VIDEO. It’s a world first: discover “cécirugby”, a brand new sport created in Toulouse
By Thibaut Calatayud
Published on
This is a world first, and it is Toulouse let it unfold! Thursday September 8, 2022, exactly one year before the start of the world Cup oval ball in France, the Departmental Council of Haute-Garonne and its partners have launched an unprecedented practice: the “cecirugby”. A sport for the visually impaired, but not only…
A world first
If we already know blind football in Toulouse, we do not yet know blind rugby. And for good reason, so far this inclusive sport simply did not exist. “There were reasons for this: it’s a combat sport, of contact, with a certain number of safety precautions to take…”, lists Olivier Chabot, pilot of the Relais Handicaps Rares team at the Institut des Young Blind Midi-Pyrenees.
But we know that Toulouse is a land of rugby. So why not try what hitherto seemed impossible?
To do this, the Departmental Council, the Occitanie Rugby League, the Departmental Rugby Committee of Haute-Garonne and the Institute for Young Blind People have come together to create this new discipline seen with a very good eye by the French Federation. of Rugby (FFR).
Sighted and blind mixed
“At the start, the idea was not to adapt rugby to make it accessible to the visually impaired, but to create a new rugby practice that could be shared by sighted and blind or visually impaired people (all players, except for the two captains in charge of guiding their troops, have their eyes covered, editor’s note), while drawing inspiration from the basic principles of rugby,” explains Olivier Chabot.
“There is an interest for the visually impaired, but not only! Sighted people can develop their sensory, psychomotor, proprioception capacities…”
For players, women and men mixed, to flourish and play safely, some strict rules have been put in place. For example, the passage on the ground is prohibited. The game is only done standing up.
![Like rugby, blind rugby is a contact sport.](https://static.actu.fr/uploads/2022/09/cecirugby-toulouse-tc-2.jpg)
An innovative ball
If it looks like a classic rugby ball, the one used for this new practice is a little gem of technology. He emits constant threads in order to allow the different players to spot it on the field.
“There’s a battery, a buzzer, a microcontroller… You charge it like a mobile phone that you put on a base. This wireless charger prevents any opening so that the ball keeps its resistance, water and shock.”
Count about two hours of charging for 1h30 of autonomy.
![Yoni Pomarès is one of the designers of the sound ball used in cécirugby.](https://static.actu.fr/uploads/2022/09/yoni-pomares-cecirugby-tc.jpg)
The other big peculiarity lies in the jerseys. Both teams wear tunics with very distinct materials to differentiate, to the touch, opponents and teammates.
Discover the cécirugby in video:
Émile Ntamack is already a fan
Came to attend a demonstration at the Stade Ernest Wallon, Emile Ntamacklegend of Toulouse stadiumseems conquered: “It’s communication work, trust, repetition… We are in a classic development of sport but which allows everyone to be on an equal footing”.
![Émile Ntamack came to watch a blind rugby demonstration.](https://static.actu.fr/uploads/2022/09/emile-ntamack-toulouse-tc.jpg)
“It’s physical! “says Arnaud. This big guy, sporty and blind, an appreciated experience. “It makes you want to continue. I hope it will develop and take shape by the World Cup”. Same observation for Sophie, a member of the County Council who came to test the new discipline: “It’s very interesting because it appeals to many other senses! »
This brand new sport will continue to be tested throughout the 2022-2023 season. If the tests prove conclusive, the practice could be developed in the clubs of the department and at the national level, in connection with the FFR.
Was this article helpful to you? Note that you can follow Actu Toulouse in the My Actu space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.