It is in this regard that we met him to ask a few questions, which he was willing to answer with his usual flair.
N-P: This tournament represents a significant challenge for your club Passion Ovale and also for Skema Business School. How did the idea of organizing an international, even intercontinental tournament come to you?
D.B.:The idea arose from the merger of Ceram Business School and Esc Lille, which resulted in the creation of SKEMA. Indeed, we had a strong rugby tradition at CERAM with EPO (ESPRIT PASSION OVALE), the CERAM rugby association, with 4 titles of ESC champion of France. So, we had the idea of creating a tournament in the image of our school: international, ambitious, and of very high quality. The people in this association, whether they are rugby players, cheerleaders, or association members, are all passionate about rugby. Together, we gave our best to create this tournament.
N-P: This organization certainly required considerable effort. Did you receive support from the SBS management, and how did you generally approach this challenge?
D.B.: The SBS management was of considerable help. Régis Brandinelli and Corinne Bonnin were invaluable aids. The alumni network also contributed to the success of this tournament because our sponsor Deloitte was influenced by a former CERAM member who is currently the president of Deloitte France, Mr. Jean Paul Picard.
Finally, many people helped us, including the SKEMA communication service, which was of great assistance. The challenge was only there to motivate us. It was a summit we wanted to reach, and we hope that will be the case during this tournament. There was also a very effective team in place, Nicolas Rigal (logistics department), Fabien Romand and Mathieu Petit (sponsorship department), Adrien Léonard (communication department). During this adventure, I discovered wonderful people giving their time generously for the success of a project. It was an immense pride to have worked with the administration of SKEMA and its students; one can be proud to be a Skemian when seeing the involvement in our projects by our school and its students.
N.P.: Can you tell us the budget of the event and which sponsors and sports and civic institutions contributed?
D.B.: It is a budget of 70,000 Euros. The financing is primarily private. Our sponsor Deloitte contributed greatly to the success of our project. The company Noeva and Société Générale were also generous in finalizing our budget. The CCI also contributed to the success of this tournament. Finally, SKEMA participated financially, as did AMD, an association of our school. Despite the beauty of the project, we did not receive other public support.
N.P.: Did you encounter difficulties, even opposition, to realize this project?
D.B.: The lack of support from certain institutions, despite an early solicitation in the project. We would have liked the event to unite institutions more, highlighting university sports.
N.P.: This will be the first edition of the French Riviera Sevens. Can you already comment on the future of this project?
D.B.: An assessment will be made after the tournament. This project aims to take place each year. We will, therefore, be there in 2011, 2012, 2013…
