Launch of a High Performance Academy in Mauritius

A first in the Mauritian landscape, the launch of a multi-sport Olympic academy to support Mauritian athletes at the highest level. The structure will be based in Moka, a strategic 13 students, which will allow the young athletes to practice 4 hours of sport per day, a real revolution in the world of sport in Mauritius for our young athletes.

Section of Excellence, a world first in the AEFE network of French high schools abroad.

The first class will start on September 02, 2021 and will be composed of 26 athletes (boys and girls) born mostly in 2006. They will be day students and will benefit from a schedule specifically designed for high level sports with 20 hours of sports per week.

The young athletes will have an average of 2 to 3 sessions per day, segmented in the morning from 7:45 am to 9:30 am and in the afternoon from 2:40 pm to 4:40 pm.

The program includes a physical part of aerobics and gym in the morning for all athletes, a part of personal development with various modules such as leadership, nutrition, cognitive perception, work on the mental, sports science, video analysis and of course the technical part with specific skills according to each sport.

Mauritius benefits from a unique school format in the AEFE network of French high schools. This is a great opportunity for young Mauritian athletes to train as much as a high level American or Australian athlete.

Jean-Baptiste Gobelet , DTN Rugby  said:

“The Academy of Sports aims to establish a culture of High Performance within Mauritian sport. The implementation of high intensity training from an early age will allow us to better structure the athletes on the Technical, Physical, Mental and Tactical dimensions. We are considerably increasing the hourly volume of training of the athlete to 20 hours per week. Currently the hourly volume of a young Mauritian athlete is much too low (4 to 6 hours per week), it is utopian to believe in the high level by training only 3 times per week at this age. “

“To establish this culture, the athlete’s environment is preponderant, so we are banking on a high-level learning environment with specialists to accompany these young people, strategic partnerships for each discipline are underway with international academies in order to give credibility to this structure and welcome the best coaches.”

He further states, “Beyond the training programs, ADP (Athlete Development Personal) programs will allow us to build balanced athletes who master all the parameters of the high level. We are here to maximize the athlete’s potential and build true leaders.”

Philippe Dariel, Principal of the Lycée Mascareignes:

The Section d’Excellence Sportive du Lycée des Mascareignes, accredited by the AEFE and the French Ministry of Education, will be the first of its kind within the 550 international French schools.

From the beginning of the school year 2021, this structure will support 26 high level Mauritian and international athletes, aged 15 to 19 years old, in their sports and academic development. This 3-year program, structured around talented athletes, prepares young people for the French Baccalaureate exam while making exceptional provisions for their athletic development.

26 champions: triathletes; dancers; horsemen and horsewomen; weightlifters; swimmers; rugby players or footballers, will be the happy few of our 1st promotion on whom we count a lot to carry the colors of Mauritius in future international competitions.

Kevin Venkiah, President of Rugby Union Mauritius said:

“This Olympic academy is a real opportunity for both rugby and Mauritian sport. It will allow us to raise our standards and our base of Mauritian players. This is part of the development of rugby in Mauritius.

Inclusion through sport and especially rugby is part of our life concept and our policy on Mauritian rugby, we are doing a lot of work on the democratization of rugby in Mauritius.

The fact of integrating a young person from Bel Ombre from the first promotion is a strong message addressed to the Mauritian players. He will integrate a high level school structure from next year with exceptional opportunities for his future.