Press release: Street workout: 1st competition in Etang-Salé
On Sunday 28 April 2024, Bek la barre, in partnership with the town of L'Etang Salé Les Bains, organised the regional qualifier for the French Street Workout Freestyle Championship. At stake were 2 places in the national final, to be held in Roubaix on 22 June. Here's a look back at the day's action.
Spectators from all over the island gathered at the Etang-Salé-Les-Bains street workout park at 9.00am to watch two thrilling street workout competitions. Throughout the day, Réunion's top athletes battled it out in Freestyle and Set & Reps duels.
In freestyle, the athletes had to present their best routines and compete in battles of 2 x 45 seconds, scored on agility, strength and combination, in direct elimination. It was young Zinedine Maillot of the ESWCR team from Saint André who won the final against reigning French champion Angelo Merion, who was knocked out in the semi-final after tearing his hand.
Maillot and Merion will be flying to Roubaix to take part in the national final of the French freestyle championships on 22 June.
In Set and Reps, 2-on-2 battles were organised with exercises such as squats, pull-ups, muscle-ups, dips and push-ups. The athletes were divided into 2 categories: Spartans for beginners and Elite for the more experienced.
The Spartans had to perform 140 squats, 120 push-ups, 70 pull-ups and 90 dips in a 2 vs 2 relay. The Elite had to perform 220 squats, 85 muscle-ups, 150 pull-ups and 220 dips, all in the strictest form.
Théo Vity-Antoinette and Noah Guichard from Rivière Saint-Louis won the Spartans category in the scorching heat.
In the Elite category, it was the La Montagne duo of Henry-Claude Dargonne and Corentin Jardinot who won after a duel of anthology against the young duo of Kymram Gastrin and Gabriel Gonthier from Rivière Saint-Louis. Admiring the performance of their young opponents, Jardinot and Dargonne decided to share the trophy, resulting in a magnificent victory for... four!
Jean-Pierre Graziani, founder and manager of Bek la barre, says: "We are proud to bring together local talent and put it in the spotlight. Under the impetus of our manager Bryan Hirel, we have been working for years with young people in the inner suburbs.
This event is both a show for the public and an opportunity for Reunion's young people to propel themselves onto the national stage! What's more, most of the participants and volunteers came from the neighbourhoods where we run weekly introductory workshops in Le Port, Saint-Louis and Saint-Pierre, and it's a great pleasure for us to see these young people giving everything they've got, showing solidarity and humility. And what can I say about Jardinot and Dargonne, who share their victories with their opponents - they truly embody the values of street workout and sport in general!
It should be noted that all the participants in this competition will be part of Réunion's selection for an international competition organised by Bek la Barre on 9 June 2024 in Le Port. They will be up against athletes from four European delegations as part of a European "Youth Exchange - Erasmus +" project: Spain, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Latvia.
Photos of the competition :
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Bek la barre in brief
Founded in 2013 in Le Port, the Bek la barre association actively campaigns for inclusion and educational success through sport for young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods by promoting access to and the spread of street workout in Réunion.
We deploy a targeted socio-educational strategy, visiting priority neighbourhoods directly to encourage interaction and exchange through sport, facilitating socialisation and emancipation.
We are currently working in the communes of Le Port, Saint-Louis and Saint-Pierre, where we have recently started workshops with inmates from the penitentiary centre.
Bek la barre organises regular training sessions, rallies and competitions that serve as catalysts for transmitting citizenship values such as respect, diversity, fraternity and altruism, while emphasising the importance of resilience and integrity.
Since our foundation, we have supported more than 1,000 beneficiaries along the way, offering sports coaching, event organisation, project development and work experience abroad, leading to the professional integration of more than 25 young people via civic services, internships or apprenticeships.
Press contacts :
Jean-Pierre Graziani
assobeklabarre@yahoo.com; 02 62 07 03 42