THE Seychelles National Olympic Committee (SNOC) has received an award of recognition for its outstanding contribution towards the fostering of Olympic ideals and the development of sports in the world.

It was Mr Robert Auguste, the secretary general of SNOC, who informed Sports Nation that the national Olympic body had been given the award by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), an arm of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

According to Auguste, ANOC decided to give the award to SNOC because the National Olympic Academy of Seychelles (NOAS) had been doing a fine job since its inception in 1999.

The NOAS, whose director is Mr Alain Alcindor, has been using the IOC financial assistance it receives every year to organise different educational activities like poem writing, quiz and public speaking competitions as well as Olympic academy sessions.

The NOAS, which forms part of SNOC, is also responsible for organising the traditional Olympic Day Run to celebrate the anniversary of the Olympic Movement on June 23.

Meanwhile, SNOC president Antonio Gopal is to be given an ANOC merit award later during the year.

This award is given to a national Olympic committee member who has done or is still doing a good job in his/her respective country in regards to the development of sports.

Apart from Mr Gopal, 12 more candidates coming from Benin, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Malawi, Armenia, Barbados, Colombia, Oman, Uzbekistan, Panama and Paraguay are to receive their awards later this year.

In a new development, Doreen Mirabeau, a member of the NOAS, left the country on Sunday  June 30 for Olympia, Greece, to attend the session for directors and members of the International Olympic Academy.

Mirabeau, a Physical Education instructor at the Bel Eau Primary School and a member of the Bel Air basketball team, is expected back home on Sunday July 7.