Cécile Nowak-Grasso, former Olympic champion, is visiting the Ajaccio region (photo credit: France Judo)
– What is the purpose of your visit this week to the Ajaccian region?
– I am deputy DTN in charge of territorial dynamics, and we organized, in this context, the tour of the territories. This is about highlighting the actions of the clubs, which have worked well. We started this tour, during Covid, and we are continuing our work in this direction. Corsica responded favorably to our request and we are therefore going to visit a few island clubs.
– You also go to meet clubs located in rural areas, is that essential for you?
– I want to say that we must especially go to meet the most remote territories because they have the impression of being far from the France Judo pyramid and we are there to show our presence and our support. These are actions about which the clubs are very sensitive and going to see them is important to get the messages across. You should know that many athletes leave small clubs before joining the hopeful centers. We are also here to set up the “1,000 Dojos” system.
– A word about this system, which will also be implemented in Corsica…
– CThis is the legacy of Paris 2024. It is a State system which will make it possible to create equipment in all territories and in particular dojos for the practice of Judo. We have already created more than 400 across France. The objective is to create 1000. In Corsica, the operation has not yet started but my action is to set it up here too. We have contacts in Ajaccio, Bastia, Vico and Peri.
– You are also today visiting the Pôle Espoir Corse de Judo, do the operation and sporting results of this structure satisfy you?
– It is a structure of the same type as those that exist everywhere in France where we have woven a real spider’s web. Accession to the high level is ideally structured in France and this is why we obtain such good results internationally. Our territorial coverage is very important. We are here to assess what is working and what is not. The observation is that it is a center that works very well with many Corsican athletes who have broken through to the highest level like the Gneto sisters. Corsica is a small territory but it has high-level athletes and we are particularly proud of them.
– As a former Olympic champion, young people must listen to you very attentively…
– It’s true that I use my travels to send messages. I had a career that allowed me to accumulate a lot of titles, even if it was done with pain. What I come to tell young people is that it is in difficult times that you have to look deep within yourself. You have to be able to constantly get back up. Nothing and no one should stop you from pursuing your dream. With hard work, we always get there.
– The countdown to the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has begun, what are the objectives for this Olympiad?
– We have a very beautiful and very strong French team, especially among the women. On the ranking list, all our girls are ranked first or second. This suggests a big hit among the girls. We have exceptional potential this year with the possibility of a medal in each category. We also want to retain our Olympic team title at all costs. We’re at home, that’s important. We can also count on some nice surprises from the boys. We plan to build on these results to have a great return to sport. Our goals are high and personally, I think we can bring home 9 medals.
– Judo is a discipline that works well in France with very good results at all levels, what are the areas of development that can be improved?
– We must continue to develop our federation and our licensees. We have 560,000 licensees. After the Olympics, I think we can easily reach 600,000 licensees. This is our goal. We are capable of getting there. All the lights are green with complete structuring at all levels with significant staff and supervision at each level.
2024-05-15 16:28:23
#lights #green
