If the history of archery were to be divided into several volumes, then at least one volume would be devoted to the exceptional journey of Rudy (Rodolphe, his given name) Aragno. The man, who died in 2018 at the age of 91, in addition to being the founder of the departmental committee and the Arc club Nice, was also the coach of Gilles Cresto who, in 1984, represented Monaco at the Los Angeles Olympics. Angeles. Long before that, he himself had been introduced to the discipline, at the end of the Second World War, by a certain Charles Sweeney, who was none other than… the master-at-arms to the Queen of England!
New momentum
Romantic destiny, for a pioneer who, throughout his life, remained attached to these values which still make sense today. And probably, moreover, he would have appreciated, 70 years later (the anniversary is set for October), to see what his “baby” has become.
Nestled in the heart of La Trinité, in the green grounds of the Oli stadium, the ACN today has more than a hundred members (103 to be precise). Witness to a fairly rare dynamism, as further illustrated by the organization – without fault – of the last Alpes-Maritimes championships. And yet, the situation, even five years ago, lent itself less to optimism. “The arrival as president of Eric Buthiaux has clearly given new impetusrewinds Virginie Armanini, secretary-VRP of a club that has become a bit like her second home. At the time, there were only eight licensed archers left. But thanks to the efforts made, little by little, the numbers started to rise again. And now there are enough of us to form teams in all categories.” And to be counted, once again, among the strongholds of regional archery.
Labeled “hopes”, since last year, the ACN, where we practice the recurve bow as well as the compound bow or the bare bow, stands out above all in the landscape by the number of women who there campaign: they are represented at 47%. “For that, we organized “Amazon Days”, targeted recruitment a little more and we equipped ourselves with specific equipment.”
The example of Nicolas Bernardi
Having made parity a reality and choosing inclusion as a development axis does not prevent us from working towards high levels. It is even a strong axis of the sports policy deployed by President Buthiaux, and a little more solidly supported, since Michèle Duchêne obtained her federal coaching diploma last June. Allowing, in passing, the creation of a shooting school (accessible from the age of 10). History of preparing a succession capable, at the biggest meetings, of proudly flying the Nice standard with an example to follow: Nicolas Bernardi. The veteran of the boutique has just been officially selected for Paris-2024.
Nice results in Nîmes
Still in the field of excellence, around twenty of them, at the end of January, traveled to Nîmes, for a round of the World Cup. “It’s our own Mecca. We rub shoulders with all the stars and the very, very high level. It was also an additional opportunity to demonstrate that in our country, all generations come together, encourage each other. Whatever the age, from kids to seniors +, all showed a touching and sincere solidarity. As a bonus, Michèle [Duchêne] yet Didy [Nicolaï] performed there, since both reached the podium.”
If Sébastien Armanini, former member of the French junior team (compound arch) remains one of the club’s showcases, there is also a strong chance that at the start of the school year, two of the most promising young people will join the pole Boulouris’ hopes. In this case, Romain Raviola and Dylan “Dydy” Nicolaï.
Two archers who will ultimately try to follow in the footsteps of Jean Nesci, Sylvio Gastaldi and Alex Martin, European champions in their time. Which would make an Arc club in Nice shine even more, which intends to take advantage of the French championships, scheduled for the end of February, to give relief to its immediate future. All that remains is to shoot the right arrows to reach the target.
2024-02-17 12:00:00
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