Simply Annecy Explores Sports Galore...
- Bernie
- May 30, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 18, 2024
If you know anything about Annecy, you know that it's a great place for sports. In this post I'm going to look at the sports that are available for you and your family, from the usual summer and winter activities to the more obscure. I'll then walk you through the registration and cancellation processes.
Let's start.
Which Sports can I do in Annecy?
A better question might be, what sport can't I do in Annecy? Did you know that in the commune of Annecy, there are 493 sports and outdoor associations? Given that Annecy has a lake and is surrounded by mountains, you already have a good variety of sports right on your doorstep.
If we take the summer sports first, the most popular ones are:
the water sports: swimming, sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding (now with it's own annual event called The Gla Gla race), canoeing, waterskiing, wake boarding, rowing, dragon boating, kitesurfing, fishing and diving.
mountain sports: hiking, trail running, mountain biking, rock climbing, via ferrata*, canyoning, caving, paragliding, parachuting, skydiving, hot air ballooning.
*Via ferrata was unknown to me before moving to Annecy. Apparently it started in Italy and means 'iron way' in Italian. Basically, it's climbing but with a harness which you attach to metal rods set into the rock face but it's not just that, you might also come across metallic ropes, ladders, chains, bridges and other such equipment. It usually involves traversing a ridge, going around a mountain or climbing a peak. As with Alpine climbing, the via ferrata trails are graded and can vary from a slightly difficult to extremely difficult. As far as I know, the trails near Annecy are maintained by the commune who then might use specialist companies to ensure the equipment is safe to use.
The most common winter sports available include:
downhill and cross country skiing, snowboarding, snow-shoeing, ski touring, biathlon, sledging and dog sleighing.
Annecy Ville offers an overview of the above sports.
Other sports
team sports include handball, volleyball, football, ice hockey, rugby, basketball.
sports which fall outside of these categories include athletics, biking (mountain and BMX), running, horse riding, pétanque (or boules), badminton, boxing, judo, karate, tennis, golf, ice skating and figure skating, wall climbing, boxing, ballet, roller skating, various forms of dance (i.e. hip-hop, folk, contemporary, Latin American and others), gymnastics, fencing, triathlon. I'm sure I've missed something....
For those of you who are cricketers, I'm sorry to disappoint but this is one sport that we don't have. There have been attempts to get a club up and running and it was doing well for a while but for whatever reason, it seems to have stopped. That's not to say that you can't play but you might just have to travel a bit as the nearest club is in Geneva.
A second sport which I also haven't seen in Annecy is that of field hockey. There is a French federation for field hockey but Annecy doesn't have a club so if you're a keen hockey player, your nearest club will be Grenoble. On the other hand, if you like hockey, why not try ice hockey? There is a very dynamic club in Annecy called Les Chevaliers du Lac or Knights of the Lake. The club lends the equipment to very young children because the club encourages anyone to give it a go whilst knowing that many parents are not willing to invest much in the sport until they are certain that their child is motivated enough to stay with it. Only then is it worth buying everything yourself.
If you're looking for something along the lines of hockey but not on ice, how about roller skating or Roller Derby? I must admit I didn't know about this sport until recently! Apparently it's a contact sport done on 'traditional' 4-wheeled roller skates where the aim of the game is for one of the players to overtake the opposing players in a given amount of time without being thrown to the ground or leaving the track. In neighbouring Seynod there's a roller hockey club for roller skating, (for fun or to compete) and for Roller Derby.
Sports at School
When we arrived and started looking at schools I was surprised by the fact there were no large grass fields for the kids to play on. In most cases it's a courtyard with gravel. One school actually had it's 'play area' under a building so it was devoid of any sunlight! If like me you went to a school which had a number of playgrounds, the lack of any substantial green space can seem quite a shock.
The reason for this is that field sports are not included as part of the national curriculum. That said, primary and secondary schools can include 3 hours of physical exercise per week (it is not an obligation of the school to provide it)*. In elementary schools this is usually in form of gymnastics (organised in a school hall) but it could also be an activity outside.
In February 2020, the government approved a trial involving more than 1,000 schools where primary pupils had a mandatory 30 minutes of sport a day. It was up to the teachers to decide what they would do during these 30 minutes but the activities were to take place on the school grounds and children did not have to bring special sports clothes for the sessions. The positive results of the trial have led the government to roll it out nationwide and the forthcoming Olympics will be used as a springboard for this.
Depending on the school and age of the children, in Annecy, during the spring/summer months, they may have the opportunity to try sailing and/or kayaking and in the winter months, snow-shoeing, alpine and cross-country skiing!
Note: in order to participate in the water sports all children have to do a swimming test to check that they have a certain level.
Note: when your child goes to school, you will need to get insurance (assurance scolaire) in the event that your child is involved in an incident whilst at school, practicing a sport or during a school trip. This insurance can be obtained from most insurance companies. It covers your child if he or she is the victim of an accident (personal bodily protection) or if he or she is responsible for one (civil liability).
Note: schools are not allowed to request a medical certificate for compulsory PE lessons. On the other hand, they can request a medical certificate of inaptitude (total or partial) from any student wishing to be excused from PE lessons. For optional sports activities at secondary school and college, regulations differ depending on the sport.
Sports Outside of School
Most of the sports that I've already mentioned are available to children unless there are age restrictions for safety reasons. If your child is new to the sport, you can ask the relevant club if he/she can try 2 or 3 sessions to see if they like it. After that, you sign up for the year.
