[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"habillage":3,"actualite-le-mans-kendo-club-nous-a-ouvert-ses-portes":5,"actualite-le-mans-kendo-club-nous-a-ouvert-ses-portes-renvois":33,"actualites-4":38},{"saison":4},"halloween",{"id":6,"slug":7,"titre":8,"chapo":9,"corps":10,"rubrique":11,"image_url":12,"image_credit":13,"image_chemin":14,"event_id":14,"venue_id":14,"association_id":15,"lien_url":16,"lien_label":17,"commune":18,"auteur":19,"statut":20,"publie_le":21,"source":22,"created_at":23,"updated_at":24,"referencee":25,"traductions":26},"78666f62-1449-4568-ac5c-0e7f50084931","le-mans-kendo-club-nous-a-ouvert-ses-portes","Au Mans Kendo Club, de 8 à 75 ans sur le même parquet","En octobre, Le Mans Kendo Club nous a accueillis pendant son entraînement du samedi matin, salle Marcel-Cerdan. Une section née en 2024 au sein de l'ASL-CE Renault, portée par des enseignants qui font vivre le kendo au Mans depuis le milieu des années 1980. Et une bonne nouvelle : le club est d'accord pour qu'on revienne tester une séance.","## Une jeune section, une longue histoire\n\nLe kendo, c'est l'escrime japonaise : on s'affronte au shinai, un sabre de bambou, protégé par une armure. Au Mans, la discipline n'est pas une nouveauté : le fondateur de la section l'enseigne depuis 1985, et l'enseignant qui nous a reçus l'a rejoint en 1993. En 2024, l'équipe a fondé une nouvelle section au sein de l'ASL-CE Renault : Le Mans Kendo Club. Elle compte aujourd'hui entre 25 et 30 pratiquants, et 6 à 12 par séance.\n\n![Démonstration de kendo sur les tatamis, lors des portes ouvertes de septembre 2024 (photo : Le Mans Kendo Club)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-kendo-club\u002Fportes-ouvertes-2024.jpg)\n\n## Un samedi matin sur le parquet\n\nLe samedi, de 10 h à midi, le club s'entraîne sur un parquet de danse, « le type de sol qu'on recherche » : pas de tatami au kendo, il faut un sol souple, mais pas trop. Chaque attaque réunit trois gestes : « le déplacement, la coupe et le kiai […] doivent se dérouler dans la même fraction de seconde. Ce qui fait que c'est assez bruyant. » Le kiai, c'est le cri poussé au moment de frapper.\n\nDeux pratiques se partagent les séances : le combat au shinai, en armure, et les katas, des exercices imposés à deux, au bokuto, un sabre de bois courbe, en chêne, qui représente un vrai sabre.\n\nSur le parquet, tous les âges se croisent : le club accueille dès 8 ans, et l'un des pratiquants a 75 ans. « Il pratique moins fort, mais il est tout aussi efficace. » En compétition par équipe, c'est mixte.\n\nMerci aux enseignants et aux pratiquants de nous avoir ouvert leurs portes et d'avoir pris le temps de nous présenter leur discipline.\n\n## Débuter : un jogging suffit\n\n« On peut pratiquer toute une saison en jogging », la première en tout cas, avec un tee-shirt. Le matériel minimum, c'est un shinai, et si possible un bokuto. En début de saison, le club accueille des initiations au milieu des cours et adapte la séance aux nouveaux venus : le plus simple est de le contacter avant de venir. L'armure (le bogu) et la tenue traditionnelle viennent ensuite, à son rythme.\n\nPas de ceinture au kendo : on progresse par grades, six kyu, puis jusqu'à huit dan. « Il y a de quoi s'occuper toute sa vie. »\n\n![Armures et shinai alignés au sol avant une séance de stage (photo : Le Mans Kendo Club)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-kendo-club\u002Farmures-alignees.jpg)\n\n## Quatre séances par semaine\n\n- Lundi et jeudi, de 19 h à 21 h : adultes, au gymnase Bellevue.\n- Mercredi, de 16 h 30 à 17 h 30 : jeunes et étudiants, au dojo de judo de la rue du Spoutnik.\n- Samedi, de 10 h à 12 h : tous niveaux, à la salle Marcel-Cerdan, rue du Spoutnik.\n\nLes pratiquants partent aussi en stage avec d'autres clubs : stages régionaux, stage féminin, ou le grand rassemblement de Saint-Mandé, près de Paris.\n\n![Pratiquantes et jeunes kendoka réunies à l'issue d'un stage féminin (photo : Le Mans Kendo Club)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-kendo-club\u002Fstage-feminin-groupe.jpg)\n\n## Prochaine étape : on teste\n\nOn reviendra pratiquer une séance, comme n'importe quel débutant. Le récit, et la vidéo, suivront ici.\n\nCe club en vaut vraiment le coup : partagez cet article à quelqu'un qui a envie d'essayer.\n\n## Pour y aller\n\n- Séance ouverte à tous : le samedi de 10 h à 12 h, salle Marcel-Cerdan, 20 rue du Spoutnik, Le Mans.\n- Pour débuter : jogging et tee-shirt ; contacter le club avant la première séance.\n- Tarifs et inscription : sur le site du club.