After a summer full of twists and turns, the Clermontois Tennis Club finally decided to embark on a real para tennis project. Silvère Mast, licensed, uses his past experience to promote this practice and attract attention.
Nicolas Peifer, world-renowned para tennis champion, visited Clermont on Monday, November 4. This visit was made possible thanks to Silvère Mast, active member of the Clermontois Tennis Club (CTC). “I attended a wheelchair tennis tournament in Beauvais recently, explains the Clermontois. I told Nicolas about our club and asked him if he could come see us. And he accepted.“
For Silvère Mast, this visit from Nicolas Peifer represents a great opportunity for the club, which is seeking to launch a para tennis section. “We want to create a concrete structure for wheelchair tennis in Clermonthe adds. I offered to fully invest myself in developing this initiative.”
A determined commitment to para tennis
Silvere Mast’s initiative is welcomed with enthusiasm by the members of the club office. François Segret, vice-president of the CTC, confirms: “We had considered giving up the wheelchair tennis section. At the end of last season, we only had one player, Bernard Lemaire. Our para tennis coach left the club, and without sufficient funding, it seemed difficult to maintain this section..”
The arrival of Silvère Mast changed the situation. “When I took my license, the very day of the opening of the Paralympic Games, I learned that the section was in danger of disappearing, he remembers. I was motivated: I wanted to play, to make this discipline known and to prove that it is accessible to everyone, even beginners like me.“
An ambitious project for wheelchair tennis
Silvere Mast’s determination quickly convinced the club’s leaders. “Silvère contacted me to express his desire to get involved and to look for sponsors to support the sectionunderlines François Segret. President Vincent Ducastel gave me carte blanche to support Silvère in this process. Tennis is a sport for everyone, and we are determined to make this project a reality.“
The Clermontois Tennis Club has given itself three months to structure a financing file and obtain the aid necessary for the creation of this section. This support would make it possible to attract new players and develop para tennis in Clermont.
A helping hand from the Lions Club?
Within the club, one of the licensees, Philippe Berton, is also a member of the Clermont Lions Club. “We talked together and he showed interest in seeing how the Lions Club could help us, specifies Silvere Mast. I have to go meet them in December.“
Justine Esteve
About the CTC…
This paratennis player will defend the colors of his Oise club at the French championships from June 27 to 30
