On the stage set up in the heart of the Grange-aux-Belles physical education field (TEP), a complex with beautiful blue synthetic surfaces located at the junction between the 10th and 19th arrondissements, Bastien Renard demonstrates the service offered by Equip Sport in front of dozens of children who have come to the facilities with their sports association. In front of a small blue connected locker, he quickly taps on his smartphone to open one of the three doors of the box and release a brand new basketball. Nothing could be simpler. “And of course, you put the ball back at the end!” he chuckles into the microphone.
Three lockers were scattered throughout this TEP, one of sixty locations that have been equipped in recent months in the capital in partnership with the city of Paris, which encouraged its deployment, and Decathlon, the French leader in sports equipment which supplies balls, rackets and other items.
“Making sport accessible everywhere is our challenge and our meaning,” explains Decathlon’s strategic director Adrien Lagache. “Sharing, inclusiveness, the multisport aspect, that’s our DNA and we find it at Equip.” Bastien Renard adds: “We want to redefine the practice by making it more accessible, responsible and innovative. Encourage the sharing of equipment, move from a consumption system to a service system accessible to all.”
“Having a big impact on people”
The idea germinated in 2021 in the mind of the Swiss Henry Nidecker, who took over the family business specializing in board sports where the model has proven itself. Alongside the young entrepreneur this Thursday, we find the mayor of the 10th arrondissement, but also the former basketball player Diandra Tchatchouang, the deputy mayor of Paris Pierre Rabadan and Didier Drogba.
“As a former sportsman myself, having lived in the suburbs, I know that having equipped playgrounds helps keep young people busy and active in sports,” explains the former Ivorian international footballer, co-founder of the project. “And as WHO ambassador for sport and health, I fight to reduce obesity among young people who are a little too static, too focused on screens.”
In the governance of the young company, Drogba brings expertise and experience, having worn a thousand and one costumes since his retirement in 2018. “After the career, it is often complicated to find interests,” he laughs. Luckily for me, this is not the case! With this type of project, we can have a big impact on populations and that is what I am looking for after a career rich in emotions. For me, it is a bit like the Airbnb of sport… It is sport on demand!”
Another tool for the great national cause of 2024
For him, as for all the other people involved in the project, sport brings people together beyond ages, origins and political opinions. “Even if we have seen disagreements between divergent opinions in recent weeks, what brings the French together is sport,” says the Ivorian. Over the last thirty days, since the installation of the first stations, 4,000 sessions have been played by 1,800 unique users, the company claims.
Already established in 50 cities around the world, Equip is setting up in Paris at a pivotal moment: a few days before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Pierre Rabadan, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of sport, is delighted with this partnership, which is part of a wide range of initiatives aimed at consolidating the legacy of the Games and feeding the great national cause of 2024.
“We are going to host the biggest event in the world, which will be a driving force, but the important thing is what will remain behind it,” he says. “The goal is to see that there are not enough stations because demand will be strong!”