Jérôme Lauréri: "We hope to reach the final phase of the Championnats de France"

Founded in 1981, the Hyères Handi Basket club reached the first division in the early 1990s, a level it has not left since. The club competes in the Championnat de France Élite Bastide Médical and the Championnat d'Europe. A colorful track record in recent years, as it has won several titles (Champion de France in 2016 and 2019 and vice-champion de France in 2018 in Hyères, Coupe de France in 2018 and 2019, Trophée des Champions in 2018 in Hyères).

Among the team, Jérôme Lauréri, born in Toulon in 1986 and raised in Solliès-Ville. This athlete, passionate about sports and motorbikes, was the victim of a road accident in 2006. His spine and spinal cord were affected, rendering him paraplegic.

Operated on at the Sainte-Anne hospital, he underwent rehabilitation at the Renée Sabran hospital in Giens. La Gazette du Var met with Jérôme Lauréri.

**How did you discover this sporting discipline?** Jérôme LAURÉRI.

It was during my rehabilitation at the Renée Sabran hospital that I discovered it. Several sports were presented to me by the sports organizer, Thibault Barrois. I used to play a team sport, handball.

At that time, the most developed team sport in parasport was wheelchair basketball. During my rehabilitation, I was able to meet the former president of Hyères Handi Basket because we were hospitalized at the same time. On his valuable advice, I was able to approach the coach to introduce myself.

**Did this meeting transform your journey?** JL.

My rehabilitation was quite long, I underwent two back operations. I was able to get my first license with the club in Hyères in September 2009 and really train with the team. I first joined the training sessions and then the team to play with the great players I met directly.

At the time, there was only the first team, so I had to train hard to reach the level and be able to play with them. The first year, I only took part in training, and from the second year, I started traveling with the team and getting game time. So I joined the team from 2009 to 2011.

**You left the club to return in 2015** JL.

Indeed, for four years, from 2011 to 2015, I joined a team in Le Cannet, near Cannes, with a teammate, Jérôme Duran. This experience allowed me to try something else. But the traveling three times a week for training and matches at the weekend was exhausting. So I came back in 2015.

**Since then, what is your training schedule?** JL.

I work part-time at Décathlon, so I train three times a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and on Fridays when we are not traveling, as well as playing the weekend match, but the players who do not work train every day. **What was your progression up to the Jeux Paralympiques?** JL.

I trained to be able to reach the équipe de France. My first selection for the équipe de France was in 2012. I stayed there until the end of 2015. I took a break from the équipe de France for family reasons. I declined the selections, although I was always called up by the different coaches.

In 2019, seeing the Paris 2024 deadline approaching, I started thinking about the possibility of rejoining the group and the national coach contacted me. I took part in the Championnats du monde in 2023 in Dubaï and the Jeux Paralympiques in Paris in 2024.

**How did the selection process go?** JL.

The coach has to choose 12 players, based on the profile he needs and the skills of each one. During training camps, we are at most 18. There is a specific feature in parasport.

This classification, based on the disability, is done in relation to the physical abilities remaining in the players. Some players have the ability to walk outside of game time, to move around standing up. So, depending on the disability, a rating is determined.

The five players on the court must not exceed 14 points in international competition with the équipe de France, which helps to balance the teams.

**What is your rating?** JL.

I have the lowest rating, knowing that it goes from 1 point to 4.5 points. 1 point is the most severe disability and 4.5 points is the minimum disability. Combinations must therefore be made depending on the player profiles and disabilities to have the most physical capacity present on the court without exceeding 14 points.

The combination of players must be homogeneous on the court to build a coherent collective against opposing teams.

**Who are the players who participated in the Jeux Paralympiques?** JL.

Of the 12 players selected for the équipe de France, five of us participated in the Games. The average age was 28 to 29. The players who participated are Jérôme Duran, Louis Hardouin, Nicolas Jouanserre, Mamady Traoré, and myself.

We come to this sport later than in able-bodied sports.

**What is your assessment of your participation in the JO?** JL.

I am very happy to have been able to participate in the Games. At 38, it is the culmination of my career and the 15 years spent on the basketball courts. When I was in the rehabilitation center, my driving force and my goal were to participate in the Games.

I was able to achieve this goal and, moreover, at home, which adds a greater dimension because the entire audience was won over to our cause, the entire French people. This energy and fervor were impressive. The crowd was trying to catch our eye, to wave to us.

We didn't win any matches. For the first two matches, we were carried away by the event, by the scale of this support.

**An incredible human experience?** JL.

On a daily basis, during the Games, we only had to think about our sporting goal. Humanly, it was incredible. The organization, the staff, the public, everything was perfect.

We were not at our level. We faced very strong teams. We are a bit disappointed with the sporting result but, humanly, it was crazy.

It is difficult for me to put into words what I feel.

**Your return after the Jeux Paralympiques** JL.

When we were in Paris, we could feel this public fervor. Back in the Var, we realized that people followed us, that they took an interest in our discipline and discovered our sport. Since this year, we have moved back into our gym Les Rougières.

We were able to return to our home court, the public attended our matches, the stands were full.

**What are the goals for this year?** JL.

We hope to reach the final phase of the Championnats de France. We are participating in the Coupe de France in January as well as the Coupe d'Europe, at the 2nd level of the Coupe d'Europe, and for the first round, we are going to Autriche, to the club near Vienne.