\n- [La fiche de Le Mans Kendo Club sur Sortir au Mans](\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-kendo-club)","rencontre","https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-kendo-club\u002Fstage-regional-seiza.jpg","Photo : Le Mans Kendo Club — site officiel",null,"5513b206-d45a-4f35-b459-decf6e528e36","https:\u002F\u002Flemans-kendo.fr","Le site du club","Le Mans","Téodor","published","2026-10-11T06:00:00+00:00","rencontre — brouillon préparé le 10\u002F10\u002F2026 · RIEN ENVOYÉ au club (ni lien de relecture). Écrit SANS notes de la rencontre : textes tirés du site, de la page Facebook et de la lettre « Un an déjà » (juillet 2025). À enrichir avec tes impressions du matin (accueil, nombre de pratiquants, prénoms des enseignants s'ils sont d'accord). À vérifier : (1) horaires 2026-2027 : la lettre de juillet 2025 annonçait aussi mardi et vendredi 19h-21h au gymnase du Spoutnik, absents du site ; (2) « 35 adhérents à la fin de la première saison » (lettre juillet 2025) ; (3) « pris le temps de nous présenter leur discipline » : à garder seulement si c'est bien ce qui s'est passé. Quand le test aura eu lieu, cet article de rencontre sera archivé au profit de l'article de test (règle du 07\u002F10).","2026-10-10T09:34:02.959605+00:00","2026-10-16T22:07:00.184836+00:00",true,{"en-US":27},{"_h":28,"chapo":29,"corps":30,"titre":31,"lien_label":32},"be0343099ad9e52b","In October, Le Mans Kendo Club welcomed us during its Saturday morning practice at Salle Marcel-Cerdan. A section founded in 2024 within the ASL-CE Renault, run by instructors who have kept kendo alive in Le Mans since the mid-1980s. And good news: the club is happy for us to come back and try a class.","## A young section, a long history\n\nKendo is Japanese fencing: you face off with a shinai, a bamboo sword, wearing armor. In Le Mans, the discipline is nothing new: the section's founder has been teaching it since 1985, and the instructor who welcomed us joined him in 1993. In 2024, the team founded a new section within the ASL-CE Renault: Le Mans Kendo Club. It now has between 25 and 30 practitioners, and 6 to 12 per session.\n\n![Kendo demonstration on the mats, at the September 2024 open house (photo: Le Mans Kendo Club)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-kendo-club\u002Fportes-ouvertes-2024.jpg)\n\n## A Saturday morning on the floor\n\nOn Saturdays, from 10 AM to noon, the club trains on a dance floor, “the kind of floor you look for”: no tatami in kendo, you need a floor that's springy, but not too much. Every attack combines three things: “the movement, the cut and the kiai […] have to happen in the same fraction of a second. Which makes it pretty loud.” The kiai is the shout let out at the moment of striking.\n\nTwo practices share the sessions: shinai combat, in armor, and katas, set two-person exercises with the bokuto, a curved wooden sword made of oak that stands in for a real sword.\n\nOn the floor, all ages mix: the club takes kids from age 8, and one of the practitioners is 75. “He practices less hard, but he's just as effective.” In team competition, it's co-ed.\n\nThank you to the instructors and practitioners for opening their doors and taking the time to introduce us to their discipline.\n\n## Getting started: sweatpants are enough\n\n“You can practice a whole season in sweatpants,” the first one at least, with a T-shirt. The minimum equipment is a shinai, and if possible a bokuto. At the start of the season, the club hosts introductory sessions in the middle of the classes and adapts the session for newcomers: the simplest thing is to contact the club before coming. The armor (the bogu) and the traditional outfit come later, at your own pace.\n\nThere are no belts in kendo: you progress through grades, six kyu, then up to eight dan. “There's enough there to keep you busy for a lifetime.”\n\n![Armor and shinai lined up on the floor before a training camp session (photo: Le Mans Kendo Club)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-kendo-club\u002Farmures-alignees.jpg)\n\n## Four sessions a week\n\n- Monday and Thursday, 7–9 PM: adults, at the Bellevue gym.\n- Wednesday, 4:30–5:30 PM: kids and students, at the judo dojo on rue du Spoutnik.\n- Saturday, 10 AM–noon: all levels, at Salle Marcel-Cerdan, rue du Spoutnik.\n\nPractitioners also go to training camps with other clubs: regional camps, a women's camp, or the big gathering in Saint-Mandé, near Paris.\n\n![Women practitioners and young kendoka together at the end of a women's camp (photo: Le Mans Kendo Club)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-kendo-club\u002Fstage-feminin-groupe.jpg)\n\n## Next step: we try it\n\nWe'll come back to take part in a session, like any beginner. The story, and the video, will follow here.\n\nThis club is well worth a visit: share this article with someone who wants to give it a try.\n\n## Getting there\n\n- Session open to everyone: Saturday 10 AM–noon, Salle Marcel-Cerdan, 20 rue du Spoutnik, Le Mans.