Thierry Raphet has just been elected the new President of the French Baseball, Softball Federation in an extraordinary general assembly via video conference until 2024. Elected with 83% of the vote, he steps down from his role as General Secretary to take on the presidency. Elected since 2013 on the executive committee, he has held the role of General Secretary since 2014.
His inauguration speech hinted that he apologized for his modesty in not making this decision last September. Fabien Carette-Legrand, president for four months, found that the mission was too heavy in terms of hours and availability.
Taking the reins of a flagship sport in full development requires starting with encouragement. Thierry Raphet tells us that at the beginning of 2022, the number of licensed players reached a number (exceeding 13,500) that « had never existed since time immemorial. » This is good news after the sharp decline during the Covid years. He also mentioned the two challenges that will need to be addressed to maintain the dynamism of our sports: fighting against the erosion of volunteering and meeting the demanding expectations of practitioners.
He also expressed his desire to have Damien Guinoie by his side as General Secretary. Originally from Nouvelle Aquitaine, the latter resigned from the Nouvelle Aquitaine League to take on the secretariat of the Federation.
Frédéric Kerbeche, from Île-de-France and working extensively on cricket, was elected to the vacant position left by the former resigning president on the Executive Committee.
Finally, Didier Seminet was elected as Honorary President of the Federation with nearly 80% of the vote. After 11 years as President, he took on the role of General Secretary of the National Olympic Committee. Managing 108 sports federations, he assures that in his office and in his speeches, baseball has never been seen or heard about as much in the French sports world.
