China set to train 32 Sierra Leonean Beach Volleyball players

A group of 32 Beach Volleyball players including sport officials would leave the shore of Sierra Leone for a two-month intensive Beach Volleyball training course in China.

The training is aimed at helping Sierra Leone to promote and improve the competitiveness of Beach Volleyball and to achieve breakthrough in the coming games that Sierra Leonean team would participate in. It would also serve as a platform to further promote the bilateral cooperation and provide the participants with a better understanding of China's sport, social and economic development.

Madam Simity Mansaray is the Senior Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Sports, while explaining the selection process of the participants, she noted that, the 32 participant were drawn across the country in places like Bo, Kono and Makeni where beach volley is played. She said through friendly tie, Sierra Leone has benefited immensely from the Chinese government in terms of capacity building.

"To you the participants, let me use this opportunity to talk to you in the form of advice that, you should please comport yourself and be at your best during this training," Simity told the participants, noting that the Beach Volley training was a new training opportunity for the youth that would help sharp their psycho-social well-being and would increase their output during any subsequent game.

The Economic Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Freetown, Zhang Xueqian, welcomed and congratulated the participants of the training program and opined that, the program was funded by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and hoped the training would provide them with new technical skills to play the game well upon their return. He urged them to share their knowledge and experience with others when they return to Sierra Leone.

Zhang further said that the Chinese Embassy would initiate discussion on the cooperation in human resources and capacity building for this year with the government of Sierra Leone very soon.

Last year, more than 700 Sierra Leoneans joined various programs held in China.