essential
Drums, pancakes and decisive baskets: for two days, the COSEC of Albi welcomed the departmental basketball finals. From U13 to seniors, the Tarn clubs clashed in a boosted atmosphere for this highlight of the season.
It is barely 9 a.m., but already sneakers are crying out on the prosecution. Drums, music and encouragement are raising stands. Under the high ceilings of the Albi Stadium gymnasium, the Tarn departmental finals are in full swing. From U13 to seniors, girls and boys chain meetings in an electric and festive atmosphere. “It is important to come and support young people. For some this final concludes their season so we must support them until the end,” says a spectator and parent.
COSEC, theater of sports communion
Present for years in Albi before moving to the Tarn, the finals returned to the episcopal city in 2025, after a visit to Lavaur in 2024. The day before, the male seniors of Mazamet and Saint-Sulpice opened the ball. Thursday, young people take over. At 9 a.m., the U13 girls from Cunac/Lescure and Albi compete with intensity. On the bench, the coaches scream instructions. On the ground, it throws itself on the ground to scratch balloons. The COSEC public roars with each basket, each interception. We would hardly get to speak. The faces are reddened by effort, but especially by the pride of being there. Because for many, it is their first “big” final.
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Between two games, a well -deserved break: the stand box my cook delights families and volunteers. Burritos, poke bowls, crocs’halal, cheddar nachos or chocolate pancakes … The smell mixes with the effervescence of the moment. All around, it discusses, it laughs, it shares the memories of a season soon over.
-Lucas Brenac, player but also coach of the U18 Occitanie in Castres, recalls the importance of these moments: “It is important for the players to come and win this final, so I want to do that for them”, he explains with enthusiasm. He also adds: “People follow, support the teams, it’s a basketball festival.”
DDM – Marie -Pierre Volle
At 1:30 p.m., the federal graduation ceremony for children, young people and adults cuts the pace of meetings and grants some respite. The afternoon still rises in intensity with the U15, then the U18. In the stands, families, friends, clubs from number … Everyone plays the game. The room continues to fill over the day. The youngest look at the greatest with admiration, dreaming of their own final. And at 9 p.m., seniors close the day. Ultimate shock, ultimate sweat.
On the floor as behind the scenes, one thing is certain: the Tarn breathes basketball. And these two days in Albi, more than finals, will have been a moment of sporting and human communion.
