The budget, abstract °1
First perilous mission for organizing clubs: completing the budget. All the actors interviewed confirm this.
“Money is the nerve of war”summarizes Fabrice Prévot. President of the Racing Club Baulet, he has organized the Ladies Open since 2010 since 2010, the only ITF women’s tournament in Wallonia. “Two or three main sponsors support us. But if we lost BNP Paribas Fortis, it would be very complicated.”
Same observation in Eupen, where a $ 15,000 is held in early August. “Without BNP Paribas Fortis, our main sponsor that I want to thank, it would not be tenable”underlines Olivier Zimmermann, sports director of TC Eupen.
Private support is therefore vital. “”Finding the necessary budget is obviously the main challengeinsists Cécile Parent, operational director of Wallonia-Brussels tennis, in charge of the $ 15,000 tournament of Huy. The sponsors are essential to reach both ends. “
However, the current economic context does not help: companies are more cautious than before. “What complicates the task of the organizers who struggle to confirm the holding of their tournament long in advance”, Precise Parent.
As an indication, it is often necessary to provide an overall budget equivalent to two or even twice and a half times the amount of the endowment.
Precious partnerships
Each club tries, on its scale, to offer the best possible conditions to players. In Uccle, the Royal Léopold Club can count on a solid support structure.
“We have a committee of around forty people who each give between 500 and 1,200 euros. It helps us a lotexplains Nicolas housed, organizer of the $ 30,000 Ucclois which takes place this week. BMW also makes cars available to transport players. “
The partnership with the company Liveramp, the main sponsor and title partner of the event, is a final decisive support.
Because beyond the prize-money, the costs are numerous: except the hotel and the food which are dependent on the players, the slightest post weighs in the budget: the doctor, the physiotherapist, the cord, the animations or the whole promotional aspect.
“We must even pay a registration package equivalent to 2,500 euros with the International Tennis Federation. Which is a bit paradoxical”raises Nicolas housed.
With private sponsors, it’s simple: it’s yes or no. Public aid is something else.
Subsidies: an obstacle course
Like his acolytes, Fabrice Prévot begins the organization of open ladies several months in advance. With requests for grant to be completed as an aperitif. A real obstacle course. “”With private sponsors, it’s simple: it’s yes or no. Public aid is something else. Each year, we are promised that the steps will be simplified, but that is not true. “
The answers are slow, or even arrive after the tournament. And they can reserve unpleasant surprises.
For small clubs, these aids are however crucial. But it is clear that, in Belgium, sport rarely remains a political priority. Wallonia-Brussels tennis, which gives clubs a punctual helping hand, also has a role to play.
Volunteers, a commodity to preserve
Besides the budget, humans plays a fundamental role in the success of a tournament.
“Fortunately, I can count on a beautiful team of volunteerssays Fabrice Prévot. About fifteen friends who take a week off to run the event. It is a significant helping hand that we should not monitor. “
At the Royal Léopold Club, no less than thirty volunteers take turns every day. “”They arrive at 8:30 a.m. and leave at 7 p.m. Without them, it is impossible to ensure such a quality of organization “underlines Nicolas housed which highlights this collective effort which extends to the courts. “”We completely redid the grounds a week before the tournament. The members agreed to temporarily give up their access so that everything is impeccable. “
We want to allow our Belgians to play with them.
Promotion of tennis as motivation
Upon arrival, these tournaments generate no benefit – if not for the club’s restaurateur. And this is not the goal.
“The goal is to create craze within the club, to attract public and to offer experience to young people who seek to break into the circuitdetails Olivier Zimmermann. We have a competition structure within the club, with some of our players who are invited to participate in the qualifications. “
“We want to allow our Belgian players to play at home, to limit their costs while offering them the best possible conditions”adds Cécile Parent.
The contrast is striking with destinations like Monastir (Tunisia), where ITF tournaments take place every week. Which are interesting on paper but which follow above all a commercial logic. “These are hoteliers who live tennis year -old. Their priority is not sport, but the yieldPointe Fabrice Prévot. Whether there are referees or the balls are bad, they don’t care. “
Nicolas housed added: “The conditions are very bad there. You have to manage to reach the courts from your hotel, the grounds are bad and the balls are good for the dog … It is because of these deplorable conditions that the players leave the place as soon as they are eliminated. Here, we put new bullets available, we treat the welcome. We want the players to want to come back.”
A launch ramp to preserve
Remote from the main circuit, ITF tournaments organized in Belgium play an essential role for young people in the making. They require means, energy and a lot of good will. But as long as passion prevails over obstacles, clubs will continue, on their scale, to bring this shadow circuit to life, an essential pillar of the Belgian tennis ecosystem.
