Archers gathered in Écouflant on November 7 and 8 for a weekend of competition, the first in a long time for the local club.
The Arc Écouflant club hosted a weekend dedicated to archery, marking the return of competition to its home venue after three years away, Ouest-France reported.
Saturday afternoon featured the opening round of the Chairmartin challenge, bringing together 109 archers for a day focused on grassroots participation.
The event was reserved for beginners, including both licensed children and adults, and was designed with a pedagogical approach in mind, according to Ouest-France. Its objective was to allow new members to experience a tournament setting, familiarize themselves with the format, and enjoy their first sporting emotions without the pressure of major official championships.
Sunday’s schedule shifted to an 18-meter indoor archery tournament organized by the Montreuil-Juigné club and hosted at the Écouflant facility.
The club regained access to its hall at the beginning of 2026 following two years of building work, Ouest-France reported. During that downtime, archers maintained their training schedules with the assistance of the local table tennis club.
“This return in our hall represents much more than a simple resumption of activity. It also symbolizes the return to a certain normality and the possibility of fully finding the sporting and associative life of the club,” Mickaël Bonnaud, president of Arc Écouflant, told Ouest-France.
The last competition organized by Arc Écouflant took place three years ago, shortly before the death of Christian Grall, the club’s emblématique president.
The club struggled through that loss, extensive facility renovations, and the subsequent adjustment period, Ouest-France reported. Under Bonnaud’s current leadership, club members are welcoming competitors from across the department to share their sport once again.
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