The Baggersee sports plain in Illkirch is being transformed this week into an Olympic site for children. CM1 and CM2 classes from around thirty schools in the Eurometropolis take part in various workshops to discover new sports and above all the values of Olympism.
A few meters from the water, with their feet in the sand, children from the Erckmann Chatrian school in Strasbourg discover beach volleyball. Camilla had never done one: “We had to take balls, pass…” Among the 17 sports offered, his class also discovered archery, and even chess – although not an Olympic discipline. It doesn’t matter, according to Kevin Lebarbier, CM1-CM2 teacher at Erckmann Chatrian. At least the children broaden their horizons: “Otherwise, we don’t leave football. We met two athletes from less publicized sports: badminton… And breakdancing!“
Among these two athletes, there is Rozy Pancassari, third best French badminton player, licensed at ASPTT Strasbourg, and in the middle of the qualification period for the Games. She answered the children’s questions, press conference version, and it’s not always easy: “Is it stressful to be a top athlete? Do you have time to go out? (…) It was cute, and nice to share what we do.“
Necessarily, the almost normal daily life of these athletes who are preparing for the Olympics surprised students, like Unsaff, 11 years old, from the Leonard de Vinci school, more accustomed to stars like Kylian Mbappé: “I believed that top athletes had a certain amount of money and could afford very expensive things.”
“We must show solidarity, share, respect, encourage ourselves and our adversaries.”
And so there is the question of the values of sport, which comes back to each workshop. There is one dedicated to the Olympics. The children remembered that“we must show solidarity, share, respect, encourage ourselves and our adversaries.” The idea of course is that all this helps them grow. Caroline Madeleine Spacher is a sports instructor at Strasbourg town hall. She is the one who coordinates the operations: “PSometimes, parents push for a particular sport that doesn’t really suit the children, and you just need to find the right sport, the sport of your life, to be the trigger.“With in mind, the desire to get children moving, to make them love sport, because a sedentary lifestyle has jumped among the youngest since Covid.
2024-04-03 06:18:50
#Olympic #week #Alsatians #Eurometropolis #Strasbourg
