Cheques amounting to a total of Rs 540 000 were handed over yesterday to athletes who will participate in the 11th Games of the Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l’Ocean Indien (CJSOI) to be held in Djibouti from 20 to 26 April 2018 and the Commonwealth Games in Australia from 4 to 11 April 2018.
The cheque remittance ceremony, jointly arranged by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Club Maurice, was held in presence of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Stephan Toussaint, in Port Louis.
In his address, the Minister expressed his gratitude to the sponsors and lauded their strong commitment in supporting the actions of the CJSOI and the country’s participation in helping Club Maurice to achieve its set objectives.
The financial assistance will help the athletes improve their training preparations in various disciplines in which they will be participating. Mauritius, he said, will be represented by a large number of athletes and the delegation will be made up of 113 persons for the CJSOI and around 154 persons for the Commonwealth Games.
Mr Toussaint further announced that the traditional gathering in the wake of the CJSOI and the Commonwealth Games will be held on Saturday 17 March at Domaine Anna, Flic en Flac. The aim is to build and boost team spirit of athletes as well as artists who will represent Mauritius in specific segments namely dance, art and literature.
The Minister called upon the athletes to use the international platforms, the forthcoming 2019 Indian Ocean Island Games in Mauritius, and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, as preparatory sessions for the Summer Olympic Games, Road to Paris 2024.
CJSOI is a regional intergovernmental commission founded in 1988 which comprise seven islands/Member countries, namely Comoros, Djibouti, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion and Seychelles. CJSOI Games were introduced in 1994 to promote friendship and fraternity among the youth of the Member countries and foster the development of regional cooperation, sport and youth through exchanges of young people and athletes under the age of 18.
The Commonwealth Games is an international multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations with the most recent being held in Glasgow, Scotland in 2014. The 2018 Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Source: Government of Mauritius