The vice-president of the French Volleyball Federation, Éric Tanguy, agreed yesterday to discuss the inner workings of organizing the competition in Nice. On the sidelines of the Women’s Beach Volleyball Open, the leader opens up wholeheartedly.
How did you come up with the idea of organizing this beach volleyball tournament?
Éric Tanguy: It is a strong desire of the departmental Olympic and sports committee to establish beach volleyball in our department. It is a new Olympic discipline, but it is struggling to find its footing in France, particularly in our region which has a long coastline. Promoting beach volleyball is part of our policy, which I implemented four years ago. This sport will represent the main growth in terms of the number of licensees in the coming years, [editor’s note: 100,000 members in France today for… nearly 2 million practitioners]. I am convinced of it.
Why did you choose Nice?
É. T.: It is an opportunity. The Alpes-Maritimes Women’s Open belongs to the departmental committee. The first edition took place in Cannes. We organized the finals of the French championships four years ago in Villefranche-sur-Mer (Alpes-Maritimes). Afterwards, the city of Nice welcomed us at the theater of Place Masséna, in a splendid arena that showcases our discipline. The second and third editions were held in Nice.
What is your goal?
É. T.: The goal is to promote beach volleyball, our sport. Paradoxically, this discipline takes place more in Le Touquet or on the Côtes d’Armor than in the south of France. Although I am the vice-president of the French Federation, I am Niçois above all. There are five major stages in France, and I absolutely wanted at least one stage to take place here, on the Côte d’Azur. But the disadvantage we have compared to the Landes and Aquitaine coasts is that we have a lot of pebbles, but very little sand. Setting up an arena is very costly [editor’s note: 150,000 euros for all disciplines], because a lot of sand needs to be brought in.
How are the teams selected?
É. T.: To participate in the France Beach Tour, players must be licensed. They register on the FFVB website. Based on their journey and performances, they are awarded a number of points, like in tennis. We select the twelve best teams for the final lineup. And if there are ever twenty teams registered, we organize a qualification tournament. The eight teams with the fewest points compete for four spots.
How many spectators were you expecting?
É. T.: We hope that the audience will show up. Since we are hosting a tournament with superb players playing remarkable beach volleyball, it would be nice for as many people as possible to enjoy it.
