Mauritius: The Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation, Mr Jean Christophe Stephan Toussaint, launched, this morning, the Swimming at Public Beaches project for the year 2023, at the seat of his Ministry, in Port-Louis. A certificate award ceremony for participants of the 2022 batches was also held on this occasion.
In his address, Minister Toussaint highlighted that this project, initiated on a pilot basis for the general public, is in line with his Ministry’s policy of encouraging the population to be more active and engaged in physical activity and sports on a regular basis.
Swimming, he pointed out, is one of the best sports that exist, and it is very beneficial for the whole body, in addition to being a relaxing exercise.
The Minister further indicated that this year, swimming classes would resume in February. He informed that a communication campaign would also be launched in order to provide more information to the population on how and where to register for these classes. The Ministry will also be reflecting on a pilot afterschool and Saturday project for the youths so as to encourage them to practice swimming, he added.
Moreover, Mr Toussaint seized the opportunity to thank all the coaches who have been working with the participants on different beaches of the island. He also urged the participants to become ambassadors of this project by inviting their relatives and friends to participate in future swimming courses.
It is recalled that the Swimming at Public Beaches Project was introduced in 2022 with the aim of enabling the population to be more oriented to the aquatic environment; maintaining a healthy lifestyle; learn skills of survival and safety in water; and being a recreational activity.
The swimming training sessions were held on four public beaches, namely: Belle Mare, Blue Bay, Mon Choisy, and Flic en Flac. For the year 2022, a total of 188 participants out of 271 successfully completed the training.
