Indeed, the discipline’s veteran European Championships have been taking place in Ljubljana since this Sunday. The Charentaise is participating to…
Indeed, the discipline’s veteran European Championships have been taking place in Ljubljana since this Sunday. The Charentaise is taking part for the first time. “I am very happy, very proud of it”admits the one who started badminton almost 20 years ago at SYB16, and has never left the club since.
“I started late, at 23, when I started working in Angoulême. I was looking for a sport, and I immediately liked badminton. I started with a girlfriend, and I very quickly joined the regional team » she points out.
However, the Slovenian event is indeed a discovery for Julie l’Hostis Changeur, who has only been competing in competitions for a few seasons: “I’ve been doing it especially since this year, I’ve found veteran partners, which isn’t always easy. My first championships date back to last November. It was the 2020 French championships, shifted by the covid”.
I’ve never played in such a big room, there are all age categories in the same one!
It didn’t take many chances for him to score his ticket to Ljubljana. Her quarter-final of the French women’s doubles championships in Aix-en-Provence in June gave her the right to meet much more exotic pairs. More than thirty nations are represented.
At 42, she is aligned with the V2 (40-45 years) with Valérie Ouiste and even participates in the mixed event with Sébastien Deveza. For its two partners, a common denominator: ASB Brantômais.
Julie l’Hostis Changeur explains: “Sébastien contacted me in June 2021, I didn’t know him at all. He had seen me play in the Dordogne with Saint-Yrieix, and he asked me to do the French championships and other tournaments with him. And in his club, there was Valérie. She is in the category above (45-50 ans)but she was looking for someone”.
Road trip, nights at the hostel
Since these championships are considered an individual event, the Charentaise has organized her trip to Slovenia herself. She would therefore like to thank her club and the departmental committee for their support, and the Esper brand which provided her with her rackets.
She evokes the qualities necessary to compose a good pair: “You have to get along well on the pitch, even off it. I think it’s important that there’s no friction.”. No wonder then that she admits having decided, with Valérie Ouiste, “to come by car, over two days. We did fifteen hours of driving and a stop “.
Julie l’Hostis Changeur also has a regional title in singles, but does not “very rarely plays singles. Quite simply because when I started badminton, there were very few courts available. And then, the double, we count less on our own performance ».
In Ljubljana, she clearly says she has no goal and hopes “just enjoy. We are aware that there will be high level pairs in front..
In any case, she will remember the Stozice Arena, “a seashell-shaped room. She’s beautiful, I’ve never played in such a big club, there are all age categories in the same room, it’s rare.”. She also took a look at the “pairs over 70 or over 65, it’s nice to see them playing at that age. It’s starting to happen! »
Yesterday, the Charentaise badiste was eliminated in women’s doubles by a Czech-German pair (12-21, 14-21). This morning, she is lined up with Sébastien Deveza for the second mixed round against an Austrian duo. How long will the adventure last? “We booked a youth hostel for four nights, we’ll see! »
