“I started sailing when I was three or four years old because my parents had a sailboat.” Juul fell into the water before he could read and since then, he has never left the boat, nor his studies: today a student at Bordeaux Agro Sciences, he tells us how we can reconcile the two.
THE PARISIAN. You gradually learned to sail, at what age did you start sailing seriously?
JUUL. At six years old, my parents enrolled me in an optimist course and I started taking classical lessons until I was ten. We were living in Belgium at the time and I was sailing in the Netherlands because the sport is much more developed there. Then we moved to Arcachon, I got on a slightly bigger boat. Four years ago, I moved into crew. Since then I have been practicing at a high level.
Since this year, you have been registered with Bordeaux Sciences Agro to become an agricultural engineer. But do you compete too?
Yes ! In three years I hope to graduate but throughout the year I also compete in national competitions and train. Sailing is a sport with a lot of logistics, I sail on boats that cannot be launched in ten minutes, so training takes place on Saturday and Sunday, and during the week I do physical preparation.
Most of the time I have a week of classes like the other students. Especially since we are an hour from Arcachon where I practice, so it would be complicated to sail during the week.
Are you able to participate in school life, especially on weekends? Doesn’t that cut you off too much from the other students?
During the week, I participate in student life normally at school, but I cannot participate in certain events that take place on weekends. But even physical preparation can be done within the school: it offers athletics, I go running twice a week. We don’t have any sports classes strictly speaking, but each sport is supervised by a student who coaches us and we must participate in one sports session per week to get a sports grade.
And in terms of courses?
There are classic courses and apart from that, there are group work and projects, so I manage to organize myself well to be able to combine the two. I organize my work to ensure that it doesn’t take up all my free time. Also, a sailing section was created this year, and I completed my sailing instructorship in 2020. Every Thursday, when conditions permit, we go on a sailing trip, I supervise and pass on my passion to other students.
When you have competitions, what do you do?
Some may last a week or more, but the school has made accommodations so that I can leave during those times. These justified absences allow me to miss classes. Some years there are more competitions than other years. I have two objectives: the French Hope Championship in August in La Rochelle and the Tour voile, a sailing tour of France which lasts three weeks. We are still trying to supplement our budget because sailing is a sport that costs more than running. You have to have the equipment, a boat and it must be at a very, very high level like my level. Looking for sponsors is part of the sport!
What career would you like to pursue after your engineering school?
For now, I’m exploring all the possibilities. When I got my baccalaureate, I didn’t really know what to do, and I got a degree in biology because SVT interested me but I didn’t know any more. I was thinking of doing something related to the sea, because I imagined doing marine biology. But I discovered agronomy and it interested me. In engineering school, training lasts three years.
The first year is quite comprehensive to discover the agricultural environment and to be able to get an idea and choose your specialization. I’m moving more towards forestry, wood production and forest management.
Can you imagine having to choose one day between high-level sport and studies?
I think I will continue sailing all my life, but one day I will have to choose between the two. My studies will always come first!