\n- To get started: sweatpants and a T-shirt; contact the club before your first session.\n- Prices and sign-up: on the club's website.\n- [Le Mans Kendo Club on Sortir au Mans](\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-kendo-club)","At Le Mans Kendo Club, ages 8 to 75 on the same floor","The club's website",{"event":14,"venue":14,"association":34},{"slug":35,"nom":36,"commune":18,"image_url":37},"le-mans-kendo-club","Le Mans Kendo Club","https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-kendo-club\u002F2.jpg",[39,55,70,87],{"id":40,"slug":41,"titre":42,"chapo":43,"rubrique":44,"image_url":45,"image_credit":46,"commune":18,"publie_le":47,"event_id":14,"venue_id":14,"association_id":14,"traductions":48},"d1fbadab-e79a-46c9-8b22-8a6397f69804","melanie-schmidt-ulmann-et-son-cahier-d-hildegarde-de-bingen","Mélanie Schmidt-Ulmann et son cahier d'Hildegarde de Bingen","Une fois n'est pas coutume : ni club testé ni structure rencontrée, mais une amie de l'équipe. Mélanie Schmidt-Ulmann, thérapeute au Mans, signe un cahier de remèdes et de recettes inspiré d'Hildegarde de Bingen, et le dédicace au Mans les 14 et 20 novembre.","coulisses","https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002Fd1fbadab-e79a-46c9-8b22-8a6397f69804\u002F1792570915104-jjqoqw.jpg","Photo : Sortir au Mans","2026-10-21T08:45:12.583022+00:00",{"en-US":49},{"_h":50,"chapo":51,"corps":52,"titre":53,"lien_label":54},"64d75becc52ea59f","For once, it's neither a club we tested nor an organization we met, but a friend of the team. Mélanie Schmidt-Ulmann, a therapist in Le Mans, has written a notebook of remedies and recipes inspired by Hildegard of Bingen, and is signing copies in Le Mans on November 14 and 20.","## An article outside our usual routine\n\nUsually, we write after going on site: a class we tried, a team we met. This article came about differently. Mélanie, a friend of the team, wanted to share her passion for well-being with the people of Le Mans. We talked it over among ourselves and thought: why not? Sortir au Mans is also about the people here who create, who write, who pass things on.\n\nYou won't find it in our regular sections: we're simply sharing it, hand to hand, with those it might interest.\n\n## Who is Mélanie Schmidt-Ulmann?\n\nMélanie is a holistic therapist and psycho-practitioner. She has supported families for about twenty years: one of the first doulas in France, she created Slow Parentalité (slow parenting), then trained in naturopathy at the Institut Hildegardien, in Bach flowers (she is a certified counselor) and in olfactotherapy.\n\nShe also writes. Eleven books to her name, on parenting, zero waste and above all Hildegard of Bingen, to whom she has already devoted “Les secrets de bien-être d'Hildegarde de Bingen” and “Le grand livre des secrets de santé d'Hildegarde de Bingen.” Her guides have been translated into German, English, Italian and Portuguese, among other languages.\n\n![Mélanie Schmidt-Ulmann (photo: Olinfact Production)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002Fmelanie-schmidt-ulmann\u002Fportrait-melanie-schmidt-ulmann.jpg)\n\n## Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century abbess\n\nBorn around 1098 in the Rhineland, Hildegard was a Benedictine nun. She led a community of nuns, founded two monasteries near Bingen, composed music and wrote about plants, stones and remedies in two works, “Physica” and “Causae et curae.” Spelt holds first place among the grains there.\n\nAt the heart of her thinking is one word: viriditas, the “green force,” that vital, self-healing power that makes plants grow and that, for her, sustains the health of the body as well as of the soul. In 2012, she was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, the fourth woman to receive that title.\n\n## The notebook\n\n“Mon cahier de remèdes & recettes d'Hildegarde de Bingen,” subtitled “Pour apaiser naturellement les maux du corps & de l'âme,” came out in late September from Éditions Mosaïque-Santé. In it, Mélanie gathers more than 150 entries arranged from A to Z: everyday remedies, beauty formulas, rituals for emotions and cooking recipes.\n\nYou'll find the food of joy, plants, stones and buds, arranged by major themes: digestion, heart and circulation, immunity, respiratory tract, women's health, muscles and joints… Each entry gives the ingredients, the method and tips for use. It's a practical notebook, one to keep in the kitchen rather than on a shelf.\n\nThese are gentle practices, meant as a complement to daily life: for a real health concern, your doctor remains the first person to see.\n\n## To meet her\n\n- **Through November 30:** in her new practice space at L'Étoile du Nord, 10 rue du Nord, Mélanie is offering a free individual 30-minute discovery session, subject to available slots. By appointment by phone or text at 06 16 29 49 33.