It's a message that Jean-Pierre Schiefer will not soon forget. On the weekend of December 7, the French Athletics Federation awarded a gold label for athletic education to the Stade Villeneuvois Athlétisme. This national distinction rewards the work undertaken around the education of young people aged 7 to 11 within the club. “This is the first time that we have won this distinction in this category; it’s a real consecration,” reacts Jean-Pierre Schiefer, president of the club created in 1955 with Aviron Villeneuvois, before leaving it in 1999.
The objective of this label, awarded at three levels (bronze, silver or gold), is to certify the quality of the offer offered within the clubs, across five different sectors: track, running, fitness and health, high level and athletic education. In addition to the ultimate reward granted to the club in this last category, the structure was also rewarded with a bronze label in the running and track categories.
A fourth label on the way
To award such a reward, several criteria are examined, such as results, supervision or even the number of licensees. “We continue to increase our number of licensees, to the point that we have to refuse people, because we prioritize the quality of work rather than daycare. We are one of the biggest clubs in Lot-et-Garonne and it is a real reward for my coaches, who do a remarkable job,” adds the president of the structure, which has 300 members.
To get there, Jean-Pierre Schiefer, at the head of the club for around ten years, placed emphasis on values dear to him: “Family, sharing, exchange and everything that makes part of the spirit of sport. When the children pass me, they say hello and goodbye when they leave. Respect is essential. This is also athletic education. » And his determination proved him right: “When I took over as president of the club, I announced that the results would come from the base. The basis is athletic education with young people. And it works, the proof with Léa Vidal, who became champion of France for example,” he says with pride.
The objective now will be to concretize the efforts to retain this gold label next season. “We had three, in total, this weekend. The fourth, the health label, should arrive next week,” confides Jean-Pierre Schiefer, still overcome with emotion and still far from coming down from his little cloud.
Towards a last mandate?
The general assembly of Stade Villeneuvois Athlétisme will take place on Saturday December 21 and will elect the president of the club for the next four-year term. Although Jean-Pierre Schiefer's candidacy has a good chance of being renewed, he was nevertheless close to giving it up. “I was ready to quit. But this gold label made me want to do another mandate. If I am elected, I want a competent vice-president, to whom I will give all the tools to leave him the presidency in the next two years,” he confides.
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