Mantes-la-Ville: 170 children deprived of gym training… just before the Olympics

170 children on the street? The coaches of the gymnastics section of the athletic club (CA) of Mantes-la-Ville (Yvelines) fear it. They have just learned that “their” Guimier gymnasium will be closed for more than a year for major renovation work. The last training sessions are scheduled for the end of June and should not resume until the start of the 2026 school year. A schedule that is rather bad: the city was chosen as a stage city for the Olympic Games, it is labeled “Land of Games 2024 » and will even see the flame pass on July 23. “What is the message sent to our young graduates? The town is going to welcome the Olympic flame but our municipality has decided to extinguish the flame of our gymnasts,” we denounce in the corridors of the club.

“When the closure was announced, we had kids crying. Kids who invest and work every day. What do I tell them today? That they will have to stop? The risk is that we will permanently lose some of our licensees,” laments Loïc Bozec, technical manager of this section which has 95% young girls, five coaches and obtained a few podiums at the French Championships.

So what to tell them? The town hall ensures that it is “a force of proposals” on this issue. For other disciplines, solutions have thus been found. But for the gym, it’s more complicated. This sporting practice requires suitable infrastructure: it is sometimes necessary to race 25 m before starting on one of the apparatuses… It is therefore impossible to move to a municipal hall or the courtyard of a school.

Occupy other sites? Victims of their success, the clubs in the sector are also saturated and refuse new registrations. Difficult in these conditions to welcome athletes from other municipalities. “And even so? Due to lack of places, sorting will be carried out. How can we choose between a 5-year-old girl and a 14-year-old teenager who will have the right to continue practicing? » agrees Loïc Bozec.

The burned gymnasium has still not been rebuilt

You should not count on a transfer to the Aimé-Bergeal gymnasium either. Destroyed by a fire of unknown origin in March 2021, this equipment has still not been rebuilt. Administrative difficulties linked to insurance have considerably slowed down procedures and prevented delivery “at the end of 2023”, as initially announced by the departmental council.

The Aimé-Bergeal gymnasium was destroyed by a fire of unknown origin in March 2021. Sdis78

However, things seem to be progressing: 88 companies responded to the call for tenders opened by the town hall. A selection will be made in the coming weeks and the winner will be known in June. Twelve months of studies and 18 months of work will follow. If the schedule is maintained, and barring last minute setbacks, the Aimé-Bergeal gymnasium could be delivered during the year 2026. The possibility of a move within these walls of the gymnastics club, even for a few months, is therefore absolutely impossible.

“Indeed, it is not easy because the constraints are numerous,” admits someone close to the mayor (DVG) Sami Damergy. But we reaffirm our desire to find solutions. This has been our wish from the beginning. A new meeting is planned for March 9 to discuss it and work together. But in all cases, it is impossible to postpone the work schedule. The Guimier gymnasium is dilapidated and we don’t want an accident: work must begin. In addition, the presence of asbestos prevents us from maintaining activities during construction. »