More than 40 associations are already present in Annot (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), either in mutual aid, in cultural activities, or in the sporting field… And the list of new associations continues to grow. The latest is proposed by Axel Poullain and his team, and is called “Wiffle ball”, a sporting discipline inspired by baseball.
“Passionate about baseball for a while, I turned to wiffle ball because it requires little equipment, small teams and allows for friendly practice, even without prior experience.“, explains Alex. Wiffle ball is generally played in teams of four players, mixed or not. The equipment is completely safe, with plastic balls and bats, which makes this sport suitable for a wide audience. The matches are shorter than those of baseball, which promotes dynamism and the sequence of games.”
Baseball is not very widespread in France, but wiffle ball presented by Axel is easily accessible and does not require as much infrastructure as its American counterpart. The municipality of Annot strongly encouraged Axel in his initiative and we can now see training of adolescents and adults and even seniors practicing at the Rigault stadium.
Axel is optimistic, helped by his partner Elodie, they are already thinking about opening time slots for the youngest. “We are very proud to launch this new discipline in Annot. If the number of members increases, it will be possible to create several teams within the village itself, and eventually, why not, to develop teams with neighboring villages, in order to promote wiffle ball locally.“
For the moment training takes place: Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. for ages 10–14 and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. for ages 15 and over.
