The Minister of Sports, Marie Barsacq, announced, Tuesday, September 2, the signing in the coming days of a circular aimed at opening, by the end of the 2027 school year, all of the sports facilities of schools and university in sports clubs, in order to absorb the influx of licensees.
At the start of the school year 2024-2025, in the wake of the Olympic Games, the number of licensees all sports had increased by 3.8 %, highlights the ministry.
“This increase should continue in 2025-2026. Some federations fully benefit from “the game effect” [de Paris-2024]like table tennis (+ 23 %) and badminton (+ 19 %), disciplines that have the advantage of being able to be easily practiced in school gymnasiums ”he underlines.
More, “Despite the efforts made, several sports federations indicated that their clubs had to refuse to take new licenses for lack of slots available in the usual sports equipment”continues the ministry.
An ambitious plan to open school sports equipment
He recalls that last April, Marie Barsacq and the Minister of Education, Elisabeth Borne, “Had announced their desire to more widely open the sports facilities for school and higher education establishments to clubs and sports associations, with a first experiment in eight academies throughout France”.
Following these first tests, the ministers set “A target of opening of 100 % of school and university sports equipment by the end of the year [scolaire] 2027, in order to better respond to the influx of licensees »is it specified.
Currently, in France, out of the 28,000 sports equipment used by schoolchildren, especially during their EPS lessons – mainly gymnasiums but also multisports or dojos -,, “Only 5,000 are open to associations, clubs, evening and weekend”said on Tuesday at the Marie Barsacq press, traveling at Solveig-Anspach college, in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis), which has been pooling its sports equipment since last year with the local table of table tennis.
The circular will be signed “In the coming days”continued the Minister of Sports, who also said that discussions would be carried out with stakeholders “To lift the brakes” Being able to remain, for example in terms of security for equipment located within schools and which would not have access to the general public.
