France’s most decorated club, Paris Université Club (PUC), had a remarkable year in 2023. Multiple titles in junior and cricket categories, but a disappointing season in D1. Baseball TV France kicks off its year-end review series with clubs, speaking to PUC’s Co-president, Olivier Dubaut.
BTVF: Let’s start with the highlights of the year, namely the French Championship and runner-up titles in the 12U, 15U, and 18U categories. How do you explain this dominance?
O.D.: First of all, in the history of PUC, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Secondly, in recent years, we’ve been third place several times, and we could have won last year if it weren’t for Ben Couvreur, who was unbeatable. Additionally, if you look at the compositions of the French national teams in the 18U and 15U categories, you’ll notice that every year, our club produces international players in these age groups. They go to the training centers, but so far, they remain licensed with PUC. We bring them back from Toulouse or Montpellier. Currently, we have three in the training center in Toulouse, one in Montpellier, and another in Rouen. What we’re missing is a training center in Paris to keep them close to us. I dream of creating an academy in Paris. It’s much harder in the city or the suburbs in terms of facilities and financial support.
BTVF: How do you maintain or even increase performance?
O.D.: We have a good organization at the club, and I hope we can relaunch projects because we aim for excellence. PUC has always been at the top level in baseball and cricket for all, and consequently, we’ve always focused on youth, which is our only chance to stay competitive. We don’t have the means to recruit mercenaries like the ‘predator’ clubs that operate with subsidies from their local authorities, given that the city of Paris isn’t very generous.
BTVF: How do you explain the disappointment of relegation to D2 for the first team?
O.D.: We’ve had bad luck because technically, I consider our true ranking to be 8th. Our pool was tougher than the other one, and I’m convinced we would have beaten Metz in the playoff. That’s just how it is! Additionally, we lost several games in the final innings due to a lack of closer pitchers. We still managed to beat Rouen several times. We’re going down, but we hope it’s just for one year, so we want to bounce back immediately in 2025.
BTVF: Does the JFL (Locally Developed Youth) rule work in your favor?
O.D.: I’ve been fighting for the creation of JFL at FFBS for four years now, which, by the way, exist in Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, and almost all European countries. Unfortunately, this happens just as our team is relegated… well, it’s a year too late! It’s certain that some clubs will be a bit stuck because indeed, there are clubs that are more or less artificial in the first division. In 2023, at PUC, apart from foreigners, almost all our players were developed at the club. Elsewhere, they have 3, 4, or 5, or they play them in D2. So, we’re aiming for promotion back to D1 and access to D3 for the R1 team.
BTVF: Let’s talk about cricket?
O.D.: PUC’s first team is the runner-up in the French Championship. They qualified for the European Champions League, which will take place in March 2024 in Spain. But again, we have a problem. We don’t currently have a gym to train in, meaning that between now and March, they won’t be able to prepare! Secondly, our girls have been promoted to the first division and finished third. It’s an even better performance, so I think it will be even better next year. Thirdly, for the first time, thanks to Myriam Romero’s work, we’re working with France Cricket to make it easier for young players to transition to cricket, because if we don’t give them matches, they’ll stop. We need to support France Cricket to take off by the end of 2025 so that it becomes a real federation. Thanks to the Los Angeles Olympics, cricket is returning to the top level. It’s a good thing.
BTVF: And the controversy surrounding France Cricket and women’s cricket?
O.D.: I don’t share this controversy. France Cricket has put more than €50,000 on the table to help women’s cricket. That’s a lot compared to the overall budget. But I respect that disagreements exist.
BTVF: What can we wish for you?
O.D.: Our club must reclaim its place in D1. This year, the Rouen Huskies failed, but like us, they played the youth challenge and its development. I think the future of French baseball lies on this path.
