French Championships in Cesson-Sévigné, from Thursday February 2 to Sunday February 5
Eighteen years later the Quimperlois pioneers of the BCK, ten years later the briochine edition supported by the Côtes-d’Armor Committee, the Bretillians have formed four… clubs (Flume Ille, OC Cesson, Rennes EC, Saint-Jacques) to organize the 2023 French Elite Championships. “With the Glaz Arena, we had the ideal equipment,” explains Jean-Philippe Végée, president of the organizing committee.
Sports, social and societal roles
For two years, the sixty volunteers – more than 200 this week – worked tirelessly, supported by the Codep35 and the League of Brittany (€10,000 for the training of line judges, made available to the six employees…) and relies on 60 partner clubs.
To achieve the three targeted challenges “sporting, social and societal”, the association “France Badminton 2023” has joined forces with FDS, an advertising and event agency based in… Cesson! “Beyond the expected sporting and popular success – 5,000 schoolchildren invited; between 10 and 12,000 spectators -, we carry values, concerning CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), explains Jean-Philippe Végée. We will thus make an organization without plastic bottles, an act that affects athletes and spectators. Without the expertise of FDS, we would not be at this level of achievement. They also went looking for partners who were also sensitive to sustainable development and on amounts that we don’t know in badminton”.
Record number of licensees
Satisfied even before the first drive, the Bretilliens want this National 2023 to be “not just an air bubble that will disappear” after the final final. “We have established links with the business world which should allow us to take a step forward,” wants to believe Jean-Philippe Végée.
“If, in two years, we are at more than 15,000 (licensees), we can say that the championships will have contributed to it”.
“Having made so much talk about badminton, introduced the high level to a lot of kids, we can hope that some will join us, supports Christophe Millet, president of a League of Brittany which, Monday, January 30, had 14,411 licensees, a new record. “If, in two years, we are at more than 15,000, we can say that the championships will have contributed to it”, smiles the president of Cesson 2023.
