next two years is to lure more of them into playing the game. We expect to start with children and to do so we have to update our constitution. For example, in our constitution it is stated that a domino player should be 14 years and over, but right now there are some 10-year-olds who play domino very well. We need to integrate them into the different teams at a very young age,” said Mr Ismaël.

He added that with more young players around, the number of teams will increase.

“We had 17 teams who took part in the competitions in 2015, but only 16 have registered this year. We cannot afford to lose even one team as we need maximum involvement. This is another reason why we need to have more young players around,” said Mr Ismaël.

Christopher Asba will work alongside Mr Ismaël in the capacity of vice-chairman, while Maryliane Nolin remains as treasurer.

The SDF is yet to get a secretary, while the ordinary members of the executive committee elected during the meeting are Gerard Emile, Collin Payet, Andrew Florentine and Paul Bonnelame. A fifth ordinary member will come from the inner islands but a representative is yet to be chosen.

Domino players will be in action as from this coming weekend.

The first encounter of the season is the best-of-the-best match which will be played on Saturday February 20 between Knockout competition winners Tryers and division one champions Mont Buxton ‘B’. The match is scheduled to take place between 2pm and 4pm at the Cascade community centre.

On Sunday February 21, all 16 teams registered with the federation will be at the Plaisance community centre to take part in the Open Season tournament, starting at 10am.

The eight teams who will play in the first division this year are Mont Buxton ‘B’ (champions), Unity, Tryers, Seychelles Police, La Conquerors (second division winners), Salette (second division runners-up), Anse Aux Pins and Baie Lazare.

The second division will also comprise eight teams – Anse Boileau (relegated, last in top division last year), Destroyers Anse Boileau (relegated, second before last in top division last year), Anse Boileau ‘B’, Cascade, Rivière Anglaise, Seychelles Breweries, Takamaka and Quincy Village.

As for Union Vale, they did not register to play this year.

G. G.