Unusual: this Castres Tennis club won the Coupe de France… vegetable gardens

Usually, when a tennis player “waters”, it is a sign of a bad day ahead on the court. But at the Travet tennis club in Castres, we water properly, and literally. It is not a question here of missed shots but of water poured on the fruits and vegetables which surround the three courts, located rue Edouard Herriot. The club is doing so well that it has just won a double national title, awarded by the Landestini association, in partnership with the French Tennis Federation.

This Thursday, December 19, Franz Canthelou, the historic coach, and Frédéric Muron, the president, received the Coupe de France trophy… vegetable gardens! As a wink, during the official ceremony on December 4, the name of the winner of the grand prize was revealed by a Castres resident: Pierre Barthès, former number 1 in French tennis in the 1970s.

The principle of the competition reserved for tennis clubs? “Whether the vegetable garden is small, on a pallet or in the ground, close to a court or not, the goal is to create synergy with a project dedicated to the environment, around biodiversity and reconnection to the earth, participating in the life of the club is a simple and accessible tool, allowing us to raise awareness of healthy, local and sustainable eating. This French Vegetable Garden Cup meets a dual objective: raising awareness of the environment in the world of tennis. and the promotion of healthy eating, a corollary of performance.”

In all these areas, the Travet club was the strongest. Frédéric Muron followed the awards ceremony via video: “When we received the first prize, it was already a great victory, I was happy. I informed Franz, who was in class, by message. kept listening with one ear until the grand prize was awarded to TCT. It was very emotional for us.”

And to think that it all started just before the Covid crisis with a tomato plant discovered by chance on one of the courts. “At first I thought it was a weed, but I left it. I put up a little sign for players who wanted to empty the rest of the water from their bottle onto the stem, which produced tomatoes “, observes Franz, owner of part of the premises. A little later, the coach plants other feet. “The harvest was not bad. By talking with licensees, I learned that some have their own vegetable garden. I didn’t know anything about it at first,” he admits, before stumbling upon the national competition, in the federation magazine. “I registered the club. People first thought it was a joke (smile) and then they got involved. Throughout the season, we took some time to take care of the vegetable garden.”

“When they were ripe, the people who participated took them home”

Everyone’s investment paid off, filling a scullery copiously with tomatoes, eggplants, beans, sweet potatoes, spinach, salads, carrots, artichokes, eggplants, apples. earth, cabbage, radishes, raspberries or even kiwis. There are also vines and fruit trees. “When they were ripe, the people who participated took them home.”

Boosted by this double price, the TCT does not intend to stop there, wants to continue the development of the vegetable garden and continue to water! Silence, it’s growing!