The “JO effect” is well known in the archery section of the Metropolitan Union of Sports Transport (USMT). “ At the end of each Olympic Games, we have an influx (…) of people and requests [d’inscription] »explains Jean-François Hoeni, the president for fifteen years of the aforementioned section, whose premises are located at 13my district of Paris. But, at the beginning of this school year, “it really is the pinnacle”says the person who also plays the role of coach.
This summer, while watching the competitions on television, Léa Perrier, a new member of the USMT beginners group, finally decided to find a club near her home. A discipline that has attracted the 30-year-old Parisian since she first saw the film. The Lord of the Ringsat 8 years old.
The success of Paris 2024, the home Games, extends to sports clubs. In the particular case of archery, “There was real visibility of our practice”, particularly due to the fact that the tests took place in “the emblematic site of Les Invalides”, welcomes Mr. Hoeni. “This has made me want to take actionconfirms Chantal Pagnoux, president of the Archers de la Chapelle, a club from the north of the capital. This awakened people who had long had sport in mind.
All sports together, the resigning Minister of Sport and Olympic and Paralympic Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, anticipated that “2 million to 2.5 million additional licensees”, compared to 16.5 million in 2023. But a question arises: will the clubs be able to absorb such a request?
“We are completely saturated”
Since their back-to-school week, the USMT archery section has It now has 130 members, as many as the total reached at the end of last season. “We are at the extreme limit”, ” argues Jean-Français Hoeni, who says he has rejected two or three registration requests by telephone every day since the end of the Games. “Our facilities have a limited capacity, it is a real estate issue”duck.
The problem is not new. This is how Jean-Guy Perreau, president of the La Roche-sur-Yon volleyball club (Vendée), remembers it. Already in 2021, after the gold medal of the French men’s volleyball team at the Tokyo Games, he had to deal with an influx of young licensees. “The next two years we approached the wallsmyLast year we hit the wall. Today we are completely saturated.”reports Jean-Guy Perreau, whose club has 300 members.
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