2017 Regional Sailing Championships: Seychelles aim to retain title in Mauritius |10 August 2017

The Seychelles delegation

After winning the overall crown at last year’s Regional Sailing Championship, Seychelles will be looking to retain their title this time as they head to Mauritius for this year’s competition.

The Seychelles team were yesterday given their final briefing before they head out tomorrow for the championships, which sets sail on Saturday and will end on August 19.

“We will be looking to win as many gold medals as we can, especially since the organisers have introduced kite surfing to this year’s tournament and this gives them the edge as we will not be competing in that event,” said Seychelles Yachting Association (SYA) chairman Alain Alcindor, who is also the head of the Seychelles delegation.

He added: “We will have to work hard in the sailing events if we want to win as this is what will make the difference.”

The tournament this year will feature sailors from Seychelles, Reunion and of course host country Mauritius.

The Seychelles delegation comprises 25 people including 16 sailors and five windsurfers, along with four officials.

At the meeting held at the National Swimming Pool yesterday, the athletes along with some of their parents, were briefed on issues such as their departure, discipline and also what is expected of them.

Reigning Sportsman of the Year Allan Julie is also part of the delegation and he said that there is a lot of potential in the team.

“To be honest, training did not go at all to plan as some athletes missed a lot of training, but I do see a lot of potential in the team and hopefully we can produce a good performance,” added Julie.

The athletes were also presented with T-shirts to be worn during the competition.

In last year’s championship, both Seychelles and Mauritius won three cups each out of the six sailing class categories but the Seychelles team won the best overall trophy as their athletes took most of the second positions in the different categories.

The following is the full Seychelles delegation:

Optimist: Dominique Labrosse, Herve Lafortune, Nathan Matatiken, Loïc D’Offay and Jasmin Monthy

Laser Standard: Roy Govinden, Allan Julie and Rodney Govinden

Laser Radial: Kenny Constance, David Madeleine and Paul Morel

Laser 4.7 male: Ryan Alcindor and Scott André

Laser 4.7 female: Allison Hoareau, Samantha Faure and Chantal Hoffman

Windsurfing: Bertrand Lablache, Jean-Marc Gardette, Jacquelin Languilla, Danny Gertrude and Pierre Waltersteiner.

Officials: Alain Alcindor, Hebetty Alcindor, Michel Bristol and Francis Duval.

 S. N.