Since the end of August, the Villeneuve-lez-Avignon Judo club has had a nine-seater minibus. Very practical for transporting judokas and equipment to competition venues.
“The minibus had become essential given the growth of the club and the number of members“, indicates Jérémy Buisson, sports director of the Judo club of Villeneuve-lez-Avignon. The association until then had a seven-seater vehicle which was starting to age. The management team had therefore started saving to buy a new vehicle. But during a meeting at the town hall, they were told that there was a sponsorship financing system, offered by the company Infocom. No less than 18 companies and businesses in Villeneuve and surrounding areas agreed to take out an advertising insert on the minibus, and therefore to finance the vehicle for the club. “We are in fact renting it free of charge“, summarizes Jérémy Buisson.
This Thursday evening, the Judo club invited its sponsors to a thank you evening. The minibus has already been used well since it has driven to Limoges and Clermont-Ferrand and will go to Poitiers in ten days. “At the club, there are more and more competitors. The higher their level, the greater the travel costs. For the European Cup, we were at €1,000 per athlete all inclusive“, figures the sports director. It is the club which takes charge so that deserving athletes are not harmed by a possible financial brake.
A club with more than 750 members
It was therefore necessary to find a solution that was as sustainable as possible. Before, the Villeneuvois club was sometimes forced to rent vehicles, which was expensive, with limited mileage. Their new minibus will also be used to transport children during summer camps from one place to another, in view of the 1,000 dojos project.
As a reminder, the Judo club of Villeneuve-lez-Avignon is one of the most important sports associations in the town with more than 750 members, all sections included. 250 of them practice judo. The club has some good results to its credit, with medals at the national 1st division level among cadets and juniors. It also counts among its licensees Clara Mermet and Tarik Toutou, who have just returned from the French 1st division senior championship (top 40). Both took their first steps on the Villeneuvois tatami at the age of 4 and followed all their training there. They are still members of the club today.
2023-11-21 13:40:46
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