Participation Increased Significantly at the Second year of the Seychelles Basketball For Good Program

MAHÉ (Seychelles) - The Basketball For Good (BB4G) Festival successfully concluded the second of three years of the Hoops 4 Health program in the Seychelles, powered by Al Salam Bank.

The 2023 Basketball For Good Festival took place on 11 November, seeing 21 participating schools, with 46 teams and a total of 198 students. 

The success of the second year of the Seychelles Basketball For Good program was clear with the noticeable 41 % of female participation during this year’s Festival. 

The Seychelles Basketball For Good program is a three-year community impact project funded by the local branch of Bahrain-headquartered Al Salam Bank. The Basketball For Good Festival was the third step of the first year following a teacher workshop, and in-school program, bringing together the participating schools.

The workshop in May 2023 for Youth Leaders and Physical Education teachers provided the foundation of the program, followed by regular school visits of the Youth Leaders at the participating schools. Over 60 school visits were made, which saw the Youth Leaders and PE teachers implementing basketball sessions with health & nutritious education elements.

For the first time, the program was not only conducted on Mahé island but also on Praslin and La Digue, who participated with all primary and secondary schools in the Festival.

Other exciting additions to this year's festival included a formation of mixed teams of students from different schools to promote teamwork and foster new friendships.  To further promote healthy living and lifestyle, all teams were named after healthy foods, and healthy snacks and local fresh juice were provided to all players.

The side activities included a photo contest and a Hoops 4 Health quiz with attractive prizes.

George Madeleine, Head of Health Promotion at the Ministry of Health delivered a speech about the importance of healthy and active lifestyles for the prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

He expressed the importance of implementing programs such as Hoops 4 Health in the country;  “I am really impressed with the level of participation and wish such an event could be held every weekend. As we have a big problem of obesity here in the Seychelles, we need to have more similar initiatives to get kids into sports. If this program gets a permanent place in the school’s curriculum it will open up the doors for so many opportunities.”

Secretary General of the Seychelles Basketball Federation, Adrian Pillay highlighted the benefits of the program for the children's health. “This program is important as obesity is one of the main problems the youth are facing here in the Seychelles. Hoops For Health is a good opportunity for the children to get into sports and to keep them in shape. “

 ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Prizes were awarded by Mr. Steve Hoareau, Mr. Rudy Joseph, and Mr. Albert Duncan, members of the National Sports Council, and Adrian Pillay.

Thanks to the partnership with Molten, a total of 500 basketballs were distributed during the school visits and the Festival, to enable ongoing basketball participation. Furthermore, every participant received a uniform and a bag thanks to the partnership with PEAK.

As Al Salam eagerly continues to fund the whole project, preparations for the third and final year of the program have started and are well underway to end it all off with a bang.

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The FIBA Foundation is the social and legacy arm of FIBA that addresses the role of sports and particularly basketball in society, preserving and promoting basketball’s values and its cultural heritage.

The FIBA Foundation believes that basketball has the power to empower, educate and inspire youth and facilitates this by implementing Basketball For Good projects around the world.