\n- **Saturday, November 14, 3–6 PM:** book signing at the bookstore area of a major cultural retailer in Le Mans. A chance to leaf through it, ask her your questions and leave with a signed copy.\n- **Friday, November 20, 5:30 PM:** a second signing, at the Thuard bookstore.\n\nMélanie put a lot of herself into this notebook: share this article with someone who likes taking care of themselves naturally.\n\n## Getting there\n\n- Free discovery session: through November 30, L'Étoile du Nord, 10 rue du Nord, Le Mans. By appointment at 06 16 29 49 33\n- Signing: Saturday, November 14, 3–6 PM, bookstore area of the Fnac in Le Mans\n- Signing: Friday, November 20, 5:30 PM, Thuard bookstore, Le Mans\n- [The notebook on the publisher's website](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mosaique-sante.com\u002Fles-livres\u002Fles-cahiers\u002F291-mon-cahier-de-remedes-recettes-dhildegarde-de-bingen)\n- [Mélanie Schmidt-Ulmann's website](https:\u002F\u002Fmelanie-schmidt-ulmann.com\u002F)","Mélanie Schmidt-Ulmann and her Hildegard of Bingen notebook","Mélanie Schmidt-Ulmann's website",{"id":56,"slug":57,"titre":58,"chapo":59,"rubrique":11,"image_url":60,"image_credit":61,"commune":18,"publie_le":62,"event_id":14,"venue_id":14,"association_id":63,"traductions":64},"6f4a341c-67f5-4ae6-8470-2dde8b52b2cb","roller-derby-72-le-club-ou-l-on-joue-librement-et-ou-les-hits-pleuvent","Roller Derby 72 : le club où l’on joue librement, et où les hits pleuvent","En octobre, Roller Derby 72 nous a ouvert les portes de son gymnase un soir d'entraînement. On venait parler valeurs ; on repart avec une conviction : ici, c'est d'abord un club de sport, où chaque personne joue librement, et où l'on ne se contente pas de se pousser.","https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002F6f4a341c-67f5-4ae6-8470-2dde8b52b2cb\u002F1791835365126-1uiaq1.jpg","Photo : Roller Derby 72 (cliché Mimon Kalia) — Facebook","2026-10-18T11:00:00+00:00","265c9825-f370-477b-a471-e22e7aa39029",{"en-US":65},{"_h":66,"chapo":67,"corps":68,"titre":69,"lien_label":32},"c248040a8e36f507","In October, Roller Derby 72 opened the doors of its gym to us on a practice night. We came to talk values; we left with one conviction: this is first and foremost a sports club, where everyone plays freely, and where it's not just about shoving each other around.","A quick note before we start: on a suggestion dropped during our visit, we tried inclusive writing for the first time in the French version of this article. Words that include everyone where possible, and an occasional middle dot (joueur·euses, débutant·es), as the club does on its own social media. We're beginners at this, like a recruit at her first practice: thanks in advance for your patience if we stumble.\r\n\r\n## A sports club first\r\n\r\nWe came to talk values, and we talked about them a lot. But the sentence that stuck with us is simpler: “We're here to play roller derby.” Roller Derby 72 is first and foremost a sports club, with its practices, its championship, its strategies and its bruises. The values serve a single idea: that everyone can play freely, with no sideways looks and no inappropriate remarks.\r\n\r\nYou only have to watch a practice to understand it: no two skaters look alike, and every body type finds a place on the track.\r\n\r\n## Three teams, from National 1 to recreational\r\n\r\nThe club, a nonprofit founded in Le Mans in 2011, runs several groups:\r\n\r\n- the **Missfeet**, in National 1 F+, just below the top tier of the French championship, who secured their place in the division last spring;\r\n- the **Chicaneuses**, in National 3 F+, who are starting their second championship season after a first one last year;\r\n- the **Rillettes Chili Peppers**, the recreational group, co-ed and open to all genders;\r\n- the **Rookies**, the group for beginners.\r\n\r\nThe F+ category brings together, in the club's words, women and gender minorities.\r\n\r\n![The Chicaneuses lined up on the track, ready for the jam (photo: Roller Derby 72, shot by Mimon Kalia)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002F6f4a341c-67f5-4ae6-8470-2dde8b52b2cb\u002F1791835359994-dtw6rk.jpg)\r\n\r\nA championship season means two competition weekends per team, and a third if you make the playoffs. Travel is mostly in the west of France (Brest for the first leg this season), sometimes as far as Paris. The club also hosts two to three big events a year at home, championship legs or tournaments like Never Track Down and Sarthe & Furious, with pay-what-you-want admission: that's what pays for renting the gym, the equipment and the travel.