The Judo Pro League resumes on Tuesday, September 12. Thirteen teams are vying to win the second edition of the competition at a grand Final Four to be held at the Paris Dojo on December 16. With the start of the new season just around the corner, we bring you a complete team review. Discover each day the teams that make up the four groups in the group stages. 

Thursday, September 7: Presentation of Poule A teams

Friday, September 8: Presentation of Poule B teams

Saturday, September 9: Presentation of Poule C teams

Sunday, September 10: Presentation of Poule D teams

POULE A

SAINTE-GENEVIÈVE SPORTS

Back in the 80s, before it became the norm, Sainte-Geneviève's directors used to take their youngsters to tournaments in Germany or Denmark, earning themselves a nickname in the process: Little House on the Prairie. Pascal Renault, president for thirty years, was Charles Ingalls, the father of the family. "We'd get teased, but we'd beat up a lot of people," laughs the manager, unstoppable when it comes to going back in time.

Today, nothing has changed: the Essonne club is still one of the favourites in the competitions it contests. Boys or girls, youth or senior, "we've had an exceptional track record over the last fifteen years". The list is too long to go into in detail. However, the philosophy behind these successes can be summed up in three words: priority to the teams. "When they shine, we can bring out the best in individuals. That's our leitmotiv", sums up the manager.

The club, which will be sixty years old in 2024, has given itself another mission, one of citizenship. "Before turning them into champions, we want them to be men and women we can be proud of, trained by irremovable coaches, some of whom have been with us for fifteen years". Once SGS, always SGS.

US ORLÉANS JUDO LOIRET

In November 2022, the US Orléans women's team returned to the top by winning the European Cup for the sixth time, more than ten years after their last success. "We have to live up to our own rich history," recalls Maëlle Di Cintio, 32 and president since last year. And it's not just judo; jujitsu is also producing convincing results, with world gold for Juliana Ferreira in July 2023.

A keen player herself, she has now stopped fighting on the mats, but has many other battles to fight for the development of US Orleans: with the local authorities, and against the nearby, attractive clubs in the Paris region. "That's life, but we won't give up," says the manager, who has attracted Joseph Terhec from Normandy for the second edition of the Pro League.

Competition is one of the ambitious projects cited by Maëlle Di Cintio to continue making Orléans "a flagship club". But while the club is "doing well" at the top level, it is above all "a place where we feel good, a place where we can live and share" for its 650 members, who see it as "a second family".

NORMANDIE JUDO

This year, the region encouraged the League to form a team representative of the region. "A bit of a rush," says Jean Mesnildrey, who is coordinating the team in the competition, with Dimitri Dragin from Le Havre, world team champion in 2011, in charge of the sporting side. Normandy has seen the likes of David Douillet and Fabien Canu pass through its ranks, "but hasn't been able to keep them", regrets the manager.

Normandie Judo's position is clear: quality athletes and coaching, but as much as possible linked to the region. As a result, the team is made up of fighters who are either licensed in Normandy or have passed through the Caen or Rouen "pôles espoirs".

Establishing an entity independent of the Ligue de Normandie by 2024 is plan A. However, retaining the regional team format in the future is a possibility. A number of towns have expressed an interest in hosting Normandie Judo on a permanent basis in the future. This year, three different departments will host Pro League matches. "Here, we have the particularity of being fairly close-knit. We liked the idea of establishing a regional identity. What's more, all the clubs are keen to support us," concludes an optimistic Jean Mesnildrey.

JUDO DES HAUTS DE FRANCE

The "plagiarism" is fully assumed. "I copied the Normandy model," says Gérard Guilbault, President of the Ligue des Hauts-de-France, before detailing what he calls "a long history". In a nutshell: although he found the Pro League project attractive, last year he found that no club had applied. The "pioneer" from Normandy prompted him to take the plunge under the region's label. "It's a logical follow-up to the opening of the Arena Béthune-Bruay," stresses the first manager of the Hauts-de-France region.

Thanks to the commitment of its technical managers, who have agreed to take charge of detection, training, internships and coaching, a marketing manager was hired in June, tasked with attracting partners. In the meantime, good financial results over the last four years mean that the company can look forward to the future "without any major risks".

"A regional team means that we don't have just one big club recruiting the best hopefuls from the others and making a lot of people unhappy," appreciates Gérard Guilbault, himself a club president. He believes "very strongly" in this model, which avoids uprooting athletes and impoverishing clubs.

As in Normandy, the three Pro League matches will be hosted in three départements: Wasquehal (Nord), Tergnier (Aisne) and Verquin (Pas-de-Calais). "Involving my department presidents, not all of whom were in favor of the project, is a way of convincing them and seeing for themselves," adds the manager, who has clear ideas: "Priority to the region and young people".