Seychelles to host FINA World Junior Open Water Championship in 2020
Seychelles will next year
host the FINA World Junior Open Water Championship 2020, making it the first
African country and small island nation to organize this event. Additionally,
following the resounding triumph of the first-ever FINA/Hosa Marathon Swim
World Series held on our beautiful shores in 2018, Seychelles will once again
host the second leg of the prestigious swimming competition in May this year.
These official
announcements were made during a press conference held on January 17, 2019, at
the Savoy Resort and Spa in the presence of Mr. Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, the
Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment, and Economic Planning, Principal
Secretary for Youth and Sports Mr. Fabian Palmyre.
The press conference
hosted by the chairperson of the Seychelles Swimming Association (SSA), Mr.
David Vidot, also saw the participation of the two core governmental partners
in the presence of Mrs. Sherin Francis the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief
Executive and Mr. Jean Larue, Chief Executive of the National Sports Council
(NSC).
The FINA World Junior
Open Water Championship is an international swimming competition that brings
together boys and girls between the age of 14 and 19, to race at the highest
level.
“This is another
historical moment for Seychelles as we are pioneering open water not only in
Seychelles but also in the African continent,” said Mr. Vidot.
During her intervention
STB Chief Executive Mrs. Francis commented that as a faithful partner of
the open water competitions, STB will give its support to the event, adding
that such sports competitions provide a great boost to the tourism industry.
“Such big events are
broadcasted by major television channels and this is a way for people to
indirectly discover the destination for the first time. We have noticed in the
past that having international press cover such events has allowed us to
receive more leverage and visibility as a small country with little resources,”
said Mrs. Francis.
She added that all stakeholders
in the tourism industry stand to benefit from such an event.
Commenting on the
financial commitment of the event, the Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment,
and Economic Planning stated that the government of Seychelles is giving its
full support for the hosting of the event. He also took the
opportunity to invite local businesses to join the initiative as sponsors and
partners.
“It is important that
Seychelles hosts such events to make sure that it remains relevant on the
international scene as a country that is serious and engaged in sport. Sport
brings about peace and most of all it develops the youth and places them on the
right track in life,” said Mr. Loustau-Lalanne.
Mr. Loustau-Lalanne also
added that the exact costing for the event has not been established yet, but
that for the moment an estimation of about five to six million Seychelles
rupees has been made for the event.
Mr. Vidot mentioned that
ongoing discussions are still being held with FINA to establish the exact date
that the junior championship will take place. He explained that the junior
championship might be hosted during the week that follows the final race of the
FINA/Hosa Marathon Swim World Series' second leg. There will be three age
groups and three distances - 3km, 5km, and 7.5km – under which
participants will be able to compete.
The FINA/Hosa Marathon
Swim World Series, which is anticipated for May 11 and May 12 this year, will
be the second event of a four-year agreement with FINA for the
international swimming event.
“At the moment, we are
hoping to host it back to back with the world cup series as both events will be
hosted at Beau Vallon. This will allow us to make the most out of our
resources,” said Mr. Vidot.
In 2018, the first
Seychelles edition of the FINA/Hosa Marathon Swim World Series was won
by an Italians duo Arianna Bridi and Simone Ruffini who came out as the
winners of the women’s and men’s race, respectively; leaving around 50 other
world class swimmers from around the world envious of winning in the pristine
waters.
