Jean-Yves Maisonnave was elected president of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departmental committee with 122 votes against 112, against Philippe Chaperon. We meet him to approach the development of padel in the region, situation of his club, And the new phase of containment. 

The Saint Jean de Luz club, one of the oldest in France

Jean-Yves Maisonnave is the president of the Saint Jean de Luz club. Le padel arrived at this club in 1980.

"The club is doing very well ! We have approximately 60 licensees padel. "

“The major problem is that our courts are too narrow by 40cm, and we are having difficulty getting approvals.”

“We have done a lot of renovations: the floor, the railings, the lighting… But we can't do anything more. We are in a very constrained site, in terms of town planning and flood risk management. We are blocked everywhere. We develop the padel for a very long time but it is difficult to approve our tournaments. ”

“I hope that we will take into account the history of our club and our good will!”

Reorganize by being closer to the players

“First of all, bring closer to the community of players, and private structures that work very well. We also have association clubs that work very well. ”

“We have all a tournament architecture to build, so that the players find their account in the competitions. We want there to be an interesting offer in the area so that the padel is developing well. Above all, it must make the players want. ” 

A new confinement

“After all we've been through, we are now in good shape. People respect the rules in this second lockdown here. No one complained. ”

“Economically, we as an association will be less affected than private structures. We have to see what the federation is doing as well. There is a good sign with the support plan, which had become a recovery plan and which is now back to a support plan. We therefore have a wild card if the State cannot activate the resources. ”

“After that, it's not pleasant for the players. I hope it will loosen quickly. The deconfinement phases did not go that badly. We are outside so it's a chance in these circumstances. For closed grounds, it may take a little longer. ”

“I believe in padel"

"We will have to organize the competitions well. Players must have access to tournaments with the right level without having to travel too many kilometers. We have to do P250s, P500s near the house. We must also develop leisure. We have to bring in new players. ”

"The padel it pleases. It's not just a fad, it really pleases. I am 60 years old, but at padel I'm having a good time. It also helps tennis clubs by bringing traffic to the club.

We must think of a community of players and not a community of clubs. I believe in padel, I believe it."

From his names, we can guess his Spanish and Italian origins. Lorenzo is a multilingual passionate about sports: journalism by vocation and events by worship are his two legs. He is the international gentleman of Padel Magazine. You will often see it on the various international competitions, but also on the major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best photos of padel !

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