“Ah she is powerful huh! I really like learning with her, “exclaims Farès at the end of the two boxing interventions at Boxer Inside, and when he is facing Rosa, a young high school student two years his senior, and already vice-champion. of France in its category. The teenager participates in the school setting, in this initiation by the association of Sarah Ourahmoune, and more particularly by the team “Change makers”. It is a group of teenagers licensed at the club, “boxers but also transmitters of their knowledge, their skills”, adds Francky Denis, co-creator of Boxer Inside and companion of the Olympic vice-champion of Rio in 2016.
“The idea today is to share a session”. the young ambassadors of the “Change makers” program are only two years older than middle school students. And if during the presentation, there is silence, the ice breaks quickly. There’s Rosa who the 4th grade class already met a month ago in their own gymnasium. And then the others, Bouba, Line Inaya, Johan, etc., all boxers in the educational boxing section, new high school students and members of the “Change makers” program. Between the bags and the ring, college students are immediately immersed in the boxing universe. “Being able to welcome them here, in this beautiful atmosphere of the Halle Georges Carpentier (Paris, 13th), is a chance,” says Antoine Tessier, project manager at Boxer Inside.
The Generation 2024 label
During two two-hour sessions, Francky Denis, a former professional boxer, converted into a sports animator, BPJEPS in his pocket, distills his advice to Farès and his classmates in 4th grade. Coming with their PE teacher from the Edouard Pailleron college, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, they are delighted to learn a new sport in a different way.
The contact with Boxer Inside was made through an acquaintance, but the idea that it is young people who bring the session to life and teach my students the basics of boxing, I found that particularly rewarding”, testifies Pierre Gamaury, physical education and sports teacher in this establishment.
He took advantage of the Génération 2024 label, obtained by his establishment, to launch the project. Under the programme, “all schools, educational establishments and institutions of higher learning that share the belief that sport changes lives can benefit from the unique energy of the Games”. This label, issued by the Ministry of National Education and Youth, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, aims to develop bridges between the school world and the sports movement to encourage physical and sports practice. young people.
“A long-term project”
What is Boxer Inside? “An English boxing club”, answers Antoine Tessier. “But in a hybrid format,” adds Francky. Because the club does not only offer courses for children and adults, but therefore encourages its young people, via “Change makers”, to “work on a double or even a triple project. The first step is to highlight their skills, as here with these college students, to sell them in a professional experience, to make some pocket money by becoming an assistant coach or referee, ”adds the former boxer.
For 4th graders, most of whom are neophytes to boxing, the discovery is twofold. “In our neighborhood and our establishment of the priority education network (REP, ex-ZEP), there are many associations but it is above all football that reigns supreme, concedes Pierre Gamaury. This kind of session opens up the field of possible sports for them”. And contact with young boxers also allows them to understand that these sports and the results they obtain are achievable goals. “With a lot of work and motivation, it’s possible to have good results like Rosa or Bouba”, advances Francky in the preamble to the session, in front of fascinated teenagers. “From the first session in our establishment in May, several students asked me for Boxer Inside’s schedules and contact details. It’s a first victory, slips Pierre Gamaury. We’ll see if it takes completely, but it’s really a long-term project.
“This is also the spirit of “Change makers”, advancing mentalities through dialogue”
At Boxer Inside, there is boxing but also the values it conveys, “that sport in general conveys”, specifies Francky Denis. Moreover, in the “Generation 2024” package, the first session began with a workshop on gender equality for 4th graders from Edouard Pailleron college. “These are questions that we should not even ask ourselves anymore,” he asserts. And yet, Francky Denis admits having discovered women’s boxing during his meeting with Sarah Ouhramoune, and having noticed a “huge gap”, not easy to fill. It must be said that the history of women’s boxing is very recent: it only entered the Olympics in 2012, and was not authorized until the end of the 1990s.
Before putting on the gloves, it is also important to ask yourself questions, explains Antoine Tessier. Self-transcendence, teamwork, rigor, commitment, it’s not just in the ring and for us, it’s also important to develop for everyday life.
The class was therefore able to discuss freely on subjects as varied as women on the moon, homosexuality, women Olympic champions, the place of women’s sport in the media in France, etc. In the form of a quiz, the teenagers confronted their point of view, gave their opinion, debated, “with the greatest respect for the opinions of others”. “This is also the spirit of “Change makers”, advancing mentalities through dialogue, analyzes Francky Denis. Today, Boxer Inside is diversity at all levels: social, cultural, men-women, etc. It is an important part of our DNA”. A DNA that the 4th grade class of Edouard Pailleron college discovered in the ring… and outside.