The winning recipe of the Vélo club d’Annecy
Published on25/11/2022a10:15 a.m.
With its 303 members, the Vélo club d’Annecy is a leading cycling club. We met its president Patrick Bernard.
the Annecy bike club was created in 1888 by enthusiasts of the “little queen”. It still brings together today many members who want to share the practice of their favorite sport. With its 300 licensees, the club ranks second nationally in terms of licensees. Despite its great age, the club remains one of the most dynamic. For example, forty-five new members joined the club at the start of the season.
The other remarkable point is its rate of feminization. Indeed, the club has 35% of women in its platoons. For example, it is twice the national average. Another example, the inclusion of disabled sports, the section currently has about ten tandems intended mainly for the visually impaired.
As you can see, the 134-year-old club is doing like a young man. But what is its secret? We interviewed its president to try to unlock the secrets of this winning recipe.
Interview with Patrick Bernard, president of the Vélo club d’Annecy
What is your recipe for attracting ever more licenses? Do you advertise?
Our number of dismissed employees was close to 300, with just a few units, from 2014 to 2020 then it fell sharply with the pandemic linked to Covid, i.e. 270 in 2021 before returning to its previous level of 303 in 2022. For this, forty-five new memberships were needed and of the new twenty-seven had never had a license from the French Cycling Federation.
We do not advertise on commercial vectors but we have a well-documented website and a Facebook page which broadcasts club news. But I believe that the best publicity is “word of mouth” and the attentive welcome reserved for new members.
The Vélo club d’Annecy offers four days a week five different outings by level groups, which allows everyone to integrate into the group that best suits their current form.
Finally, the population of Annecy is growing every year and we are often contacted by young retirees who settle in the region and wish to join a cycling club; we allow them to test the club before joining or not.
Women are far more numerous at your place than in all the other clubs. How do you explain that?
It has been a constant for many, many years that is difficult to explain. The objective element concerns the presence of many couples within the club. The organization of club outings into five groups of levels is certainly an element that facilitates the integration of women who are moreover present in all groups. Each year, the club organizes stays in France or abroad which cancels the overall cohesion and the development of friendly ties.
You proudly announce from the first page of your site that the creation of the club dates back to 1888. Do you have archives of this creation? Do you think that explains your place as national number 2?
The Vélo club d’Annecy is the second sports club in the city and the oldest. It is therefore well known locally but I do not think that explains our national position. Our historical archives have been handed over to the departmental archives. For illustration I enclose the text of a document that we published during the 125th anniversary of the club ; it includes quite a few reproductions of old documents.
The disabled section is also very active with a dozen tandems? What does the presence of disabled cyclists mean to you? Have people been specially trained to supervise these disabled people?
This section welcomes the visually impaired and was created in 2008 to allow one of the club members, victim of an accident, to continue the practice of cycle tourism; the latter regained his sight but the section was created and each year we are approached by a growing number of visually impaired. They are eleven licensees in 2022 and we have retained nine pilots all trained, internally, by the head of the section Alain Lecharpentier.
The activity of the section is extremely enriching on a human level both for the visually impaired who appreciate being able to do a sporting activity “like everyone else” and for the pilots who are sometimes the only social link for these disabled people. We strive to fully integrate them into club activities (weekly outings and stays).
On the other hand, you do not have a cycling school for young people. Is it a choice or a lack of supervisors?
Indeed, we no longer have a cycling school for about twenty years after the supervisor stopped; the demand at the time mainly concerned mountain biking, which has never been practiced within our club.
Text: Jean-Pierre Giorgi – Photos: Annecy Bike Club