Olympic Solidarity |06 July 2023

Mr Valmont handing over the t-shirts to SBF chairperson Jana Malbrook (Photo: Contributed)

Basketball, chess receive equipment from Socga

Two more local sporting federations have received equipment from the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association as part of the committee’s commitment and engagement towards continuous support in the development of sports in the country.

During a small ceremony held at the Olympic House at Roche Caïman yesterday, president of the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga) Antonio Gopal handed over the equipment to secretary general of the Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF) Adrian Pillay and chairman of the Seychelles Chess Federation (SCF) Benjamin Hoareau.

The equipment is part of the annual contributions towards local sporting associations and federations, with the funding coming from the annual budget Socga receives from its parent organisation, the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The SBF has received size six and size seven balls, reverse-able training tops, coaches’ boards, stopwatches, and referee uniforms, while the SCF received 20 new digital chess timers, or clocks as they are more commonly known.

In the presence of secretary general of Socga Alain Alcindor, along with executive committee members, Mr Gopal noted that it is always a pleasure for Socga to help out local federations and associations, thus contributing in the development of sports in the country.

He said, sport being a vital and key role in human development, it is therefore crucial that those involved remain committed and focused in their functions, despite hurdles, and discouragements.

On behalf of the SBF, Mr Pillay said most of the equipment come at an opportune time when the national selections are preparing for the upcoming 11th Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) scheduled to begin next month in Madagascar, and thanked Socga for the support.

Mr Hoareau, on the other hand, said the clocks will be sent to the schools where the young players will familiarise themselves with their functions and usage.

He said most of the young players are not familiar with clocks and this really affects their confidence and performance during competitions.

It is to note that the SBF also received a batch of t-shirts from telecommunication company Airtel earlier during the week.

The t-shirts will be used by the national selections during the IOIG.

It was the company’s brand and marcoms manager Jude Valmont who handed over the t-shirts to chairperson of the SBF Jana Malbrook during a ceremony at the Victoria Gymnasium in the presence of the players of both national selections.

Roland Duval