MARIGOT--Some 42 "student athletes" and their parents recently gathered in the forecourt of Collège Soualiga, Cité Scolaire, in La Savane recently for a talk in preparation for the start of the new school year.
Charles-Henri Palvair, Director of the Centre of Excellence in Education through Sport (Centre d' Excellence et d' Education par le Sport CEES), and its President, Marc Gérald Ménard, welcomed the student-athletes who were selected in advance by the soccer, basketball and athletics leagues and clubs. It was an early start to the new school year for these 42 students, to which Principal of the College, Edithe Velayoudon, was also present, although she made it clear that until the start of the new school year on September 4, Charles-Henri Palvair was in charge. Palvair, whom the students call "Coach", has made a considerable personal investment in this first class of CEES, and the stakes are high not only for its continuity, and above all for leading the selected students towards top-level sport and professionalisation. Following a roll call, Coach Palvair explained to the students and their parents how the first and subsequent days would unfold, right up to the official start of the school year. In Palvair's words, the emphasis is on “discipline, respect for others and timetables, and good academic results.”
The students then moved into their assigned classrooms to study Maths, French and English. Palvair pointed out that the teachers dedicated to these courses had also been especially selected. Following the lunch break, the student-athletes took part in their respective sports training sessions for two hours on the Cité Scolaire's soccer pitch, basketball court and athletics track. During this "pre-entry" period, the student-athletes will undergo various tests, including medical, exercise, mental ability and joint tests, as well as a chiropody check-up... At the end of this first period, on August 30, individual assessments will be carried out in the presence of parents. CEES, whose mission is to guide young people who have demonstrated strong potential towards top-level sport, was created in the spring of 2022. A year later in April, 42 youngsters were selected by their respective leagues and clubs in the soccer, basketball and athletics disciplines, but also on the basis of a study of their academic results.
Then, in June of this year, a partnership was signed between CEES and the French Ministry of Education, so that these students could benefit from an adapted timetable, enabling them to follow two hours of daily sports training, four days a week. The start of the new school year for this first class marked an important milestone for the future of the region and its young athletes.