Every school term, Annecy offers a range of subsidised sports which you can sign up for. Free swimming lessons are offered for young children.
Medical Certificate
Depending on the sport, if the club is affiliated to a sports federation. e.g. for football it's the the FFF (Fédération Française de Football), you will be asked to provide a medical certificate to show that your child is able to practice the sport. The same applies to:
physical sports such as boxing or kick-boxing,
sports that involve a firearm e.g. biathlon,
sports which involve the use of a vehicle e.g. karting and motorcycling
aeronautical sports i.e. aerobatics, gliding, hang-gliding, etc.
To obtain the medical certificate you need to make an appointment with your GP who will carry out a health check. All being well, the doctor will print off the certificate which states that your child is medically fit to take part in the sport.
Tip! If you know that your child is going to do several sports, ask your GP to make a certificate for these too, thereby saving you multiple return trips. Your child will not be able to start the sport without this medical certificate.
With the medical certificate in hand, the club will register your child and you pay the yearly fee. The sports federation will confirm your child's license which is valid for one year.
For other sports, children may just have to complete a health questionnaire, with the help of their parents. If there are no health issues and the answers are negative, simply print off a certificate of the completed questionnaire to the club or sports association. If one or more answers are positive, you have to consult a doctor. In all instances, the certificate must be less than six months old at the time of license application.
Insurance
When you pay for a sports license, part of the fee goes towards a compulsory insurance which the federation organises to cover the licensee in the event of injury or damage that he/she or another participant causes during these activities.
Trying Different Sports
At the beginning of the academic year (September), the sports store Decathlon organises an event called Vitalsport whereby children can try all kinds of sports for free i.e. climbing, horse riding, combat sports, team sports, dance, gym, yoga, archery, mountain biking, acrobatics, fishing and others. Between 40-50 clubs are associated with the event so that parents and children can speak with them directly. It's a very popular event and I know some children who have found 'their' sport because of it.
There are other events during the year where your child can try different sports e.g. archery, biathlon, wall-climbing and others.....you can even have a go at pushing a bobsleigh!
Cancelling a Sports Membership
When you register our child with a sports club ask them about their cancellation policy. Usually, once you sign up for a sports license, you can't cancel it because part of the fees which you pay to the club at the beginning of the school year i.e. September, goes to the relevant federation which organises the license. For example, with a team sport like football or ice hockey, you pay a fee to the club at the beginning of the year. If however, your child wants to stop half way through, I'm not sure they will reimburse you. Even if they do, they can't reimburse everything because part of the fee has already gone to the FFF or FFHG (Fédération Française de Hockey sur Glace) to pay for your child's license.
When it comes to other sports, I think it depends on the sport and the club concerned. We had an instance where my son wasn't enjoying karate as the classes were online because of Covid and it didn't really work for him. With this club we paid per term. I had written out three cheques, (yes, you haven't misread, they still use cheques in France which was a complete surprise to me too as I hadn't used a cheque book in years)! I digress. At the beginning of each new term, the club would cash one of the cheques. The club kindly reimbursed the money which we'd paid upfront for the remainder of the term and cancelled the subscription.
Maybe this was an exception because of the unique circumstances that Covid imposed on us but then again clubs know how fickle children can be so I'd like to think that most clubs would accommodate a request to cancel and come to some agreement. This is of course just my opinion as I can't speak for every club nor for cancellation policies that state otherwise.
Sports Clubs for Adults
All of the aforementioned sports are possible for adults and if you sign up to a club, it is also usually for one year. You will also asked for a medical certificate from your GP confirming that you are fit to do the sport.
In accordance with French law, all sports organisations have to have insurance which covers damage/injury caused by one 'athlete' to another, otherwise known as civil insurance. In fact, all organisers of sporting activities are obliged to take out group insurance to cover the civil liability of their participants. This 'contract' should be posted on the sports premises. In such cases, taking out personal insurance is optional.
The above refers to civil insurance i.e. if you injure someone else whilst doing the sport. When it comes to personal insurance, depending on the sport, you can either arrange this yourself or take the insurance offered by the club. This is certainly true of winter sports, some water, and mountain sports. For example, if you have an accident whilst paragliding and you don't have personal insurance, you'll have to cover the costs of the rescue, medical treatment and loss of income due to time off work.
Note: Personal insurance is compulsory for fishing if you don't have a federation license.
Note: If you are not a member of a club and you want to register for an organised race i.e. a road run, you have to provide a medical certificate! I know this has caused some problems for foreigners wanting to run the Annecy half or full marathon and for whom the idea of a medical certificate was completely new. I even heard that some GP's in the UK refused to provide one!
Tip! If you are relatively new to a sport and you're doing it independently e.g. mountaineering (Via Ferrata), paragliding, kite-surfing, water-skiing and other 'high risk' sports, it is advisable to take out civil and personal insurance. We often seen the rescue helicopter (Dragon 74) being called out and it can be for anything but paragliders are known for getting stuck on a mountain.
Conclusion
When I speak to family and friends about the sports that my son has done in and out of school, they are stunned. The fact that children have the opportunity to try so many different sports is invaluable. However, if your child shows interest in a particular sport, before signing up, ask the club if your child can try a few sessions and find out about their cancellation policy!
If you have any questions or comments about the above, feel free to contact me. Likewise, if you need help with finding a suitable club or instructor for example, or even with just registering your child with a club, drop me a line so that we can arrange a date and time to discuss.
À bientôt......
Tel: 06 28 13 82 60
Email: info@simplyannecy.com
Comments