SPORTS. Nearly 300 judokas and around as many people in the stands and on the benches. The end-of-year gala of the Judo-club Marnaval/Saint-Dizier kept all its promises, Friday June 14, at the La Noue dojo, in the presence of Mélanie Legoux-Clément, crowned French champion in November 2023. The evening was marked by the farewell of Francis Clerget, who is stopping his activities after 44 years at the club.
As a preamble, President Eugène Pérez wanted to thank the instructors and volunteers who work for the club. The gala then began with the opening parade by members and instructors from the club’s ten sections. After a joint warm-up with a taiso session, gymnastics to warm up the body and mind, provided by Mélanie Legoux-Clément, technical demonstrations followed from children aged 10 to 14, from the judo section, adult leisure ju-jitsu, from the Castors Bleus du Bois l’Abbesse section, children from 4 to 9 years old and finally competition adults. The young people also presented kata demonstrations. The new graduates of the season were presented before the presentation of awards to the national medalists and degree diplomas by the instructors.
The emotion around the departure of Francis Clerget
Then the emotion was palpable, when Francis Clerget said his “unexpected” farewell after 44 years as a teacher at the club. “We have to know how to turn the page, especially since we have less and less consideration”, expressed a bit bitterly Francis Clerget, 7th Dan, and emblematic figure of judo on the scale of the Bragarde city, of the department and even well beyond. A departure which had the effect of a real bomb within the Marnavalais club, which certainly lost big with the withdrawal of its pillar.
From our correspondent Adrien Jeanson
