the essential
Today, the elective general assembly of the French Tennis Federation is being held. Re-elected last month at the head of the Occitanie League, Philippe Belou confides and recalls his support for the list of outgoing president Gilles Moretton.
Was it obvious to represent yourself as president of the Ligue Occitanie?
Yes, it was obvious. At the end of my first mandate, the observation was the following: a mandate is very short. Therefore, by representing myself, I wanted to continue all the work done with my team since I took office.
Were you the only candidate for your succession?
Yes. Upon arrival, I was unanimously re-elected. I would also like to take this opportunity to recall that in the context of the federal elections, the Occitanie League, namely the thirteen departments which make it up, supports the “United for our Federation” list, led by outgoing president Gilles Moretton. Our relations with the Federation are very good. We apply federal policy and we still believe in it. So here too, it’s obvious to support this list.
What is your assessment after this first term?
If we first talk about figures, we have more than 116,000 licensees, with the female share remaining at 30%. I don't forget to mention the associated disciplines, starting with padel which has really exploded, and we also have beach tennis, pickleball, without forgetting para tennis. I also think back to the period of the health crisis during which many clubs were able to continue outdoor practice. In this report, I also highlight all the club visits that I was able to make during this three-year mandate with my team. In total, we visited nearly 300 clubs. This is obviously part of this valuable collaboration between clubs, managers and teachers. We also structured the training even more with the clubs, the departmental committees and the League. There was also the establishment of a federal performance director, in the person of Marc Barbier.
What are your objectives for this new mandate?
We will therefore continue our momentum, with the development of tennis and associated disciplines. We also want, in terms of results, to remain in the top 5 of the French Leagues. And we always keep in mind the desire to bring several young people to the world top 100 as was the case with Hugo Gaston, Arthur Cazaux and even Benjamin Bonzi who are no longer licensed this season in Occitanie.
