DC Touch Rugby and Roosters Rugby presented their annual Charity Touch Rugby Tournament to the benefit of the Serge Betsen Academy on September 23rd in Virginia.
Despite the miserable weather, 40 participants attended this charity event to encourage their team and gather for a good cause. After dynamic and joyful games on the wet pitch and a yummy friendly barbecue, DC Touch Rugby finally won the tournament against Roosters Rugby.
Thanks to all the rugbymen and participants for your dynamism, spirit of solidarity and generosity. We have raised 1,597.10 US dollars thanks to you all! It feels very good to see so many people believing in our charity and helping our SBA children to get a better chance to succeed in life.
For more pictures of the event, please visit our Facebook page.
https://www.sergebetsenacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/f89e5929-29d6-4eb6-9cd2-219c452466e0.jpg7681024Mailys Finelhttps://www.sergebetsenacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/SBA-logo.pngMailys Finel2018-10-04 05:12:352019-06-05 15:08:23Event: A rainy but joyful American Charity Touch Rugby Tournament
For the 4th year running we are once again delighted that the Financière Arbevel is the key sponsor for this golfing tournament.
We are very grateful to the Financière Arbevel for welcoming us and actively participating to raise funds for our future projects. We were also blessed by the presence of the key associations: RFF and ASET 93.
It was an excellent day to raise funds for these beautiful causes. Unbelievably the sum collected was multiplied by 4 thanks to the generosity of Jean Baptiste Delabare, which means that more than €6,000 has been collected for each association.
Special thanks once again particularly to Jean-Baptiste and the Financière Arbevel’s team for the organization, welcome, generosity and hospitality.
For SBA, these proceeds will allow us to fortify our projects, particularly in the areas of student health and exercise with rugby.
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The Tempo Latino festival ran from July 26 to July 29. It is the premiere Festival of Latin and Afro-Cuban Music. In 2018 it celebrated its 25th anniversary in Vic-Fezensac. The program included concerts that set arenas ablaze with incredible rhythms pulsing right through the festivities interspersed with sporting events. Lionel was once again part of the team of volunteers (he is everywhere this Kenos!) and Serge was present in his role as Godfather of La Conga.
For the sporting component, the beaches of La Conga were transformed into rugby venues open to all comers. Serge made a small presentation to introduce the noble game of rugby. Also present were members of HAMAC (Happy Areopagus mobilized for any Challenge) who richly animated the beach rugby games wearing some of the items that Lionel had created from recycled rugby balls. It was a fabulous exchange using both round and oval balls.
The Serge Betsen Academy was reveling in the solidarity. There was a beautiful exhibition celebrating paintings and photos at “Center Les 7 Pêchés Capiteux” (July 25). Highly original and creative goods were on display craafted from recycled rugby balls including bags, wallets and school kits. The proceeds from which were greatly received by the association. Thank you Lionel!
An additional sale of hand crafted goods was organized on a beach in La Conga. Serge was naturally on hand to welcome holidaymakers, introduce the association and demonstrate a few ball skills while conveying some wise advice to the youngsters.
Serge was invited by President Eric Duffau on stage to introduce and present the association to the music fans gathered for the opening of the Festival. To listen to the speech, click here (in French)
And to top it off, a cheque for €2,500 euros was given to the association from La Conga Tempo Latino.
Many thanks to Tempo Latino and La Conga for the amazing support! SBA is so proud to have collaborated with you, and we were so honoured to be there for your 25th birthday. It was a great exchange of cultural values, bringing together diverse organisations with so much in common.
Thanks also to all who purchased the hand-crafted goods knowing that their contributions would aid the association. Once again we are indebted to Lionel for his passion and dynamism, and to Jenna for her participation and all the sponsors of the association who made this trip. A special shout out also to Francis, friend of Lionel, who is an enormous help on some of our trips to Cameroon.
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The ‘9th Epernay Vineyard Challenge’, brought together 1,850 rugby players aged between 7 and 12 years old. SBA provided a stand with recycled rugby balls manned by volunteers Chest and Kenos (the TQT finally reunited!).
It was a great success, especially with the ‘Week-End’ bags and the getting together of Belgian, Dutch and French neighbours! There were 39 clubs participating in this sports day from Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands.
The proceeds from the sale of confectionary items exceeded €3000. Lionel and Christophe were able to interact with Jeff Tordo from organisation “Pachamama of Madagascar” present that day along with many international guests including: Jean-Pierre Garuet-Lempirou, Jacques Boussuge, Francis N’tamack, Cédric Debrosse, Jean-Maurice Oulouma and hundreds of children.
A tombola was organised with great prizes contributed from the profits of the Pachamama and SBA associations. A donation of more than 330 euros will be poured into our association as a result of funds raised. Rugby material (shirts, studs…) were also collected for this event creating a thrilling showcase for the two associations.
A big thank you to Guillaume Martin, Director of Pedagogy (MSc and MBA) at L’INSEEC and to Laurent, the organiser of the Vignoble Challenge. Thanks also to the École Polytechnique and all the young people attending and offering their support. Congratulations to Racing Colombes, winners of the Tournament!
A beautiful day in the Champagne region!