\r\n\r\n## The hit: we thought they just shoved\r\n\r\nLet's be honest: we pictured skaters bumping into each other a little in the turns. Wrong. LuCe, the Chicaneuses' coach, whom we met that evening, said it plainly: “we really do hit each other.” The move has a name, the hit (the rulebook calls it a block). You strike with the shoulder and hip to throw the opponent off balance, knock her down, or open a gap for your star: the person wearing a star on her helmet, the jammer, who scores the points.\r\n\r\n![A Chicaneuses player at full speed, shoulder forward (photo: Roller Derby 72, shot by Mimon Kalia)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002F6f4a341c-67f5-4ae6-8470-2dde8b52b2cb\u002F1791835361018-1mowzr.jpg)\r\n\r\nNo tackling, and strict rules: you can't block with the forearm or the elbow, and you can't aim at the back, the head, or the legs below mid-thigh. Every foul sends you to the penalty box for 30 seconds, and all of them are called in English, a legacy of the sport's country of origin: a “forearm” for one forearm too many, a “cut” when you re-enter the track illegally. In France, a volunteer committee translates and adapts all these resources.\r\n\r\nIt's a team sport often compared to rugby: very tactical, very cardio, made of sprints and collisions. From the edge of the track, it's a true contact sport on wheels. You hit to create a path, never for the pleasure of smashing into someone, but you hit hard. No mercy.\r\n\r\n![On the floor, then back up: with the Missfeet, you fall and you get up (photo: Roller Derby 72, shot by Steffie Photographies)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002F6f4a341c-67f5-4ae6-8470-2dde8b52b2cb\u002F1791835362791-tagq2u.jpg)\r\n\r\nTo take the hits, protection is mandatory: an approved helmet (a fixed visor is allowed for playing with glasses, never a cage), elbow pads, wrist guards, knee pads and a mouthguard. On the feet, quads: four-wheeled skates, two wheels in front, two behind, with an adjustable toe stop at the front.\r\n\r\n## Playing freely, with no looks and no remarks\r\n\r\nRoller derby was born in the United States. A spectator sport in the 1930s, it fell out of fashion in the 1970s. In the early 2000s, in Austin, Texas, women revived it and made it a sport in its own right, with its leagues, rules and competition. There are two versions: the banked track, more spectacular, and the flat track, the one the club plays.\r\n\r\nInclusion is part of that heritage. The WFTDA (Women's Flat Track Derby Association), the major federation born of that revival, opened its teams to trans and intersex women in 2015. In February 2025, it clarified that it welcomes all marginalized-gender people: women, whether cis, trans or intersex, trans men and nonbinary people, with no proof required. In France, the Fédération française de roller et skateboard writes respect for gender self-determination into its rules and penalizes transphobia.\r\n\r\n![The Missfeet entering the track (photo: Roller Derby 72, shot by Steffie Photographies)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002F6f4a341c-67f5-4ae6-8470-2dde8b52b2cb\u002F1791835361762-f0oe4j.jpg)\r\n\r\nIn Le Mans, all of this translates very concretely. This season, the club offers co-ed practices, open to all gender identities, and others that are by choice non-co-ed, open to all gender identities except cisgender men. An inclusion team makes sure these values are respected, with training and regular messages to members. At events, posters remind everyone of them and “safers” take reports, then go talk with the people involved. If talking isn't enough, whoever made the inappropriate remark is asked to leave.\r\n\r\nWhy so much care? Because some people deal with remarks every day and simply want a place to play sports safely. People newly arrived in Le Mans walked through the gym door for exactly that reason; they've been playing there for years. What's at stake comes down to a few words: being able to skate, fall, get back up and hit without wondering how you're being looked at.\r\n\r\n## Trust is earned on the track\r\n\r\nOur guide for the evening, LuCe, is one of those people you don't forget: coach of the Chicaneuses, more than fifteen years of roller derby, and long experience with beginners. She has seen dozens of recruits arrive with no confidence, in their skates or in their bodies, then have a breakthrough during the year. To her players, she repeats: “You leave your day outside. In here, this is your time.”\r\n\r\nShe also talks about what the sport taught her: finishing an entire game after almost an hour of hits, having scored points, still standing on her skates at the end, and winning with her team. Enough to walk away with a “pretty impressive” level of self-confidence.