After Lyon and Strasbourg, the “Olympic Sailing 470 for All” operation settled down at the Choisy-le-Roi nautical base (Val-de-Marne) at the end of September.
Under the leadership of Bernard Boime (65), the president of the AS 470 France association, this meeting enabled around thirty children to discover sailing.
“We want to take advantage of the 2024 Olympics, whose sailing events will take place in Marseille, explains Boime.
The 470 is a star discipline in sailing.
It can also allow diversity since it takes place in pairs.
To the children, we try to show that it is a fun sport.
We play with the wind.
We make them do trapeze and they love it.
It's funny.
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For Bernard Boime, sailing also has other benefits.
“It's a very balanced sport,” he continues.
It works psychomotricity.
There is also a balancing game.
Children also gain autonomy.
Before getting on a boat, they learn to mount the rudder and the mast.
And they do the opposite once the activity is over.
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Tame your fears
On a purely sporting level, Bernard Boime indicates that “sailing allows you to burn as many calories as swimming, for example.
Being outdoors, having to analyze the situation with the wind, without forgetting all the physical aspect of pulling on the ropes make the activity very complete.
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For Florence Palin, the president of the nautical club of Choisy-le-Roi, sailing also makes it possible to tame her fear.
“Some kids have apprehensions on the water and that's perfectly normal.
We realize that this fear disappears quite quickly and the pleasure comes very quickly.
Children gain self-confidence and self-esteem when they have experienced their fear.
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But perhaps the most important thing is elsewhere.
“We have no other goal than to see the children leave with bananas and a big smile, concludes Florence Palin.
Look, on the thirty children, we only see joy and happiness.
When a child tries sailing once, they usually come back.
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