It is clear that the Olympic Games effect did not bring the breath of fresh air and enthusiasm that could be expected within the departmental committee. Reminder of the latest tremors: after his mandate between 2020 and 2024, Olivier Bouvet (AS Fondettes) did not wish to continue as chairman of the committee, handing over to Christophe Benneton, also from AS Fondettes, elected on October 24, the ex-president becoming vice-president.
A few days later, the two men fiercely opposed a project from the former mandate, namely the part-time recruitment of a development agent within the committee. A project dear to Olivier Bouvet, called into question by the new president, who announced his resignation by email on November 8. Contacted, he responded “do not wish to provide further comments”.
Although he resigned, he nevertheless invited a few days later, on November 20, the steering committee and club presidents to a meeting, during which Josette Bruneau (JR 37) also resigned.
Only eight clubs represented
Unfortunately, the departmental committee is not in its first crisis. This has been going on for a number of years. Today, certain clubs, and not the least, no longer want to get involved and in fact, we can question the representativeness of the committee as it is composed to date.
Only eleven seats are filled out of the twenty-one provided for in the statutes, representing only eight clubs out of the nineteen in the department. The absentees are not the least, since the RS Saint-Cyr (largest club in Indre-et-Loire in terms of licensees), the ASPTT Tours, Free Run Athlé 37 and Jogg'in Tours no longer sit on the committee .
Laurent Morisset, president of the RSSC, explains: “No one at Saint-Cyr has expressed the wish to represent the club”, himself not having the necessary time and preferring to concentrate on the presidency of the club which he has just taken over. Furthermore, with all the moderation that characterizes him, he indicates: “While respecting the work of those present on the committee, I feel that it is complicated to move things forward and that the game is not worth the effort. » He adds: “It would take a small revolution, with a very renewed and dynamic team. »
“This harms the image of our sport”
For his part, Alain Blanchard, the president of Jogg'in Tours, wishes to refocus on his club: “This season, Jogg'in Tours will be out of all discussions. The last season was not relaxing with internal conflicts that we could have done without and which do not correspond to our culture. This really harms the image of our sport in our territory. »
As for François Barreau, the president of Free Run Athlé 37, the form is more virulent: “With such a team in place, we will never move forward. I have other things to do than discuss for half an hour whether or not to increase the cost of meals for volunteers by one euro while the committee's accounts are overflowing! »
“To judge you have to participate in the debates”
Following the resignation of Christophe Benneton, it is therefore the former president Olivier Bouvet who will take over the interim until the next financial AGM, scheduled for February or March 2025, and during which a new call for applications will be carried out.
“The committee has always been open, there is a call for applications each time the steering committee is renewed. It's called democracy. To be able to judge, you have to participate in the debates. It's too easy to criticize without getting involved! “, blurted Olivier Bouvet, quite annoyed by the situation. The construction site remains open…
“We need to change gear”
Among the reluctance to get involved within the committee, several voices are raised to the fact that we need to be more ambitious and move the lines: “We have to change gear to give ourselves the means, there we mutilate ourselves. The share of €4.50 per licensee paid by the clubs to the committee is quite insufficient. However, it is necessary to have a development manager not part-time but full-time, as the other committees do,” judge Laurent Morisset, president of RS Saint-Cyr.
For Alain Blanchard, the message is the same: athletics must evolve towards professionalization “essential to its success, in its structuring, in its management and governance, in its capacity to reinvent itself and to attract younger generations, in its development strategy and also in its economy. »
On this last point, the president of Jogg'in Tours adds: “The cost of the license is really underestimated. Subsidies from the State and local authorities will not fill club budgets ad vitam aeternam. We will have to innovate. » Everyone agrees that it is necessary “to have a committee with resources” and undoubtedly audacity too.