\r\n\r\n![Laughter between opponents after a jam (photo: Roller Derby 72, shot by Steffie Photographies)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002F6f4a341c-67f5-4ae6-8470-2dde8b52b2cb\u002F1791835363862-c2uat2.jpg)\r\n\r\n## Starting out without ever having skated\r\n\r\nNo expertise needed. Some ease on wheels helps, but the club also supports people who have never put on skates. The first three things you learn: falling safely, getting around, stopping. “And after that, off you go.” On the track, one player who had never skated when she arrived now plays in competition.\r\n\r\nUntil December, the club holds trial sessions on certain Saturday mornings, at the Vauguyon gym, from 10 AM to 1 PM. Sign-up goes through a one-day license, so everyone is insured during the session. Equipment is lent; just come in sportswear with a water bottle. After that come the practices, split among the groups: Monday and Wednesday from 8 to 9:45 PM, and Saturday from 10 AM to 1 PM. They are for adults, and the detailed schedule is on the club's website; trials are open from age 17, with parental permission for minors.\r\n\r\n## Thank you\r\n\r\nThank you to Roller Derby 72 for opening the doors of its world to us: a world of freedom, where everyone finds their place… and where, on the track, things get seriously rough.\r\n\r\nThis club is well worth a visit: share this article with someone who wants to give it a try.\r\n\r\n## Getting there\r\n\r\n- Trial sessions: Saturday, October 31 (co-ed), Saturday, November 21 (by choice non-co-ed), 10 AM–1 PM, Vauguyon gym, Le Mans.\r\n- Practices: Monday and Wednesday 8–9:45 PM, Saturday 10 AM–1 PM, for adults (schedule on the club's website).\r\n- Trials from age 17, equipment lent, one-day license.\r\n- Sign-up: on the club's website, under “Sessions d'initiation.”\r\n- Questions: recrutementrollerderby72@gmail.com\r\n- [Roller Derby 72 on Sortir au Mans](\u002Fassociations\u002Froller-derby-72)","Roller Derby 72: the club where you play freely, and the hits keep coming",{"id":71,"slug":72,"titre":73,"chapo":74,"rubrique":11,"image_url":75,"image_credit":76,"commune":77,"publie_le":78,"event_id":14,"venue_id":79,"association_id":14,"traductions":80},"14b3425f-f64c-4845-baf5-9fab5943aa26","pole-europeen-du-cheval-50-hectares-de-concours-equestres-aux-portes-du-mans-et-l-entree-est-gratuite","Pôle européen du cheval : 50 hectares de concours équestres aux portes du Mans, ouverts au public","En octobre, on a poussé la porte du Pôle européen du cheval, à Yvré-l'Évêque. On s'attendait à un lieu réservé aux cavaliers ; on a découvert l'un des plus grands sites équestres de France, ouvert à tous, presque tous les week-ends de l'année.","https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002Fpole-europeen-du-cheval\u002F2026-10-15-site-poney-riviere.jpg","Photo : Pôle européen du cheval (cliché Les Garennes)","Yvré-l'Évêque","2026-10-16T06:00:00+00:00","eef9a559-6855-4f4b-86f7-ce8ff3328e09",{"en-US":81},{"_h":82,"chapo":83,"corps":84,"titre":85,"lien_label":86},"da069d85a04ab6d2","In October, we pushed open the door of the Pôle européen du cheval in Yvré-l'Évêque. We expected a place reserved for riders; we found one of the largest equestrian sites in France, open to everyone, almost every weekend of the year.","“Anyone can come, alone, with family, however they like,” Emmanuelle told us as she welcomed us. You can watch competitions where kids on their first pony share the grounds with riders from all over Europe. And it's ten minutes from the center of Le Mans.\n\n## A show almost every weekend\n\nAlmost every weekend of the year, something is happening on the site. Most often show jumping or dressage, but also vaulting, horseball, or pony games. And every level shares the grounds: you can see little ones run their course on a Shetland, “and that's very cute too,” then, on the next ring over, international-level horse-and-rider pairs.\n\n![A pony and its rider over the water, on an outdoor ring (photo: Pôle européen du cheval, shot by Les Garennes)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002Fpole-europeen-du-cheval\u002F2026-10-15-site-poney-riviere.jpg)\n\nYou don't have to be a rider or entered in the competition to come watch the events. Admission details are listed on each competition's page, in the Pôle's calendar: admission is free, for example, for the mid-October dressage competition and for the Grand National in November.\n\n## Much more than a competition\n\nWhat surprised us most was everything you can do around the rings:\n\n- stroll along the paths, and even along the cross-country course when there's no event, the way you would at the Arche de la Nature;\n- browse about twenty shops, which sell more than just riding gear;\n- eat on site during competitions: a self-service cafeteria, a panoramic restaurant upstairs, and a crêperie;\n- have a drink or a pizza at Le Mans Padel, set up in one of the buildings and open every day of the week.