CJSOI Games in Madagascar - First group of athletes leaves tomorrow |26 July 2016

The first group of athletes who will be representing Seychelles at the 10th Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l'Océan Indien (CJSOI) Games leave the country tomorrow morning for Madagascar for the youth sports and cultural manifestation.

The sending-off ceremony took place late yesterday afternoon at the International Conference Centre of Seychelles (ICCS), where the athletes paraded in their outfits that they will wear during the games for the various sports.

In attendance were Social Affairs, Community Development and Sports Minister Vincent Meriton, community development and sports principal secretary Denis Rose, youth principal secretary Alain Volcère, National Sports Council (NSC) chief executive Giovanna Rousseau, Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) chief executive Alvin Laurence, athletes, officials, representatives of sponsors and the athletes’ parents.

Before beginning his speech, Minister Meriton asked everyone to observe a moment of silence in honour of two youngsters who died in a car accident on Friday night and asked those present to live every day to the fullest and make the most of everything.

He then addressed the athletes saying: “You will all be representing your country in Madagascar and so we ask of you to defend our honour and to make us proud and put Seychelles first.”

“The CJSOI Games are also a way for you young athletes to shine and prepare yourselves so that maybe in 2018 you will be among those representing Seychelles at the Indian Ocean Island Games. So train hard and give it your all if you want to achieve this,” the minister added.

Minister Meriton also asked the athletes to be on their best behaviour as everything they will do at the games will not only reflect on themselves but also on Seychelles in general.

The athletes were then presented with the plane tickets. The first group to leave tomorrow include track and field athletes, table tennis players and judokas. The handballers and footballers will leave Seychelles on Friday.

The ceremony also had a bit of entertainment, where sketches and dance took place as well as a moving performance from Travis with one of his popular patriotic songs.

In all, the Seychelles delegation will consist of 110 people, 74 of whom are athletes and the rest are coaches and officials.

Madagascar, the host of the 10th CJSOI Games, will be joined by Seychelles, Mauritius, Mayotte, Comoros, Djibouti and Reunion, with a total of 800 people expected in the games.

Athletics, table tennis, judo, girls’ football and boys’ handball are the sports expected to take place during the one-week tournament that will go from July 30 to August 5 and it will also be a return to the familiar format of one host nation, which was not the case in the 9th CJSOI games, where five countries hosted one discipline each.

Madagascar and Mauritius have typically dominated the games in recent years, while Seychelles will be looking for a repeat of its performance of the 2008 games that took place locally, when the country claimed 14 gold medals and 44 in total.

There is also a group of youth heading to Madagascar as part of the volet jeunesse programme during which they will have cultural exchanges with delegates from the other islands.

The head of delegation is Francis Remie.

The following are some of the photos taken by our photographer Joena Meme during yesterday’s ceremony.

S. N.