Inclusive Rugby – Hauts-de-Seine for inclusion

The 92 Rugby committee, formerly the Hauts-de-Seine department committee, organized a unique operation on Tuesday in terms of inclusive rugby. On the Rueil-Malmaison field, it brought together nearly 500 participants for a day during which matches were organized between mixed teams, made up of players with mental disabilities, associated with non-disabled players. The first edition of this “Rugby Cup Unified” was carried out at the time of the World Cup. “But it was so great that we wanted to do it again”explains Christophe Renauld, the president of the Ile-de-France department. Jean-Jacques Sarthou, its vice-president, who is also the rugby man of Staps de Nanterre, managed to bring together around sixty undergraduate students to referee matches and supervise the teams. They were assisted by around a hundred middle and high school students. The 92 committee, which put 10,000 euros in the balance to finance the operation, and which provided most of the volunteers, was helped by the “Special Games”, an American Paralympic organization. The Rueil club provided its equipment and structure. And on Tuesday at 10 a.m., 23 specialized medical institutes from across Ile-de-France took 230 children with disabilities for a great day of rugby.

“We feel less stupid”

Divided into three levels according to the degree of their disability, all the teams were made up of two Staps students, two or three middle school students, and four or five disabled children. All these teammates for a day spent their day together. And despite the intermittent rain which fell on Ile-de-France on Tuesday, they played seven seven-minute matches together. “And this mixture of genres, which allows children who suffer from disabilities not to feel stigmatized, has allowed great moments of humanity, says Christophe Renauld. Honestly, we feel less stupid after a day like that. We naturally become more attentive to others, and this day is really beneficial for everyone. For the children who come from the institutes, the phases of conquest were moments of great openness. Linking up with others, getting into others, lifting yourself into contact by opening your body… The first two or three times, you can see that it's not easy for them. And as soon as they get the thing, it's Disneyland. They have a blast, and with them, everyone benefits.” The 92 committee has already planned the third edition of this “Rugby Cup Unified” next season. Christophe Renauld is even thinking of trying to convince other departmental committees to follow him on this path, to offer several events of this type during the season.