Vincent Dolé: “I just came out of the French Championships +45 years: a real thunderbolt”

Vincent Dole is one of the best-known referees in France, on the highest categories of tournaments on the French circuit. First present in Alsace, we increasingly see him leaving his region to cover other events, such as the P1500 in Jarville for example.

Recently, he also took care of the French +45 Championships at Esprit Padel Lyon. We came back with him on his journey as a referee!

His debut in padel

I discovered padel in 2012 when I worked in central Italy (towards San Benedetto del Tronto for purists), it was A real thunderbolt at a time when I was no longer very motivated by tennis.

Then, it was a bit of a desert crossing before I found myself refereeing a P1000 of the legendary My Babolat Padel Tour in 2018with the no less legendary Alexis Salles et Laurent Imbert, who really introduced me to the world of padel in France. I had the pleasure of meeting them again recently as a commentator for Padel Mag’ and participant in the French Championship over 45 years old.

From there I started playing hard, until I waited the French top 500 in 2021and referee (up to 7 tournaments per month).

His opinion on the rules at padel

I have to say that since 2018, padel has really “mutated” and grows at the level of the regulation. The sport has adapted to the arrival of tennis players – I am one – on the “circuit” who are much more demanding of a framework for competitions.

Personally, there are always rules that I don’t agree with when they come out, but over time I learn to appreciate them. For example, the “liberalization” of the P500I was clearly not a fan. Six months later, I say bravo !

Conversely, the regulation of rest times, I’m not a fan. Certainly there needs to be a safeguard, but I think an intermediary is possible: from experience, I know that after a first match, teams often need less recovery time than after the second match for example. .

I’m as delighted as François-Xavier Conninck joined the FFT in June as responsible for the competition and rankings. I am sure that we will be able to move faster on certain points.

The evolution of the regulations and the players

There has been a real change in the categories, particularly with the integration of tennis players, as I have already said. Players are more interested in the settlement pointto the number of points they will take.

But they are often more aware of the points of regulation that benefit them than those that would not help them.

With the achievement of JAP3, I also see that our All the best players take care in preparing for their matches : nutrition, warm-up before the match, stretching, etc. They have a requirement with the JAP on the P2000 and the P1500 which is in line with the one they impose on themselves: we, the referees, need to upgrade our skills. But this requires a fair return on things, particularly regarding expenses.

A difference between men and women

I see one that clearly appears in the high-level French tournaments: Women play all ranking matches in P2000 or P1500 because they enjoy competing against each other. Men are more into calculating points and are more easily tempted by a WO compared to a gain on the train or plane ticket.

I regularly discuss the subject with the FFT. There is no miracle solution. But There are real sources of reflection : should we penalize the wo; with points less? Are the P2000/P1500 the entry to the FIP circuit, where ranking matches do not exist? Should we generalize the high equality ranking (as in the French Championships) or maintain the ranking pulled down?

I know that Many clubs are working to make the Women’s tournaments more crowded and numerous. We still see in Strasbourg P25 Women with 24 teams while P500 have difficulty attracting 8 teams. However, it is the same for Men, with P500 starting to be canceled due to lack of participants.

The difference between tournament categories

I have somewhat deserted the P25 to P500 tournaments. But I am regularly in exchange with the League’s referees. to help them ensure tournaments in the best conditions.

Without tongue in cheek, even if we have more pressure, investment and concentration on the French Championships, as soon as I am asked to help/manage a P25/P100/P250 category tournament, I get involved in the same way.

The main difference now is in the big tournaments: given the number of tracks, as referees we have to manage supervisors. Human management is an aspect that I appreciate because it allows you to share this experience like a partner in padel.. This also relates to my job where I manage a team.

Any anecdotes?

I admit I was lucky to escape arguments. Even if at one time, I had good discussions with players in relation to unclarified settlement points.

As a JA, we often have specific requests to play on a particular field, or to move a schedule.

For the most exotic requests in the field, I have already been asked to bring forward matches because a player was at risk of having to leave for his wife’s birth. or because one of the players’ favorite football team had a match.

At a tournament, I had a player who called me on Friday once, back at the hotel, to find out if I hadn’t found his padel shoes at the club… Indeed, they were dropped off for me. On Saturday evening, another call from the same player to ask me if I had found his jacket… Luckily for him, the jacket had also been brought back. On Sunday evening I received another call… The club told me that they had found a racket… I never knew if it belonged to the same player !

Off the field, I was recently asked in the middle of the night on Saturday evening to have the number of a player : I laughed more the next day than in the middle of the night. I also had to walk a player home after a players’ night… but it wasn’t for an injury.

His record as JA

Since 2018, I can boast of having a few hundred tournaments under the clock.

I think I was one of the precursors (outside Occitanie) at the level of Padel. When I arrived in Alsace, there was 3 tournaments per year. In one year, with Alexis (4 Padel) one Enzo (P&F), we took a leap forward with 5 tournaments per month. COVID was a hard blow but we were able to move forward.

With my private life (I notably proposed on Padel Mag’), I started training for the JAP1 and JAP2 of the Grand Est, which allows me to devote myself to big tournaments with less regular dates. I think the Grand Est league can be satisfied to have JAPs who adhere to the principles of the competition guide in France : it surprises both the players who visit us and the “Padel’Easter” which are exported to other regions.

On a personal level, obtaining the JAP3 allowed me to open up to new horizons: after the P2000 in Strasbourg in November 2023, I managed the P1500 Men in Jarville in April and I have just come out of the French Padel Championships +45 years: a real love at first sight in incredible conviviality at Esprit Padel in Lyon.

I have just been appointed referee for the French Senior Pairs Championships in Strasbourg in September. As I will become a father for the second time in November, I may be resting at the end of the year (unless I am asked to play in the Casa Padel P2000 in October). But I will be back in 2025, and in great shape!