[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"habillage":3,"actualite-sur-la-sarthe-un-club-d-aviron-fonde-en-1894-et-une-seance-en-salle-en-musique":5,"actualite-sur-la-sarthe-un-club-d-aviron-fonde-en-1894-et-une-seance-en-salle-en-musique-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},"227ee97e-f0be-42ae-9687-5d3f4ef6569a","sur-la-sarthe-un-club-d-aviron-fonde-en-1894-et-une-seance-en-salle-en-musique","Le Mans Sarthe Aviron, fondé en 1894 : ramer sur la Sarthe, ou en salle et en musique","On a visité la base nautique du Mans Sarthe Aviron, un des plus anciens clubs de France. On y rame, mais pas seulement : l'AVIFIT se pratique sans bateau, sur rameur et en musique.","## Un club né en 1894\n\nEn septembre, on est allés à la base nautique de l'avenue François-Chancel, au bord de la Sarthe. On y a été accueillis par le co-président du club, dont la présidence est partagée, et par l'alternante qui s'occupe de la promotion et des réseaux sociaux.\n\nLe Mans Sarthe Aviron a été fondé en 1894 : c'est l'un des plus anciens clubs d'aviron de France. Il compte environ 130 membres, du loisir à la compétition, et certains rameurs vont jusqu'aux niveaux national et international. Le club accueille aussi des classes de collège.\n\n## L'AVIFIT : l'aviron sans l'eau\n\nC'est la nouveauté de la saison. L'AVIFIT, c'est une séance collective en salle, sur ergomètre, en musique. Ce n'est pas un cours de fitness comme on en trouve en salle de sport : les programmes sont élaborés par la Fédération française d'aviron (FFAviron), réservés aux clubs affiliés, et le coach doit être titulaire du brevet d'éducateur fédéral indoor. Selon la séance, on travaille le renforcement musculaire, le cardio, ou les deux. Exemple de séance qu'on nous a décrite : 5 minutes d'échauffement, 35 minutes d'effort intensif, 5 minutes de récupération.\n\nLa salle compte dix-sept ergomètres. Deux séances sont programmées chaque semaine, dont une ouverte au grand public. Pas besoin de savoir ramer pour s'y mettre.\n\n## Monter dans un bateau pour la première fois\n\nPour découvrir l'aviron sur l'eau, le club propose des initiations : accueil et visite de la base, explication du geste et des bateaux à terre, puis mise à l'eau sur une embarcation très stable, avec un initiateur. Pour les adultes, la sortie dure environ 1 h 30 ; pour les jeunes, dès 11 ans, la découverte dure trois heures. Il faut savoir nager. Les dates et les conditions sont sur le site du club.\n\n## L'aviron en entreprise\n\nAutre proposition : des journées pour les équipes d'une entreprise. Le matin, une salle de réunion ; l'après-midi, une séance d'aviron ; puis des challenges et une remise de médailles. L'idée du club : l'aviron est un sport d'équipe, fait de cohésion, d'écoute et de respect de la cadence, pour « aller loin et vite ensemble ».\n\nCe club en vaut vraiment le coup : partagez cet article à quelqu'un qui a envie d'essayer l'aviron.\n\n## Pour y aller\n\n- **Base nautique :** 180 bis avenue François-Chancel, Le Mans. Téléphone : 02 43 47 30 99.\n- **AVIFIT (grand public) :** le jeudi de 19 h à 19 h 45, à l'année ou avec un carnet de séances.\n- **Catégories :** jeunes U15 (11 à 14 ans), juniors U17 et U19 (15 à 18 ans), seniors (19 à 26 ans), masters (dès 27 ans) et aviron loisirs adultes. Inscription à l'année, tarifs sur le site du club.\n- **Essayer :** initiation adultes ou jeunes, réservation sur la page « Découvrir l'aviron » du site du club.\n- [La fiche du Mans Sarthe Aviron sur Sortir au Mans](\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-sarthe-aviron)","coulisses","https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Fbase-nautique-le-mans-sarthe-aviron\u002Fclub-base-vue-de-l-eau.jpg","Photo : Le Mans Sarthe Aviron — avironlemans.com",null,"75c03be9-fe3a-4af9-a14f-e2c8bd7f383d","https:\u002F\u002Favironlemans.com","Le site du Mans Sarthe Aviron","Le Mans","Téodor","published","2026-09-23T06:00:00+00:00","rencontre — brouillon préparé le 03\u002F10\u002F2026 · à relire : À vérifier : (1) les prénoms des deux interlocuteurs (Yvon, Aure) ne sont PAS cités : les notes demandent de vérifier l'orthographe d'Yvon et la fonction exacte d'Aure ; à ajouter si Téodor les confirme ; (2) « deux séances AVIFIT par semaine » : horaire du jeudi 19h-19h45 vient de la fiche, l'autre créneau n'est pas précisé ; (3) tarifs et créneaux repris de la fiche ; (4) les durées d'initiation (adultes ~1 h 30, jeunes 3 h) viennent de la fiche ; (5) « dix-sept ergomètres » : le CR dit 17 dont 16 disponibles pour les séances, j'ai gardé 17 comme la fiche ; (6) sujets internes volontairement non repris : subvention du Département, séance achetée par le Département, objectif de 200 membres\u002Ffidélisation, Club Business Sarthe, communication à développer ; (7) un tournage « On y est allés » est prévu après le 12\u002F10 : cet article est ","2026-10-02T22:30:28.592369+00:00","2026-10-16T22:07:00.735147+00:00",true,{"en-US":27},{"_h":28,"chapo":29,"corps":30,"titre":31,"lien_label":32},"021277af05f93d1a","We visited the boathouse of Le Mans Sarthe Aviron, one of the oldest clubs in France. You row there, but not only: AVIFIT is done without a boat, on a rowing machine and set to music.","## A club born in 1894\n\nIn September, we went to the boathouse on avenue François-Chancel, on the banks of the Sarthe. We were welcomed by the club's co-president, as the presidency is shared, and by the work-study student who handles promotion and social media.