From February 14 to 18, Aire-sur-la-Lys hosts the European Mixed Team Badminton Championships. 8 teams including France will compete for the continental title. The competition is organized at the regional sports complex where the Volant Airois, a member of the French Top 12, usually plays.
The organization of this European competition is a magnificent reward for Frédéric Ducrot, the president of the Volant Airois, who created the club in 1991. A big fan of basketball, this sports teacher discovered this discipline late in life. Today he has made his club one of the best in the country. The Volant Airois is a member of the Top 12 and dreams at the end of the season of winning the first European ticket in its history.
Frédéric Ducrot recounts how he discovered a discipline that changed his life completely by chance: “30 years ago here, there was nothing here. I discovered badminton by chance, the students taught me the rules. Some time later, I invited some friends for a barbecue and we decided to create a club. This Euro for me is an achievement.”
The Airois Steering Wheel in 5 figures
- The club created its badminton school in 1995
- The regional sports complex was inaugurated in 2011
- The Volant Airois joins the French elite, the Top 12, in 2015
- in 2020, 1st medal for a player trained at the club during the “France Elite”
- in 2022, record number of licensees with 526 registered with the club
The mixed team euro, how does it work?
8 national teams are participating in this Euro: Germany, England, Bulgaria, Denmark, Scotland, France, the Netherlands and Ukraine. The teams are divided into 2 pools of 4. The first 2 of each group qualify for the semi-finals. France will face Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday, the other teams of its group: The Netherlands, Bulgaria and Germany. The meetings of the Blues are disputed between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
How to get tickets?
You can go there and buy tickets at the box office. Or login to the facebook page of the Volant Airois Or on the website of the French badminton federation. Following the Blues for example this Tuesday will cost you 10 euros per person.
