Most of the 800 toddlers from schools in the Spinalian belt, who transformed the Convention Center into a veritable hive on Tuesday afternoon, were not born during the exploits of the tricolor medalists who came to participate in the ‘Itinerary of the Champions” which is stopping off at Epinal on Tuesday and Wednesday. Though ! For Guillaume Chaine, the Olympic title by team (mixed) still smells of fresh paint (Tokyo 2021).
But it is a detail of the story, all understood that they were champions in the literal sense, also noting their devotion to the cause in the transmission of the values of judo and the sharing of their own experience. As part of the “Itinerary of Champions” operation, this Tuesday, Cyrille Maret (3rd at the 2016 games), Guillaume Chaine (2021 Olympic team champion), Fanny-Estelle Posvite (3rd at the 2015 worlds), Cécile Nowak Grasso (1992 Olympic champion), Cathy Arnaud (1987 and 1989 world champion) or Guy Delvingt (former DTN) came to promote their discipline. By going in the morning to meet the patients of the EHPAD ” Les Bruyères ” in Epinal before welcoming 800 schoolchildren to the Convention Center in the afternoon.
Cécile Nowak: “It’s a well-established and requested operation”
“These are happy days during which we receive a lot of positive vibes. We are fully successful in our operation of seduction in quotes, promotion of judo and transmission. But also awareness of sport because we must not forget that we have Paris 2024 in our sights and that the objective is to make our nation more sporty. These are punchy operations, with 20 actions of this type in the year covering the whole territory. We open our chakras by reaching out to different populations such as nursing homes, schools, social centers, businesses, people with disabilities. And, of course, our licensees.
It’s a new format, we’re the only ones doing it and we’re quite proud of what we’re doing. It’s a well-established and requested operation,” confides Cécile Novak, who has won everything on the judo planet.
The discipline has suffered a lot from the pandemic but it has been able to bounce back. “We have a good base of values that we use to cross the ages. The pandemic has made us suffer a lot but we are resurfacing and the best reward is what we live like here in Epinal, ”adds the champion.
For this federal device, everything is regulated like music paper to seduce. With a review, conducted masterfully by the announcer Frédéric Lecanu (you have to keep an anthill of 800 children in check). From learning how to salute or certain movements with the champions to colluding with Kodomo the red panda from Japan, as well as little surprises. This is how this youth was treated to a video of Thomas Pesquet, the famous French astronaut, dedicated to the operation and recorded from the international space station. As you will have understood, the mines were happy when they left the place. This Wednesday, the “champions route” operation continues with 800 children from the outdoor and social centers in Spinal in the morning before the gathering of 1,200 judokas from the Vosges clubs at 2 p.m.
