The Balma Arc Club won the title at the French Handisport Archery Championships.
The Balma Arc Club (BAC) has a new French archery champion. At almost 45 years old, Aziza has just won this prestigious indoor disabled title in Saint-Herblain. “I have been practicing archery for 10 years, she says. In December and January, I also participated in the selections for the para-archery world championships (70 m) which took place in Dubai in February.” Even if Aziza narrowly failed in these world selections, she does not leave her objective, which is to participate in the Paris Olympics in 2024. She adds: “For the moment, I am preparing the selections for the European championships, scheduled in Rome in August.”
“My Revenge”
A national gold medal that bodes well for a bright sporting future for this computer technician who has been licensed in Balma for 3 years, after having started the discipline in Cugnaux. Suffering from the after-effects of polio, contracted as a child, Aziza started archery only 10 years ago. “I was 35 years old and it was then a resumption of physical activity. I have much less strength in the upper limbs than a person of my age. press on one of my feet,” she said. And to continue: “I wanted to take my revenge on the fact that I was always told that I could not play sports. Archery requires you to stand up straight and to gain strength, while I regularly had back problems, but after 6 months of archery, I no longer had back pain.”
And a bronze medal
Affiliated FFH (French Handisport Federation), the BAC also returned from the French championships with a bronze medal, won by Morgane (22), who is preparing a degree in biology at the same time. “I’ve been training in Balma for 3 years. I’ve been paraplegic since a road accident when I was 6. I started archery at 10 in Compiègne. At the time , it was my physio who pushed me. For me, archery was a breath of fresh air. This year, I also participated in the French university championships. I still hope to progress and participate again at the French championships.”
The Balma Arc Club (BAC) has just organized an internal tournament to close its indoor season in the Jean-Rostand gymnasium. In fact, as of next week, the club will begin its outdoor season on the facilities of the Latécoère stadium. “This friendly meeting allowed members to get together. It was a team meeting with qualifying shots on a coat of arms at 18 m”, explains President Vincent Denhez.
This internal tournament was in particular an opportunity to reward a deserving practitioner. The choice of archer of the year went to Ewen Espeu (junior). Licensed for 5 years at the BAC, he is on the ministerial hope list of the Departmental Directorate of Youth and Sports (DDJS). Regional Junior Indoor Champion 2022, he finished 4th in the 2021 French Outdoor Championship and 9th in the 2022 French Indoor Championship which took place in Cholet in February. “Ewen Espeu has improved a lot since he joined the club and he is very diligent in training,” insists Vincent Denhez.
The BAC has 120 members, 38% of whom are women, compared to 25% nationally. “I would add that among the 18 members of our board of directors, there are nine women and nine men. It is therefore perfect parity”, underlines the president.