\n\nLe Mans Sarthe Aviron was founded in 1894: it is one of the oldest rowing clubs in France. It has about 130 members, from recreational to competitive, and some rowers go as far as the national and international levels. The club also hosts middle school classes.\n\n## AVIFIT: rowing without the water\n\nThis is the season's new offering. AVIFIT is a group indoor session on an ergometer, set to music. It's not a fitness class like the ones you find at a gym: the programs are designed by the French Rowing Federation (FFAviron), reserved for affiliated clubs, and the coach must hold the federal indoor instructor certificate. Depending on the session, you work on muscle strengthening, cardio, or both. An example session they described to us: 5 minutes of warm-up, 35 minutes of intense effort, 5 minutes of recovery.\n\nThe room has seventeen ergometers. Two sessions are scheduled each week, one of them open to the general public. You don't need to know how to row to get started.\n\n## Getting in a boat for the first time\n\nTo try rowing on the water, the club offers introductory sessions: a welcome and tour of the boathouse, an explanation of the stroke and the boats on land, then launching in a very stable boat, with an instructor. For adults, the outing lasts about 1 hr 30 min; for young people, ages 11 and up, the introduction lasts three hours. You must be able to swim. Dates and conditions are on the club's website.\n\n## Rowing for companies\n\nAnother offering: days for company teams. In the morning, a meeting room; in the afternoon, a rowing session; then challenges and a medal ceremony. The club's idea: rowing is a team sport, built on cohesion, listening, and keeping the rhythm, to “go far and fast together.”\n\nThis club is really worth a visit: share this article with someone who wants to try rowing.\n\n## Getting there\n\n- **Boathouse:** 180 bis avenue François-Chancel, Le Mans. Phone: 02 43 47 30 99.\n- **AVIFIT (general public):** Thursdays from 7 to 7:45 PM, by the year or with a session pass.\n- **Categories:** U15 youth (ages 11 to 14), U17 and U19 juniors (ages 15 to 18), seniors (ages 19 to 26), masters (ages 27 and up), and adult recreational rowing. Registration by the year, prices on the club's website.\n- **Try it:** adult or youth introduction, reservations on the “Découvrir l'aviron” page of the club's website.\n- [The Le Mans Sarthe Aviron page on Sortir au Mans](\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-sarthe-aviron)","Le Mans Sarthe Aviron, founded in 1894: rowing on the Sarthe, or indoors with music","Le Mans Sarthe Aviron's website",{"event":14,"venue":14,"association":34},{"slug":35,"nom":36,"commune":18,"image_url":37},"le-mans-sarthe-aviron","Le Mans Sarthe Aviron","https:\u002F\u002Frxpslhyadfopswypqcpv.supabase.co\u002Fstorage\u002Fv1\u002Fobject\u002Fpublic\u002Fvenue-photos\u002Fassociations\u002Fle-mans-sarthe-aviron\u002F1.jpg",[39,54,71,88],{"id":40,"slug":41,"titre":42,"chapo":43,"rubrique":11,"image_url":44,"image_credit":45,"commune":18,"publie_le":46,"event_id":14,"venue_id":14,"association_id":14,"traductions":47},"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.","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":48},{"_h":49,"chapo":50,"corps":51,"titre":52,"lien_label":53},"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":55,"slug":56,"titre":57,"chapo":58,"rubrique":59,"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.","rencontre","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":70},"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","The club's website",{"id":72,"slug":73,"titre":74,"chapo":75,"rubrique":59,"image_url":76,"image_credit":77,"commune":78,"publie_le":79,"event_id":14,"venue_id":80,"association_id":14,"traductions":81},"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":82},{"_h":83,"chapo":84,"corps":85,"titre":86,"lien_label":87},"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":89,"slug":90,"titre":91,"chapo":92,"rubrique":59,"image_url":93,"image_credit":94,"commune":78,"publie_le":95,"event_id":14,"venue_id":96,"association_id":14,"traductions":97},"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":98},{"_h":99,"chapo":100,"corps":101,"titre":102,"lien_label":103},"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"]