Rare in the azure landscape, the ANICES association, present since 2007, has made it its mission to raise awareness and integrate visually impaired individuals through physical and cultural activities, notably through Torball, a sport adapted to this type of disability.
Some associations claim public utility. Others have the sole purpose of providing leisure to their members through the practice of one or more sports. Finally, there are a very few that can boast of being both. This is the case of the A.N.I.C.E.S. association (Niçoise Association of Cultural and Sports Initiatives). Its main concern: “to develop sports, culture, and leisure for visually impaired and able-bodied people without distinction of race, degree of disability, gender, and age,” according to its president Sébastien Filippini. The showcase and the number one goal of the club seem to be the promotion of a sport still unknown to the public: Torball.
Torball: What is it?
Torball (pronounced “torball”) is a sport adapted for visually impaired individuals. The ball contains bells to help players locate it. A match takes place on a field of 16 meters by 7 meters and is divided into two halves of 5 minutes. The objective of the game is to score as many goals as possible within the allotted time. The shots are made by hand and must pass under a sound cord located in the middle of the field, 40 cm from the ground. To stop, deflect, or catch the shots, the defending players have their entire body at their disposal. In the event of a tie at the end of regulation time, extra time is played. Naturally, the rules are adapted to the degree of disability of the players.
But to make it the association’s showcase, they need to achieve convincing results in this sport. And that is the case, as ANICES has just climbed another step by reaching the second division this season. Although struggling after the first leg matches that took place on December 18 in Besançon (two wins for four defeats), the Niçois are only one point away in the overall standings from their direct competitors for staying in the league, ASAA Strasbourg, and CAH Clermont-Ferrand. The return matches will take place in six months, on June 18.
In the meantime, the Azuréens will participate in several tournaments to prepare well for staying in D2: February 5 in Tours, March 19 in Martinique, and on April 2 in Nice, where the association will host Paris, Tours, as well as foreign teams such as Bolzano and Turin (Italy), Brussels (Belgium), Munich (Germany), and Salzburg (Austria).
A team has also been formed to participate in competitions in the women’s category this year. It will start with a friendly tournament in Lyon on January 15.
Bike, tandem… And now athletics
Even though this young association has only existed since September 2007, it offers various sports practices such as cycling, solo or tandem. It should be noted that the handisport cycling section hosts a high-level athlete this season in the person of Benjamin Landier, French time trial champion in 2010, with four selections in the French team and 12th in the UCI world ranking. As for the tandem category, it saw the participation of three pairs (Léna Pichot-Sandrine Filippini, Roger Mombru-Robert Sellem, Benjamin Landier-Bernard Berger) and a cyclist (Patrice Barattero) in the 2010 telethon on December 4, for an 80 km route, Saint Laurent/Mandelieu round trip.
ANICES also has a multisport branch, notably with FTT (all-terrain wheelchair) downhill competitions, solo or tandem. Finally, it should be highlighted that an athletics section has just been established within the association. It will take part in handisport competitions starting this season.
Raising awareness among children upstream
But even if the good performances in competitions are at the forefront from a media point of view, it is all the preliminary awareness work that should be highlighted. That is, the willingness to integrate this type of activity in schools and colleges in the department, on an equal footing with basketball, handball, or football. Several establishments are already partners of the association, like Louis Nucéra college and Terra Amata primary school in Nice or Aimé Legall primary school in Mouans-Sartoux.
Ultimately, ANICES is, as the association’s motto states, “exchange, listening, attention and not indifference! No matter the performance, what matters is the sum of the efforts made to reach a level set by each individual.”
