Diploma in sports and NCAP certificates presentation-Hoffman, Cafrine, Athanase excel |04 December 2006

They received their individual awards from Ms Sylvette Pool, Minister for the Arts, Culture and Sports, during last Friday’s certificate presentation ceremony inside the auditorium of Maison Football.

Also present for the occasion was the Arts, Culture and Sports principal secretary Denis Rose, Sports Training & Capacity Development director general Ronald Wong, National Sports Council managing director Eric Arnephie, other invited guests, the participants and lecturers. Participants who followed the Basic Sports First Aid course also received their certificates.

Windsurfer Hoffman was voted the best performer in Basic Sports First Aid and NCAP level one.

The 29-year-old told Sports Nation that “I’m happy to receive those two awards and I expected to win both of them as I studied hard.”

Karateka Bernard Cafrine, 39, won the trophy for the best NCAP level two participant and he said:
“The practical and theoretical sessions were quite easy, but I had to strike the right balance to train, work and study at the same time.”

Athanase excelled in the sports diploma course, scoring the most points. The 31-year-old attributed her success to “a lot of hard work. It was quite easy, except for the French part. I’m happy with myself.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Wong said that “in this new sporting atmosphere, high level sports calls for more and more commitment on the state, motivation on the part of the athletes and competence on the part of all sports trainers, sports medical staff and sports managers. For Seychelles to keep pace or better still to distinguish itself in regional or international sporting events in the years to come, amateurism will most surely progressively give way to a more professional approach to the promotion and practice of high level sports.”

He also talked about the two major training programmes – Diploma in Sports and NCAP (with three levels) – the Sports Training & Capacity Development division has put in place.

The Diploma in Sports course, which started in September 2002, and was organised jointly with Creps of Reunion. Three human science lecturers from Reunion also lectured in three disciplines – sports psychology, sports biomechanics and sports physiology.

The certificate received by the participants of the Sports Diploma course is equivalent to the French Brevet d’Etat 1er degré.

The NCAP is largely practical and prepares coaches to better meet the needs of all athletes and participants in sports; provide a positive sports experience to athletes and participants; and provide opportunities for athletes and participants to achieve their full potential in and through sports.

The NCAP has four levels – levels one to three are designed to train and develop coaches into competent leaders of schools, communities, clubs and federation sports programmes.

Level four is designed for coaches working with high performance athletes and for those interested in a career in coaching. It prepares coaches for leadership roles in national and international sports and represents the top level of professional training for coaches.

Another programme – National Officiating Accreditation Programme (NOAP) – will be introduced next year and will include the following components:
General principles – fundamentals of officiating and events management;
Sporting specific – technical rules interpretation, reporting and sports specific roles of officials;
Officiating practice – practical officiating and application of officiating principles.
For his part, Sports Diploma participant Steven Rideau-Mein thanked the ministry responsible for sports for making training in sports possible.

A tennis player and coach, Rideau-Mein said that “today we understand and apply what we have learned and our certificates are our tickets for further education.”
He also thanked the NSC and other working organisations for granting the participants leave of absence to attend the courses.

It is to note that some participants were exempted from participating in the NCAP level one course as they had already followed similar courses in the past.

The participants who received certificates were:
Diploma in Sports: Liza Aglaé, Alrick Agricole, Jean-Paul Ah-kong, Barnsley Albert, Monique Athanase, Gerard Baker, Barry Baron, Jack Fanchette, Lucas Georges, Joanna Houareau, Damien Jean, Viona Julie, Daniel Kandasamy, Prischilla Kinlock, Eddie Lozaique, Jones Mangroo, Dominic Pillay, Ralf Racombo, Steven Rideau-Mein and Therance Vidot.

NCAP Level one: Lenny Aglaé, Tessa Antat, Bernard Cafrine, Marie-Ange Dick, Ralph Dodin, Williana Dubois, Daniel Hoffman, Gabriel Victor and Denise Volcère.

NCAP Level two: Lenny Aglaé, Arthur Agathine, Marie-Ange Bouchereau, Bernard Cafrine, Williana Dubois, Giovanni Fanny, Daniel Hoffman and Gabriel Victor.

Basic Sports First Aid: Lenny Aglaé, Alvin Alcindor, Jerry Andrew, Tessa Antat, Marie-Ange Bochereau, Bernard Cafrine, Ralph Dodin, Marie-Ange Dick, Williana Dubois, Giovanni Fanny, Daniel Hoffman, Tony Juliette, Jerry Legras, Eddie Lozaique, Julien Onezime, Rival Payet, Roland Raforme, Gabriel Victor and Denise Volcère.

G. G.