The first team in the Grand Est league to take part in the Judo Pro League, this new franchise, chaired by Sébastien Lafon, symbolizes the culmination of a carefully thought-out project.The genesis of this ambition began at the end of 2023. Adrien Guilloux, high-level coach at the Juniville club, began to raise the subject within the association and with other clubs in the league, with one watchword: "why not us?", explains the chairman. To give substance to this project, he invited elected representatives from our local authorities to the Final Four 2024. The Grand Est region and the Ardennes and Haute-Marne departmental councils have given their backing and assurances of their support. On the mat, the core of the team will be made up of judokas from Juniville and Marnaval, including Mélanie Clément - European medalist in 2021 and triple French champion in the -48kg category in 2015, 2016 and 2023 - who will be our headliner.. However, other judokas from clubs in the league will also be taking part, as this franchise is first and foremost a territorial project, designed to showcase our discipline and the judokas of our region. While our ambition is logically to do well, it will above all be a question of building our legitimacy in order to perpetuate this project, both athletically and financially, by federating a group of partners around us."

Headed by Adrien Guilloux, the franchise will also promote judo in schools, with a team responsible for highlighting the quality of training in the Grand Est region.