A totally immersive bubble. During their championship match against the Pionniers de Chamonix, Friday December 20, the Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise, an elite club in the French ice hockey championship, will offer an innovative concept for an audience suffering from autistic disorders.
Nestled at the top of the stadium, offering a bird’s eye view over the entire ice rink, a sensory room will offer, during the meeting, the possibility for three families to experience a moment of sport, far from the euphoric and sometimes destabilizing atmosphere of the stands. “The idea came to us while reading an article from FC Metzrecalls Jean-Christophe Cariou, head of club operations. This football club offered a room of the same type for a suitable audience. It’s a concept that’s a little more developed in the United Kingdom, but here it’s almost non-existent. In ice hockey, we are the only ones. However, we felt that there was demand. »
A unique spectator experience
An entrance clear of the general public to avoid crowds is thus put in place. This is followed by a personalized welcome by club volunteers, who direct the spectators concerned to a dedicated box. “The room is completely closed, with black walls and black doorsexplains Jean-Christophe Cariou. This helps calm the visual sense; we have people suffering from stroboscopic disorders in particular. » With dimmed lights, sensory equipment provided, the possibility of lying down and massage tools, spectators are particularly pampered. “We also have Rubik’s Cubes to calm people who might be more sensitive, at certain times during the matchhe explains. If we become too sensitive, we have space to isolate ourselves. »
“As a club, we wanted to make things easier for all our current and potential spectators,” agrees Christophe Cuzin, president of the Jokers. “We work a lot on the spectator experience, we seek to impress with fireworks and showmanship, reminds the leader, but what is appreciated by one type of audience can destabilize another, so it seemed important to us to offer this alternative. »
Supported massively on social networks by members, the club welcomes this ultimately inexpensive investment. “This part that could usually be sold for marketing operations or other hospital operations is made available, during certain matches, for this immersive bubble. We rely on what already exists, so it’s not a big investment. »
A won over audience
This December 20 will be the second full-scale test of the device, after a first test carried out on November 8, during a confrontation against Hormadi d’Anglet. At the time, only one family, two members of which suffer from autism, had inaugurated this space. “The parents are the founders of a higher education school for people with autism, they came with great knowledge of this theme, remembers Jean-Christophe Cariou. They left there delighted. They had already played a match, in the traditional stands, and when they returned home the children had vomited, they went to sleep straight away, without speaking. After their second experience, in the bubble, the result was completely different, he rejoices. They also gave us advice on how to improve the system. »
Little publicized, the initiative has not yet been emulated by other professional clubs. “The federation was not even informed that we were embarking on this project”laughs Jean-Christophe Cariou. If he aspires for this type of system to develop across the country, and in other sports, the manager tends to reassure the most skeptical: “Often, when it comes to inclusion issues, we force others to adapt their habits and behaviors, he explains. With the immersive bubble, we are not restrictive. It’s an additional offering for a particular audience, which takes nothing away from the classic experience sought by many. » Win-win.