\n\nYou can also come for a walk on weekdays, outside of competitions: “you can come for a walk anytime.” And your dog can come along, on a leash.\n\n![A rider salutes at the end of her dressage test (photo: Pôle européen du cheval, shot by Les Garennes)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002Fpole-europeen-du-cheval\u002F2026-10-15-site-dressage.jpg)\n\n## It all started with eight stalls\n\nIn 1982, Philippe Rossi is 17 and has one passion: horses. His parents move with him into a house across the road, with eight stalls and a pasture. He becomes a professional rider, builds a career and an arena, then organizes his first competitions under the name Boulerie Jump.\n\nThe site has grown step by step. First several rings running at the same time, a format that was rare in France then, to host lots of riders every weekend. Then two large covered buildings for competing year-round, whose roofs carry 8,000 m² of solar panels. About forty riders devoted to the place took part in the adventure. More recently, all the rings were switched to sub-irrigation: the water comes from underneath, which saves about 70% of the water and gives horses a perfectly even surface.\n\n![A young rider on the cross-country course (photo: Pôle européen du cheval, shot by Les Garennes)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002Fpole-europeen-du-cheval\u002F2026-10-15-site-cross.jpg)\n\n## A European-level site, on the edge of Le Mans\n\nToday, the Pôle covers about fifty hectares, has 400 permanent stalls, and can host up to 1,500 horses at its major events. It hosts international competitions and European championships, it is recognized by the French Equestrian Federation, and it was selected as a training base for the Games. Riders come from all over Europe, and sometimes from Asia or the Americas, during their European tours. You can even stay overnight: cottages, gîtes, and rooms sleep up to 300 people, and everything is full during the 24 Heures.\n\n![Show jumping on one of the outdoor rings (photo: Pôle européen du cheval, shot by Les Garennes)](https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Factualites\u002Fpole-europeen-du-cheval\u002F2026-10-15-site-cso.jpg)\n\n## Our tips for a first visit\n\n- Check the calendar on the Pôle's website to pick your weekend and the discipline that appeals to you, and check the event's page for admission details.\n- Bring good shoes if you want to walk the rings and the cross-country course: the site is big and rural.\n- With kids, a pony competition weekend is a great first time: the riders are their age.\n\n## Thank you\n\nThank you to Emmanuelle for opening the doors of the Pôle to us and telling us its story. We left with one certainty: we'll be back, with the kids.\n\nThis place is really worth the trip: share this article with someone who loves horses, or who is looking for a family outing this weekend.\n\n## Getting there\n\n- Pôle européen du cheval, 648 route de Feumusson, Yvré-l'Évêque (about ten minutes from the center of Le Mans).\n- Free access to walk around the site, on weekdays and weekends alike, except areas reserved for seminars.\n- For competitions, admission details are on each event's page, in the Pôle's calendar. Visitor parking: Pôle 4.\n- Competition calendar and event times: on the Pôle's website.\n- Upcoming events (subject to change): Tournée des As poneys from October 30 to November 1, Grand National show jumping from November 12 to 15, Concours de Noël from December 4 to 6, and the Christmas equestrian show “Au Galop dans les Étoiles” from December 11 to 20 (paid show, by reservation).\n- Dogs welcome, on a leash.\n- [The Pôle européen du cheval page on Sortir au Mans](\u002Flieu\u002Fpole-europeen-du-cheval)","Pôle européen du cheval: 50 hectares of equestrian competitions on the edge of Le Mans, open to the public","The Pôle's website",{"id":88,"slug":89,"titre":90,"chapo":91,"rubrique":11,"image_url":92,"image_credit":93,"commune":77,"publie_le":94,"event_id":14,"venue_id":95,"association_id":14,"traductions":96},"9bc3b90a-596b-4403-82cb-1611640c523c","a-la-rencontre-de-l-abbaye-royale-de-l-epau","L'Abbaye Royale de l'Épau, l'abbaye d'une reine aux portes du Mans","En octobre, nous avons rencontré l'équipe de l'Abbaye Royale de l'Épau, à Yvré-l'Évêque. Une abbaye cistercienne fondée au XIIIe siècle par une reine d'Angleterre, un parc au bord de l'Huisne, et une programmation qui fait une belle place aux familles, à commencer par les vacances de la Toussaint.","https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fevent-images\u002Fvenue-abbaye-royale-de-lepau.jpg","Photo : Selbymay, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons","2026-10-13T06:00:00+00:00","609ad509-e7a1-48b0-8752-44ffcbad0bcd",{"en-US":97},{"_h":98,"chapo":99,"corps":100,"titre":101,"lien_label":102},"e53b24b99b02e503","In October, we met the team at the Abbaye Royale de l'Épau, in Yvré-l'Évêque. A Cistercian abbey founded in the 13th century by a queen of England, a park on the banks of the Huisne, and a program that makes plenty of room for families, starting with the All Saints' school holidays.","## A queen's abbey\n\nThe story begins with Berengaria of Navarre, queen of England and widow of Richard the Lionheart. Settled in Le Mans in 1204, she lived there for nearly thirty years. Near the end of her life, she obtained a plot of land on the banks of the Huisne and founded a Cistercian monastery there to house her tomb. She died in 1230 without seeing her work completed; her recumbent effigy is now kept at the abbey.\n\nAfter the Revolution, the abbey became a laundry, then a farm, for more than a century and a half. The Département de la Sarthe bought it in 1959 and restored it; it was listed as a historic monument in 1973. The church, cloister, chapter house, scriptorium and monks' dormitory have been brought back together, and the site now goes by the name Abbaye Royale de l'Épau.\n\n## Thank you for the welcome\n\nThank you to the abbey team for having us.\n\n## An investigation to find the queen\n\nThis is the new thing this year: “Les mystères de l'abbaye.” During the Hundred Years' War, Queen Berengaria's body disappeared. Hidden by a monk? Taken back to England? Riddles, symbols and clues are hidden in the rooms, to be decoded as a team.\n\nThe game is played at your own pace, from age 12 and with at least two or three players, in 1 to 1.5 hours. The kit is picked up at the front desk, at no extra charge beyond admission.\n\n## An abbey designed for families\n\nThe abbey has signed the Môm'Art charter, which commits heritage sites to welcoming children well. Two free activity booklets let you explore the site on your own, one for ages 3–6, the other for ages 7–12, and a digital investigation for young audiences is played on a phone with the Guidigo app. A sign language video guide and an “easy-to-read-and-understand” booklet are also available at the front desk.\n\n## The garden that feeds the Café des Moines\n\nThe park is organized around a permaculture garden: beehives, pond, food forest, greenhouse and henhouse, with a layout that follows that of the church's great stained-glass window. This garden feeds the Café des Moines, whose chef puts together a seasonal menu each week, served on the terrace facing the park. At the shop, you'll find the garden's products: preserves, herbal teas and a liqueur made from aromatic herbs.\n\n## All Saints' school holidays at l'Épau\n\n- From Saturday, October 17 to Sunday, November 1, 11 AM–6 PM (except Tuesdays): the autumn quest, self-guided, for kids.\n- Wednesday, October 21, 3–4:30 PM: pumpkin decorating workshop, where you carve a scary or funny face into a turnip or a pumpkin, from age 7.\n- Wednesday, October 28, 3–4:30 PM: “L'art du jaspage,” decorating the edge of a book with colorful patterns, as bookbinders have done since the late Middle Ages. From age 7, and you can bring your own book.\n\nSpots are limited and reservations are required, with an accompanying adult.\n\n## And after that\n\nOn Thursday, November 12 at 7 PM, a lecture presents the old tapestries kept at the abbey. From November 27 to January 3, the Voyage lumineux et sonore lights up the park at nightfall, with free admission. During the Christmas holidays, a winter quest and two workshops take over: winter wreath on December 23, illuminated greeting card on December 30.\n\nFrom September to June, a guided tour is offered every Saturday and Sunday, at 11 AM and 4 PM, to discover the history of the abbey and its founder.\n\n## Next step: we try it\n\nWe'd like to come back during the holidays to try one of these activities, like any other visitors. The story, and the video, will follow here.\n\nThis abbey is well worth a visit: share this article with someone looking for an outing for the school holidays.\n\n## Getting there\n\n- Abbaye Royale de l'Épau, route de Changé, 72530 Yvré-l'Évêque.\n- Tram line 2, toward Espal - Arche de la Nature, Épau - Gué Bernisson stop, then a 5-minute walk.\n- Open Wednesday to Sunday, 11 AM–6 PM, from September to June; holiday hours on the abbey's website.\n- Reservations (workshops, quests, guided tours): 02 43 84 22 29 or epau.accueil@sarthe.fr.\n- [Abbaye Royale de l'Épau on Sortir au Mans](\u002Flieu\u002Fabbaye-royale-de-lepau)","Abbaye Royale de l'Épau, a queen's abbey at the gates of Le Mans","The abbey's website"]