The Bouconne leisure center is equipped with 6 tennis courts. Originally, there were 12 on this site. As everywhere, the activities of the sportsmen who frequent Bouconne, are oriented today, towards practices closer to nature such as mountain biking or hiking. At the end of the last century, tennis had become very popular. To play on the 12 courts of Bouconne it was prudent to book. “The demand was such that the 10-minute delay on the reservation time made the tennis court available” testifies a former manager. Many personalities from the region came to hit the little yellow ball in Bouconne.
For 20 years until 2000, during the Easter holidays, the intercommunal syndicate, which has since become the mixed syndicate of Bouconne, organized a tennis tournament for children and adults in collaboration with the Departmental Directorate of Youth and Sports (DDJS) . This tournament was approved by the FFT, with free registration. “It was a hell of an organization,” says Jacques Denis, a retired DDJS adviser. “We had an average of 200 players registered.” Easter Sunday was a day of celebration with the finals and the award ceremony attended by elected representatives from the region. The players won cups and medals, tennis equipment but also entries to the defunct Toulouse tennis Grand Prix to see Christ Evert, Noah, Forget, Connors, Mc Enroe and the very young Federer play. “The tournament balls were distributed to the tennis schools of the clubs represented,” specifies Jacques.
On the shelves of the homes of people in their forties in the region, you can find flocked cups and medals “bouconne tournament”. The unused tennis courts have been transformed by the Syndicat mixte de Bouconne into a handball court, an archery range and an original cycling circuit for learning the Highway Code for primary schools.
