The project had been on the desk of the UNSS Pays Basque departmental management for two years. The project was delayed a little by the health crisis, but since September 2021, padel has made its way into the school environment.

Sport at school, a no-brainer

It's done, since September 2021, padel has entered the school environment. On the initiative of Fabien Barromes, PE teacher in a college in Ustaritz (Pyrénées Atlantiques), and his departmental director UNSS, Mrs. Lesbats, this project was able to be carried out successfully.

These two pioneers of school padel went to meet Elisabeth Wolf, manager of the largest padel center in the area, the Club de l'Adour, which has 4 indoor courts. After several meetings, an agreement was signed between these two parties. Since then, the club has been taken over by Pierre Allard, who continues this partnership in the same dynamic.

The enchanted children

Thus, since September, around thirty colleges have come to discover this new activity with an average of 25 students every Wednesday. If many people still confuse padel and paddle, word of mouth is starting to have an effect and students who discover this activity come away delighted.

"Sir, that's so cool, can we come back?", says the young Patxi, who visibly appreciated.

Teenagers discover a fun and very affordable activity. “I had tried tennis but I couldn't quite manage it…It's easier there!”, explains Emma.

It was decided to get into the activity with small games on half-court at first then to level by making ups/downs, and finally small matches on time. “It was so good, I can come back with my father.”, hopes Enzo.

Soon inter-colleges?

The project is being monitored by Alain Solves and Arnaud Di Pasquale, respectively deputy DTN and head of padel development within the FFT. The subject was also discussed in the joint national commission, and educational kits and material assistance should soon arrive.

Thus, by the end of the school year, the 51 establishments in the sector will have discovered this activity, which will certainly gain popularity among young people. The most motivated will most certainly be able to come and expand the young padel school of the Club de l'Adour.

In the medium term (certainly the next school year), small inter-college competitions could be organized, with a Basque Country Cup. Colleges from neighboring areas (Landes, Béarn, Gironde) could be invited, which could lead to a French Cup or Championship in a few years. Several format ideas are being considered, such as 3 teams per college or high school with a mixed pair, a boys' pair and a girls' pair. In any case, with this kind of initiative, there is no doubt that padel has a very bright future in schools.

School padel is gaining ground, and we can see that several countries are getting involved, such as Portugal, where the project Padel Zone works perfectly.

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 him at various international competitions, but also at major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best padel photos!

On the same subject

Tags