Funboarding has just risen from its ashes in Bercy. 25 years after the incredible competitions in the pool in Paris in the Palais Omnisport de Bercy, competitions that marked the 90s, the same champions are back on the podium today. A great show for the greatest pleasure of the spectators.
We interviewed a reader of bateaux.com at the exit of the show. A reader who was present 20 years earlier at Bercy and who came today with his son (16 years old).
Jean, what impression does this new Parisian edition leave on you?
I came back here for the nostalgia part. And I was not disappointed at all. I was happy to see champions like Thiémé, Territehau and Naish who marked my adolescence. These guys are real showmen and still manage to set the room on fire. Seeing Territehau leaving the pool by jumping overboard with his board or when he leaves in double with Thiémé to jump both following are part of the good moments that marked this edition.
And your son, how did he like it?
As a teenager, these riders who are idols for me are not his references. Even if I tell him the history of Funboard, he doesn't get hooked on these riders. But in the end, he enjoyed the evening and let himself be carried away by the dynamism of the sailing and the enthusiasm of the commentator.
A great success then?
I think that the spectators were happy. Even if personally, I think that the room was not full. All the top of the stands were empty and there were still free seats around us. This was not the case in previous editions where in my memory, all the seats were rented.
I also think that it is a medium commercial success for the organizers. We feel that the operating budget is thought to be economical. No advertising banner around the pool or on the safety railings, no balloon at the interval as we used to see it. No doubt this change goes hand in hand with the loss of speed of windsurfing.
A good idea to reproduce?
As you can see, Fred Beauchêne is a good organizer. Supported by the Nautic de Paris (Alain Pichavant), we can feel that they are at the heart of this event. But all this is getting a bit tired, everyone is getting older... Already Robert Territehau and Erik Thiémé, 2 pillars of the show have announced that it was "their last Indoor". I wonder if it is interesting to relaunch the machine of the Indoor of Bercy, even if I took a great pleasure to participate in this last one.
