Last Wednesday, 34 students from the Mont des Accords (Concordia) and Mireille Choisy (Saint-Barth) colleges and the Robert Weinum high school were on Galion beach for the first surfing competition of the National Union of School Sports (UNSS) on the island.
For some, it had barely been 6 months since they’d been on a surfboard. Since then, they’ve come every Wednesday to train on Galion beach with their instructors and the SXM Surf Club, partner in the initiative. “I love the waves, my friends, and just surfing, that’s all!” explains 13-year-old Malik, from Mont des Accords CollegeThe competition “stresses him out” but he “wants to win,” he says before running off to throw himself into the waves with his friends.
Exceptionally, 14 middle school students from Saint-Barthélemy traveled by ferry to participate in the competition. On the neighboring island, middle school students have been able to surf with the UNSS (National Union of School Sports) for several years, but in Saint-Martin, it’s thanks to the initiative of Eric Deloof, a physical education teacher at the Robert Weinum High School that it has become possible. For the past year, he has been supervising high school students and his counterpart from Mont des Accords, Kévin Michelin, supervises middle school students.
Wednesday was selection day for the high school students. The competition was to determine, from among the 11 boys, the two who would represent Saint-Martin in Guadeloupe for the academic championship on April 3rd. “The competition creates a good atmosphere among them; many came to train, sometimes even without me,” rejoiced the teacher, whose goal is for his students to participate in more sporting events.
Early afternoon, the results came in: 17-year-old Keanu Rapin finished first, followed by Alexandro Charles. Both will represent the region as a team at the regional championships. Keanu hopes to “do his best” and, above all, “win the competition to represent Saint-Martin!” Among the girls, Lucie Pillant, the only high school student competing, will also be our ambassador. _DR
Source: Faxinfo https://faxinfo.fr/en/sport-education-premiere-competition-unss-de-surf-a-saint-martin/
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