Sport is friendship, as the saying goes. Nothing could be truer when you see the embraces, pats, and hugs exchanged among those present at the New Year’s Eve party of the Departmental Olympic Committee. Everyone showed genuine pleasure in being there, catching up with each other, and exchanging news…
It’s true that 2017 was a prosperous year for the French sports movement: the award of the 2024 Olympic Games, one hundred years after the previous ones, was a source of immense pride, seen as an opportunity to “transform France from a nation of athletes to a sporting nation” – those are the words of Denis Masseglia, president of the CNOSF.
In numbers, it’s the objective of a major campaign that will be launched, aiming to reach 24 million members!
On a more local level, it’s also about the merger between the two regional Committees, Provence-Alpes and Côte d’Azur, which will unite into one. Ivan Coste-Manière, the president of the latter, will be one of the leaders.
At the departmental level, president Philippe Manassero claimed to be at the helm of one of the most active and effective committees in the country.
Besides supporting departmental sports events, the committee has organized the Sports Caravan since 2002, which now reaches 30 municipalities and, in 2017, issued nearly 7,000 participation passports to children aged 4 to 14 who took part in the discovery and initiation of numerous sports disciplines.
Over the years, other flagship events have been added, such as “Sentez-vous sport,” now in its 8th edition with over 3,500 participants, the Olympic Days in support of the Paris 2025 bid, which brought together nearly 2,000 schoolchildren, and the newest event, “le sport dans le pré,” aimed at municipalities with less than 500 inhabitants. In its first edition, the village of Ascros, the least populated in the department, benefited from it.
But true to the saying “he who stops, falls,” president Manassero and his team have launched a new challenge: Team Espoirs 06, which will offer young athletes aged 17 to 23 support in an innovative project, unique in France, with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and 2024 Paris Olympics in their sights.
Philippe Manassero wishes to remain discreet about the details and promises a future announcement.
The only downside of the evening was the budget issue. The 2018 finance law reduced the funding allocated to sports by 7%, which is likely to result in a 30 to 50% reduction in the territorial share of the CNDS (National Council for Sports Development). In real terms, this would mean a shortfall of 33,000 euros for the CDOS to meet its commitments and programs.
But… the president of the departmental council is named Charles-Ange Ginésy, and maybe it’s no coincidence: during his friendly speech, he made a statement that in his mouth was worth more than a promise: “the departmental council will ensure the necessary budget.”
And he expressed his full support for sports and its values: “A driving force in the life of a community, a vehicle for learning rules and values, a tool for social and intergenerational cohesion, sport deserves an ambitious policy dedicated to it, attentive to people and infrastructure, open to more participation as well as the promotion of excellence.”
It was well said and requires nothing more, except that leaders and athletes live up to these fine words.
