The Seychellois medallists at the Indian Ocean Youth and Sports Commission Games (CJSOI) games will receive cash rewards for their performances, a top government official said on Thursday.
The announcement was made by the Minister for Youth, Family and Sports, Marie-Celine Zialor, in a ceremony at the International Conference Centre, where athletes were presented with certificates for their good performance at the regional games.
Seychelles finished third on the medals table, with 45 medals - 12 gold, 12 silver and 21 bronze.
"I would like to make a special address this afternoon. The sports department sat down yesterday and we saw that there is no policy for compensating athletes that compete at the CJSOI games. After looking at our budget we saw we could give something to those who won medals," said Zialor.
She explained that for each bronze medal, an athlete will receive SCR2,500 ($152) for silver medals the reward is SCR5,000 ($378) and for gold medals, athletes will get SCR10,000 ($755).
This will be good news for the athletes, especially those who won multiple medals, such as Seychelles' top performer, Khema Elizabeth, who won a total of eight medals - three gold, one silver and four bronze.
"I want to also salute the work of everyone involved in the good work for the CJSOI team, which also includes the coaches and parents," said Zialor, who added that her ministry will continue to invest in sports to ensure that the young athletes continue to develop.
One of the main attractions of the event was the handing over of the CJSOI flag to President Wavel Ramkalawan to confirm Seychelles as the host of the next edition of the games in 2025.
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In his address, Ramkalawan said, "I want to congratulate all the athletes for the great performance they gave at the games. I also want to give thanks to the parents as well for all the support they have given their children," said Ramkalawan.
The President also promised to invest in sports facilities and said that work has already begun and the hope is that the young athletes can have high standard facilities to train and compete in.
"To the young athletes, I want to tell you to keep doing the sport you love and we will support you. We have seen in the past where young promising athletes end up giving up their sport and sometimes fall into bad habits, such as drugs and alcohol, but we want that to change," he added.
The CJSOI Games is a multi-sport and cultural event organised every two years and sees the participation of Indian Ocean nations including Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti and two overseas departments of France - Reunion and Mayotte.
