?M ore than 40 years have passed since I had Pierre Philogène as my PE teacher at Royal College Port-Louis, but I will never forget what he did for me. He was definitely not an ordinary PE teacher. Gymnastics is not an easy thing to do. It is dangerous and demands a lot of courage and confidence. Pierre was the kind of teacher we needed as he managed to inculcate this confidence into us. He was always leading by example. If he had not been there, I could easily have given up gymnastics at school.

When it came to team sports, what was special about Pierre was the fact that he inculcated a team spirit in us. He used to teach us various disciplines such as football, basket-ball or volley-ball. On Saturday mornings, he took seven or eight students on a basket-ball pitch in Cassis. I was part of the team. Over there, he trained us for free. What really impressed me was the commitment he showed towards that basket-ball team.

My classmates and I did not have the physique basket-ball players usually have. Nevertheless, we managed to win several inter-college competitions in the mid-sixties, against the likes of Saint-Esprit or Saint-Joseph, who were great. These victories were thanks to the way Pierre taught us to play. He showed us that we could win a match with a good technique and rapid passes. I still remember when there were those inter-college matches; he used to take us in his little Volkswagen. As there was room for only five players in the car, we did not have any substitute! What is funny is that, now when I look back, amongst the players in the team, most have become doctors in different countries. In this team, there was also my good friend, Justice Lam Shang Ling.

I must say that the most important thing Pierre did for me, was that he made me love sports. Despite my age today, I still practise some sports regularly. I find it a pity that sport does not have a major importance in the school life of Mauritian students. When I look at the University of Mauritius, for instance, they do not have a proper team for each discipline or if they have a team, it?s not up to competition level. In fact, nowadays, people tend to think that, when children do sports, they are wasting their time! That is absolute nonsense! Sport is something essential for the health of an individual! As a doctor, I know what I am talking about! In this context, it happens sometimes that some parents come to me to get a letter for their children to be excused from sports at school. I always refuse to do so, except in genuine circumstances!

In the seventies, when I was doing my HSC, I was accepted by the medical college of Saint Mary?s Hospital in London. Surprisingly enough, I had not even finished my HSC. I firmly believe that this was due to the different things I had managed to achieve in sports at Royal College Port-Louis. If this was the case, Pierre is the first person I should thank!?