Female and male artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline, aerobics, tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics, teamgym and parkour… With nine disciplines, from the oldest to the most contemporary, 340,000 members, a budget of about twenty million euros and a Elegant and large headquarters in the heart of Paris, the French Gymnastics Federation (FFGym) is, on paper, a most attractive SME.
But when the time comes to renew governance, on November 22 and 23, the clubs and departmental committees – Invited for the first time to vote live, under the law for the democratization of sport of 2022, they find themselves before a body divided between its attachment to traditional disciplines and the imperative need to expand.
After the three successive presidential terms – the maximum authorized – of James Blateau, the oldest of the national sports federations, founded in 1873, appears to be a fool in terms of sporting results and is the one that has recently attracted the most negative publicity.
The Blateau era (2013-2024) ended with a total absence of medals during the last three Olympic campaigns. the 4my Samir Aït Saïd’s place in the rings and the 6my The places of the trampolinist Pierre Gouzou and the rhythmic gymnastics team in the Paris 2024 Games do not make us forget the impossibility of the men’s artistic gymnastics team (GAM) to qualify. And the world team bronze medal for female artistic gymnasts (GAF) in 2023 does not erase their Paris Olympic fiasco: eleventh place among twelve teams registered.
“Transition” or “renewal”
At the national level, the approaches of Mr. Blateau, 68, and the national ethics reference and executive director of the FFGym, David Vallée, before the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the operational failures of the sports federations, earned the federation of a severe rethinking by the sports ministry.
Two opposing visions give a new direction to federal governance. On one side the ” transition ” promised by Dominique Mérieux, 63 years old, general secretary of the FFGym since 2013. On the other hand, the “renewal” played by Raphaël Lecerf, 46 years old, president of the Normandy regional gymnastics committee since 2017.
Former daycare director in priority educational network », Dominique Mérieux highlights his “domain of federal functioning” and his “implantation”. Evolving at different levels of the venerable institution for more than thirty years, this former gymnast, then judge and coach, does not lack experience or networks. President of a club with 800 members in Lyon, she managed the GAM national training center in Lyon, where she saw Yann Cucherat grow in particular – four participations in the Olympic Games and two world podiums –, now general director of high performance at the national. Sports Agency.
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