Interview with Jacky Terreau, President of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté League and Deputy Vice-President of the FFT, and Laurent Aznar, President of the regional padel commission of the Burgundy-Franche-Comté league and the National Council of Padel.

Laurent Aznar, a man with two hats

Padel Magazine : First question for you Laurent: how did you discover padel? What was your background before becoming President of the regional padel commission in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté?

Laurent Aznar: “I discovered padel in 2005, in Spain, in Vigo to be precise. Originally a tennis player, I was initially looking for a tennis club. My Spanish work colleagues told me about padel, it intrigued me because I didn't know this sport. But I noticed right away that there were more padel courts than tennis courts and I started playing. Honestly, they were quite old courts at the time, there were still concrete walls (instead of windows), the ground was cement, etc.

When I returned to France in 2009, I kept that in a corner of my mind. In 2014, padel is rentered the FFT fold, and that's when I said to myself that it was the perfect opportunity to develop padel in my club in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (in Montbéliard). In 2017, we were the first tennis club to inaugurate four padel courts in Franche-Comté

Since 2018, I have been in charge of the regional padel commission, and I have been elected since the last governance of the federation, President of the National Council of Padel.(CNP)”

Padel Magazine : You mentioned the National Padel Council, can you tell us about this body?

Laurent Aznar: ”The National Padel Council was born with the new governance of the federation. Initially, the federal padel commission was created, which has recently expanded, welcoming managers of private structures and members of the CST in particular. Now, this national padel body has 22 members, with the objective of supporting the development of padel throughout the territory, structure the competition, to be a driving force for proposals regarding the development of sports regulations and to work on different subjects such as, for example, the structuring of the padel ranking at the moment”

Laurent Aznar President of the Franche Comté League
Laurent Aznar pala in hand

“Target 2024: more than 70 trails in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté”

Padel Magazine : Today, what assessment can we make of the state of padel in the league? What means are put in place to develop this sport?

Laurent Aznar: “We currently have 22 tracks for 8 structures in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is obviously important to put these figures into perspective with the number of licensees and inhabitants of our territory. These ratios show us that we are behind the federal targets. Without land, it is difficult to develop.

In 2021, we equipped ourselves with a League Center with 5 courts in Besançon (3 outdoor and 2 indoor). This Center will allow us to offer padel training but also soon gatherings and courses for our young people. The priority of our 2022-2024 project is therefore to develop the number of structures throughout the territory, but by creating an intelligent and relevant network. In my opinion, it would be a mistake to repeat what was done in the 80s for tennis by creating infrastructures next to each other.

As everywhere in France, we are seeing strong growth in BFC: in 2019, there were only 9 tracks and at the end of 2021 we were at 22 (and I think that unfortunately, this growth has been slowed down by the health crisis...).

The goal by the end of 2024 will be to have 70 tracks throughout the territory of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. With our padel development referent, we created a questionnaire and a presentation of the discipline that we sent to the managers of the clubs that we are targeting to network our territory. We can see that it is working well because many club presidents come to see us expressing their interest in developing the discipline. Today, we have around ten projects that are being considered, hoping that they will come to fruition by 2023.

Jacky Terreau: “There are a lot of projects that are in the air at the moment. I believe that you have to be vigilant, and create a good network rather than dispersion.

Five tracks in Besançon, which corresponds to the center of the league. It is an example of private / public collaboration, which can be highlighted.”

Jacky Terreau pala in hand

Padel Magazine : Laurent, can you give us an estimate of the number of structures, padel clubs that will see the light of day by the end of 2022/2023?

Laurent Aznar: ”This year we estimate that there will be 3 additional clubs and 8 to 10 tracks. And I am convinced that this will continue to grow exponentially given the advantages of this discipline: accessibility, friendliness, fun, but also the social bond it allows to create. The massive arrival of teleworking gives people the need to get together and padel is a great way to do it!"

“Padel boosts tennis”

Padel Magazine : If you could illustrate the road map of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté league today, what would it look like?

Laurent Aznar: Our 2022-2024 project is structured around four pillars: developing the number of our infrastructures, communicating widely around this discipline to bring padel culture into our League, developing mass practice by focusing on young and female audiences and finally training by structuring the training of our young people as a priority.

We organized a first training session at the DFMP at the end 2021 (40h training for DE tennis) and we are currently thinking about setting up training at the TFP (“Professional qualification”, 240-hour training course for padel players) and padel educational referents.

Padel Magazine : Can padel boost tennis by helping it find alternatives to keep its members and why not gain some?

Laurent Aznar: ”The goal, in my opinion, is to make padel a sport in its own right. This should boost tennis and clubs by bringing back players, friendliness, social ties and therefore a good breath of fresh air. After 4 years of using this practice in my club, I note that 60% of padel players are people who did not play or no longer play tennis (therefore a population that we would never have captured) and they have brought back friendliness that had disappeared. And conversely, almost no player in the club has given up tennis in favor of padel but on the contrary, they combine the two practices!

Xan is a fan of padel. But also of rugby! And his posts are just as punchy. Physical trainer of several padel players, he finds atypical posts or deals with current topics. He also gives you some advice to develop your physique for padel. Clearly, he imposes his offensive style as on the padel court!

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