French games

At both our centres we have plenty of outside space and our French staff are keen to show English school children the games they used to play  when they were younger.  Examples include – le ballon prisonnier and la tomate.

In addition, as we enter Olympic year, we will be introducing the game of handball to Maison Claire Fontaine. Handball is highly popular in Europe, but has struggled to generate significant interest in the UK.

The French men’s team will be arriving in London to defend their Olympic title (they are also World and European champions), and the French women are aiming to take revenge for their recent loss in the final of the World Championships.

The Great Britain handball team is unlikely to feature in the medals, but they have demonstrated enough significant ‘performance milestones’ since formation in 2005, in order to be allowed to compete in the London event.

BOA chief executive Andy Hunt said:

"I am confident that handball will be using London 2012 as a springboard to capture both the interest and the imagination of the British public and as a platform to qualify for future Olympics."