2015 ICF World Championships Slalom
 
1
2
3
K1M
CZ J. PRSKAVEC
PL M. POLACZYK
US M. SMOLEN
K1W
CZ K. KUDEJOVA
DE R. FUNK
DE M. PFEIFER
C1M
GB D. FLORENCE
SI B. SAVSEK
GB R. WESTLEY
C1W
AU J. FOX
CZ K. HOSKOVA
ES N. VILARRUBLA
C2
DE ANTON/BENZIEN
FR PICCO/BISO
FR KLAUSS/PECHE

Canoe Sprint

Adam van Koeverden ‘Right to Play Ambassador’ in Mali

adam van koeverden canoe kayak sprint

By: Adam van Koeverden, VANKAYAK.COM - I'm on my way home to Toronto now, reflecting back on our trip.  There's a lot going on upstairs, I think I'll recap Friday... it was one of the busiest, and most moving days of the week.

Our first stop was the office of the Minister of Sport and Youth Culture, to take part in a seminar about leadership. Boris (the excellent an eloquent RTP country manager here in Mali) is giving me a pat on the back for attempting 3 or 4 consecutive thoughts en Francais before deferring to the capable interdiction of Moise, translator extraordinaire.  I spoke briefly on how inspired I was by the Malian people, their determination, optimism, commitment to their nation and impressive youth potential. Both Clara and I spoke about the Malian Youth Initiative that we are driving in Ouroun and other rural communities here in Mali. I described the process of developing leaders through sport, the importance of executive capacity, and how a healthy competitive environment helps to engender that quality in those who take part.  I stressed how well I thought the RTP programming was being implemented in the communities we visited with examples from the field. 

I was floored by the ability of a 12 year old girl in Bougouni to capture and hold the attention of a crowd of OVER 1000 kids.

One such example was how floored I was by the ability of a 12 year old girl in Bougouni to capture and hold the attention of a crowd of OVER 1000 kids and adults for more than 20minutes of RTP games and activities.  Her powerful young voice, enthusiasm and leadership capacity were like a looking glass into Mali's bright future.  Clara spoke in her exponentially improving French (seriously, can you say "learning curve", in French?) from a personal perspective regarding the leaders in her life, and how she developed as a leader through the power of sport.  The minister of Sport also spoke briefly, as did a professional corporate trainer.  Finally, Boris delivered a powerful, sermonesque closing on Right to Play's role in the development of the Malian youth. He convincingly laid out the progress, past accomplishments, challenges and aspirations of the local RTP programming.

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