Seychelles Women and Sports Association (Swasa) – Women’s Day Activities |09 March 2022

Participants exercising

Former Minister Sylvette Pool and long distance athlete Simone Zapha honoured

To honour their significant contributions to the advancement of women through achievements in sports in the country, former Minister Sylvette Pool and late long distance runner Simone Zapha have received awards of recognition from the Seychelles Women and Sports Association.

The recognition is part of the association’s calendar of activities to commemorate World Women’s day which was yesterday.

The ceremony took place at the Olympic House at Roche Caïman in the presence of the principal secretary for youth and sports Ralph Jean-Louis, president of the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga) Antonio Gopal and Seychelles Women and Sports Association (Swasa) executive committee members.

Ex-Minister Pool held the sports portfolio from1992 to 2006 – Minister for Local Government and Sports (1992-93), Minister for Education and Sports (1993-94), Minister for Local Government, Culture, Sports and Youth, and responsible for the Francophonie (1994-2006), and Minister for the Arts, Culture and Sports (2006).

In 1999, Mrs Pool set up a women and sports committee, which then came up a sports day for women on International Women's Day on March 8, 1999, and hosted a seminar in May 1999.

The seminar was aimed at identifying problems affecting Seychellois women in sports, and proposing solutions for them.

Following the seminar, the Swasa set up an Action Plan for 2000-2004 outlining its mission to ensure that girls and women have access to a complete range of opportunities and choices, while having equity as participants and leaders in sports and physical activities.

In September and October of 2000, the committee organised youth seminars on various topics including harassment, peer pressure, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and fair play.

Similar youth seminars were planned for 2001 for Praslin and La Digue.

Her award was collected by Beguitta Jeannevol from Mr Gopal.

As sports minister, she signed the Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport, developed and established by the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sports in 1994.

The Brighton Declaration is an international treaty that has become a road map to support the ongoing development of a more fair and equitable system of sport and physical activity, fully inclusive of women and girls.

Its intention was to complement all sporting, local, national and international charters, laws, codes, rules and regulations relating to equity in sport and physical activity, while also setting an even higher benchmark related to the full inclusion of women and girls in all aspects of society.

Those that endorse the declaration commit to upholding the 10 principles that enable women and girls to freely and safely participate, compete and build careers in sport and physical activity.

In 2014, on the 20th anniversary of its original establishment, the Brighton Declaration was updated by the IWG to become the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration, to better reflect a changed landscape, including major developments in international policy, while still holding true to the founding principles.

Today, nearly 600 global organisations are signatories to this treaty ‒ with more organisations joining every day. To become a signatory to the declaration is to show a belief in, and commitment to developing a culture that enables and values the full involvement of women in every aspect of sport and physical activity.

Female marathon record holder Simone Zapha

As for female marathon record holder Simone Zapha, she passed away on Friday March 26, 2021, three days after her 44th birthday.

Born on March 23, 1977, Simone is the women’s record holder of the Eco-Friendly Marathon with a time of 3 hours 30 minutes 19 seconds (3h30:19) set in 2009. In fact, Zapha won the race for three consecutive years – 2009 (3h30:19), 2010 (3h37:31) and 2011 (3h39:10).

Running her first marathon in ideal condition, she sliced 12 minutes 06 seconds (12:06) off Rachel Esparon’s previous best of 3h42:25 – both Seychelles’ senior and veteran records – set during the Fifth Indian Ocean Islands Games in 1998 in Reunion.

Zapha is also the holder of the Seychelles women’s marathon record of 3h34:49 which she got during the Ekolomarathon in Tampon, Reunion in early July 2009.

Her award was collected by her sister Marie-Antoinette Zapha from PS Jean-Louis.

Other activities organised by Swasa to commemorate World Women’s Day included a panel discussion, under the theme ‘The way forward for the women in sports in Seychelles’ and the traditional annual public fun run.

Roland Duval