Updated on 07/02/2022 – Read 241 times
Cholet Archery was already supposed to organize it in 2021 but the health situation prevented it. The French federation has kept its confidence in him to do so this year. Thus, from Friday February 25 to Sunday February 27, the Cholet club will be at the helm of the French youth indoor archery championship, at La Meilleraie, where it hopes to attract a thousand people.
After the organization of an outdoor veterans championship in 2016, Cholet archery is taking the next step with this competition where 386 young archers, from the benjamin, minimal, cadet and junior categories, will have to show skill and precision to win the title of French champion. “When I took over the presidency in 2017, after the veterans championship, we wanted to organize a youth championship. This requires a good team and we have an office that works very well, recognizes Stéphane Airaud, president. For a club to live, you have to have projects.“
A 20cm target… at 18m!
The 386 archers welcomed during these three days in Cholet are aged between 10 and 21 years old. If the youngest and minimal handle only the recurve bow, the cadets and juniors can also use the compound bow. 32 targets will be set up at La Meilleraie, with faces of 30 cm for the youngest and only 20 cm for the oldest. Which is not very big when you move away from 18 m! The archers will have to go through a qualification shot (on Friday and Saturday) with, for each shot, 20 ends of three arrows. From Saturday afternoon the duels will begin, the most impressive part according to Stéphane Airaud: “there is a little suspense“.
The Archery of Cholet will unfortunately not have a representative during this French championship, the club only counting about twenty young people, whose performances do not yet reach this level. Nevertheless, Maine-et-Loire counting 16 clubs, young people from Mazé and one from Beaupréau will be engaged.
Non-contact sports
As for the Cholet club, with 74 licensees, it maintains its workforce despite the health context. “We practice a non-contact sport where it is easy to put in place barrier gestures” underlines the president. His good results are to be credited to Catherine Murzeau, titled at the national level several times, Gabriel Lefort, who will participate in the next French disabled sports championship, Thierry Joussaume or Daniel Lelou, who was in the running at the last Paralympic Games.
Practical information
» Friday, February 25: from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
» Saturday February 26: from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
» Sunday, February 27: from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Rooms of the Meilleraie
Free admission
Article published in Synergences hedho N°601
