1 Beach volleyball, a pioneer of beach sports
When the clear sky arrives at the beaches of the Breton coast, they unfold. Every summer, beach volleyball courts entertain locals and vacationers. Since 1996, “Beach”, the flagship sport in the beach field that has been held in the doublet at the Olympic Games, is by far the most popular. And it’s not the tournament that’s missing. “During the summer, we can have three or four tournaments on weekends in Brittany,” confirms Tristan Coudron, who is responsible for the development of Ligue de Bretagne.
2 beach tennis, summer showcase
Beach volleyball is no longer the only sport to take over the beach. Soccer, handball, rugby, and even the tennis league are allocating ever-increasing budgets to these new areas. “We use beach tennis events to bring people back to the club. This is our summer showcase,” explains Laurent Vazou, Head of Practice at Ligue de Bretagne.
If the FFT made its first attempt in the early 2010s, it’s only four to five years since beach tennis actually became known. “We have local referents, we have set up training and we are starting to build land,” says Laurent Vazou.
However, 95% of the practice is done on a removable pitch that takes an hour to set up.
3 Beach handball seeks permanent grounds
Ligue de Bretagne de handball seeks to develop its practice through the construction of hardcourts. “Breton beaches aren’t always good for practice,” recalls Vincent Quintin, league development manager. Tidal and sloping beaches are all obstacles to the development of practice.
That’s why the league created the Brights Beach Handball Cup in 2021. During the summer, the tournament is grouped into four stages, and authorities can also detect regional choices.
4 Beach soccer focuses on detection
At the beginning of the season, League de Brittany de Football established a training center dedicated to beach soccer on Lou’s permanent ground (35). The goal is to create a Brittany team for the national tournament.
Beach soccer is by far the most developed in the region so that this is not limited to Ile Evilene, so the league aims to create at least one hardcourt per division within a few years. “It is the existence of the structure that makes it possible to justify more punctual practices,” estimates sports technical adviser Fabrice Morell.
5 Beach rugby takes time
Development slows down in some areas. The Rugby League has held small championships in divisional and regional finals for two years. Emmanuel Grimaud, vice president of the Brittany League, points out regional disparities between Finistere and Morbihan, admitting that Côtes d’Amour “is still struggling to motivate teams after the entire season.” increase. He said, “Armor and Il Evilene are pretty slow.
But he does not want to give up and continue to publish divergent and often more playful practices, such as the rugby tournament at the sea in La Trinité-surmer in June (56). ..
6 Basketball throws a towel
The Brittany Basketball League, which hosted a beach basketball tournament in the early 2010s, has stopped altogether at the request of the federation. The budget is currently directed towards the development of 3×3 basketball, the Olympic sport since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.