On Monday, May 14, at the National Training Center of the French Tennis Federation in Paris, the first meeting of the Federal Commission for padel which could well be at the origin of a new era for the padel French.

Christian Collange, the former tennis manager Padel Soleil à Beausoleil and chairman of the commission padel of the PACA League reports to us on the subjects discussed in Paris as well as in its league.

Fast forward and strong

The French Tennis Federation now wants to move forward quickly and strongly. This is the message that the federal commission of the padel :

This year we will be discussing many topics in our meetings to develop the padel in France and regulate a number of things.

This first meeting in Paris will not end there. Christian Collange, on the front line with his team in the PACA league believes that the padel takes an important turn:

The FFT wants a strong development axis in the padel. We have therefore already planned to hold other meetings to refine and move forward on all the subjects discussed around the padel.

Details of the topics covered in the PACA league and at the CNE…

The themes

The themes discussed during this first meeting actually come within the framework of subjects repeatedly addressed by the French Tennis Federation and many tennis leagues. This time the commission padel would like to bring and bring to fruition the following themes:

  • Aid to clubs padel

The objective here will be to democratize technical but also financial assistance to new clubs of padel. Budgets will be allocated to allow all French regions to develop the padel.

The other very interesting point: Even if the implementation of financial assistance remains to be perfectly framed, the idea that ALL new clubs padel (municipal or private) are eligible for this aid is germinating. “It will be necessary to put guards crazy and that these clubs answer to a precise specifications”Specifies Christian Collange.

The FFT offers aid to clubs PADEL , according to the projects which are studied at LEAGUE level, evaluated and then proposed to COMEX, the executive committee of the FFT.

  • The National Center of Padel

What if the French Tennis Federation set up the National Center for Padel ? A project that the committee would like to put in place or at least to propose to the COMEX, even if everything remains to be done to propose a clear project.

  • Le padel as a demonstration sport at the 2024 Olympic Games

What if Paris could offer padel at the Olympic Games as a demonstration sport? The French Tennis Federation could work on this issue very seriously. This is not the first time that this subject has been discussed. And we see the federal commission of Padel very motivated for this to be the case;

Patrick Kanner: “the padel at the Olympic Games, a possibility ”

  • Identification of the player from padel

Who plays padel ? How many players padel is there actually? The committee would like to work on setting up a “player identification padel“. Not easy, because the majority of padel does not play tournaments padel. As we know, the padel is above all a leisure sport. Spain can attest to this because if it has more than 2 million practitioners, it only lists 50.000 licensees on average per year.

Here is a study by Gilles Fiolet which dates from last year which, however, shows the good progression in the number of competitors.

Figures on the development of padel in France

  • A census of private and municipal clubs

The Commission padel wishes the FFT to merge with its municipal and private clubs. This requires precise and detailed referencing “to enable effective dialogue with clubs and involve them in the development of the padel".

We must also get closer to the clubs and take them in a common vision and license policy

Proposes Christian Collange.

  • The players of padel and circuits padel

The best French players of padel as the main circuits of padel like the My Padel turn must be identified and assisted. At least on this point, the FFT has already taken the lead, since it is a partner of the My Padel Tour and that she financially helps the French champion pair of Padel : Bastien Blanqué and Johan Bergeron.

  • The mixed tournaments of padel from the start of the school year

From the start of September / October, the French Tennis Federation could offer tournaments of padel MIXED homologated and a specific classification (different from the ladies and gentlemen classification)

The FFT and its teams must work on setting up mixed homologated tournaments. While this type of tournament is eagerly awaited by players and clubs from padel for several years, the implementation has not been so obvious. We foresee a big job of the competition pole of the FFT to frame the mixed tournaments.

When will the tournaments of padel mixed?

  • The team matches of padel : For the start of the school year ?

Another theme regularly discussed in clubs: The team matches of padel approved ...

Well, it should be launched at the beginning of September.

The team competitions will be homologated and managed at the league level (the points awarded will be following the leagues linked to the points of the P100 or P250 tournaments)

  • Tournaments padel veterans +45 years

Good news too: For those over 45 years old, we should have padel approved with a specific classification “Issued in 2019”

Patience it happens! 🙂

Could we however send a veteran France team from 2018 to the world?

A Veteran World Championships Padel in 2018.

  • Tournament categories P100 and P250 versions 2018 / 2019

If the P100 tournaments are already slanted since the French top 100 cannot participate, the commission intends to develop this category like the P250s…

The P100s may be closed to the French TOP 200 and the P250s closed to the French top 100. Nothing has been done yet, but the commission is working on it.

The objective is to allow the padel amateur and leisure to develop ...

Explains Christian Collange.

[tabs type = ”horizontal”] [tabs_head] [tab_title] Our advice [/ tab_title] [/ tabs_head] [tab] We must admit we are not supporters of bans. The French top 100 banned from participating in the P100, why not. Though.

In our opinion, we must reason not in terms of ranking players, but the weight of the teams. How lucky for a top 1000 player to be able to play with a French 100 top. It can be seen in P250 and even in P500. We see, for example, Adrien Maigret (top 4 french) or Dimitri Huet (top 30) have partners much less strong. And sometimes they are very unusual games and fun to see.

it puts a little spice for the opponents to offer the scalp of a good player and for the partner of the good player, and well it allows him to learn in accelerated and with the promise of having beautiful aches at the end of the tournament.

This method allows the exchange between the players, it also allows you to test yourself against much better players. Most often these very unbalanced pairs do not go to the end, but it allows everyone to find their account. And it's part of the mind padel also.

Good club players can thus play with their children, their friends who are discovering the padel and throw them in the deep end.

Of course, you will sometimes have underclassed player associations with a very good player officially and they will win the tournament very easily. So much the better! this allows them and above all the under-rated player to win points quickly and to be able to find themselves as a sub-ranked player.

In short, in our opinion, these competitions must be curbed, not by prohibiting, but by limiting the overall strength of a team. [/ Tab] [/ tabs]

  • The new tournaments of padel category P2000

Well there you go, we're gonna have them these tournaments padel P2000! Until then, the only event that was considered P2000 was the French championship of padel during the final stages.

The Commission padel wishes to offer a specific number of tournaments padel P2000 determined in advance. We certainly risk having Spaniards in these tournaments because the endowment will be much more interesting than all the other categories.

  • Training of facilitators and teachers padel

Theme that has been discussed but which will be discussed at greater length in future meetings. Because for the moment, there is indeed a real problem there.

How is it that a tennis player with the state tennis certificate who has never practiced padel of his life automatically finds himself a teacher of padel ?

If the FFT has set up initiations - discoveries padel for some time for its BE, this is obviously not what will allow to have teachers of padel qualified.

Subject still very thorny because the French Tennis Federation is aware of this problem.

Jean Wallach, the former President of the Lyon tennis league and in charge of the FFT for training, had returned to the work carried out by the FFT in the context of teaching padel.

But let's remember, if all these elements will allow our sport to develop. Let us not forget that the padel must keep his fun spirit, concludes Christian Collange.

[tabs type = ”horizontal”] [tabs_head] [tab_title] The PACA league on the move [/ tab_title] [/ tabs_head] [tab] The PACA League is already particularly active on the subject padel since it already announces that there will be novelties this year in the padelChristian Collante explains:

The PACA league is already in working order since we will certainly set up next year team competitions, mixed tournaments, veterans competitions and a circuit bringing together young players from padel. [/ tab] [/ tabs]

Pierre Bidégaray: First President of the Commission Padel of the FFT

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.

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