Some photos that will help you get a sense of the atmosphere and a copy of an article from L’Union(in French)
(Translation from French version : Raphael Nash)
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« Everyone here is so approachable, it really represents the spirit of rugby » observed a fan who attended to support the association. The event took place in the presence of many French rugby icons including Bakary Méité, Alain Gazon and Serge Betsen accompanied by his troupe that helped organised the dinner at La Clef des Champs restaurant in Paray-Vieille-Poste to honour the Serge Betsen Academy.
The flags of the Stade Français, Wasps and Massy Essonne Rugby Clubs were proudly on display, so it was impossible to misapprehend the context of the evening. A warm welcome was given by Yves and his team, around 50 people gathered for this memorable dinner in honour of the association working together since 2004.
“There is a lot of generosity in this association which corresponds perfectly with my sport: rugby. Thank you all for being here tonight.” declared Serge.
After a presentation of educational videos, Serge and his team answered questions posed by the audience. This provided a clear opportunity to observe the passion and enthusiasm that this association generates.
Tables were brightly decorated with the colors of the association which, together with the festive menus contributed to the warm atmosphere; a perfect match with the spirit of the Serge Betsen Academy. The guests stamped their mark on the meeting with conviviality, enthusiasm and solidarity.
“It is crazy how rugby can make you want to succeed” a woman whispered in her husband’s ear.
A highlight of the evening was the auctioning of champions’ jerseys including Mathieu Bastareaud from the 2010 Six Nations Tournament and another from Massy which was followed by further surprises to bid for.
“Are there any supporters of Stade Français here in the hall this evening?” Lionel asked.
A few smiles broke out and five or six hands went up. The auction was fun, successful and really well conducted.
“I know that all this money will be used for direct and positive actions for this association, so it is with great pleasure that I have participated” declared a benefactor.
This charity dinner has evoked the true spirit of rugby and raised more than four thousand euros. Success will now follow very quickly as a result.
“I want to thank everyone for coming tonight and especially Yves and all his team to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for making this event possible” Serge Betsen.
This text was written by our volunteer Jean Verdon who has also created a video! (Thanks also to Raphael Nash for the translation into English.)
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Our brave SBA Pirates reached the final at the Dubai 7’s veteran tournament. Two iconic ex-rugby players were featured on the SBA team along with Serge: Yann Delaigue and Francis Ntamack. Despite a tough match against our English friends: Iain Balshaw, Simon Shaw and Olly Barkley, we are proud of our Pirates who wore the colours of our association!
Thanks to the support of their sponsors, 850€ were donated to the SBA. A huge thank you to the Pirates and their sponsors for their engagement and motivation. Bravo and thank you!
Cyril Mattera, one of our Pirates who represented the association, confessed: “Lots of emotions still 72 hours later and already the desire to restart this tournament! A 2017 tournament for the books! Meeting these extraordinary men who have such incredible values! Thank you to all the people who helped our team. Thank you to all the players! Long live rugby! MATOS”
The dream team: Bertie Kloetgen; Laurent Leslé; Sebastien Gerinet; Philipe Allard; Emmanuel Pringalle; Arnaud Leclerc; Roger Nash; Gareth Down; Édouard Sénéchal; Olivier Morato has won its challenge.
They are all finishers and they managed to collect around £9,000 (11,840$) !
A big thank you to them, the new heroas of the SBA!
For the first edition of the Summer version of the tournament, the organising team (Yann Delaigue, Stéphane Rouault, Francis Ntamack et Cedric Debrosse) chose to support Serge Betsen Academy and Rugby French Flair associations.
We enjoy the visibility offered by this event, during all this crazy week! One week allowing all these Veterans to get together over the oval ball and to share other activities with the public, especially the kids. They even walked on the water!
For more information about the Summer version of the 6 Stations Tournament, take a look at photos and videos on Facebook … Seeing is believing!
Unfortunately, the crowdfunding platform did not work as we expect. But we will be back for the Winter version with new ideas to collect funds and support our projects.
On July 2nd, 10 brave athletes meet the double challenge of running the 10 km of the Great Newham London Run and collect more than £ 1800 for the SBA Cooperative.
Thanks to all the athletes and friends of Renault UK, Victoria Oil and Serge Betsen Academy, who had the honour to finish the race in the iconic Queen Elisabeth Olympic Park.
Congrats !
Thanks for the £ 1800 collected for the creation of our cooperative, the SBA Coop.
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Following our encounter of André Gréjon at the diner “Enfance et Ovalie III” at Issy-les-Moulineaux, and also at Rungis on January 31st, he proposed us to be one of the associations benefiting from the 2017 edition of “L’Assiette d’Or”, together with our friends of Kampuchea Balopp.
“L’Assiette d’Or” is an event created in 1995 by Andie’s Factory, bringing all the Chefs together for a very busy day.
All the guests come to relax and enjoy this day in the country side.
“L’Assiette d’Or” gathers more than 500 cooking professionals each year.
Guests and partners compete for “L’Assiette d’Or”, shooting on clay targets at the Ball-Trap in the shooting area set up for the occasion.
The Castle of Janvry (France – 91) and its wide estate offer privileged places for setting up the Exibitors’ Village and the Flavours’ Village in a beautiful environment.
Thanks to this great event, the Kampuchea Balopp and Serge Betsen Academy associations could collect more than 3.600 € (1.800 € each). This will allow to support the organisation of the SBA kids’ parties.
Many thanks to SBA Ambassadors Stéphane Rouault and Vincent Deniau, who supported Jenna, the representative of the association.
Huge thanks to Andréa and André Gréjon for the invitation and the organisation !
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