An employee of the Normandy Sailing League (La Vague Normande), Amélie Juvien, who has officiated on numerous races in sea logistics or within Race Directions, has been Deputy Race Director of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec since this year. While Yann Chateau, Race Director, will be at sea during the three stages of the race, the woman from Le Havre will carry out her mission on land.
Originally from Manéglise (Seine-Maritime), Amélie Juvien grew up in the countryside around Le Havre. She discovered sailing at the age of seven or eight through her brother Guillaume, who was in sailing class. " No one in the family sailed except him. I wanted to go and pick him up every Wednesday after his class, so my mother signed me up ," remembers the woman who started competing at the age of 11 at the SNPH as a Team after sailing for a year and a half on the craft. Two years later, she took part in her first French Minimes Championship, was crowned French Champion in 2013 and achieved a Top 10 finish at the European Championships. " I then wanted to join the Le Havre training centre to do 420, but there was no space, so I did SL 15.5 at the CNPV for a year. I had a lot of fun and it made me gain a lot of confidence in the strong conditions ," she says. Amélie had a string of good performances and finished 7th in the National, 8th in the French Catamaran Water Sports Championship, before moving on to the French 420, the perfect transition to join the training center. She changed teammates then decided to stop for personal reasons. " I loved those two years in the 420 which taught me rigor and work but it was complicated to change teammates and succeed in performing ." She then turned to the Open 5.7 and at the same time made her comeback to her original club. In this context, she sailed, among others, with Thimoté Polet with whom she finished 3rd in the French Championship. At the same time, she did odd jobs in Match Race and Diam 24, which allowed her to gain experience on other platforms.
Amélie did not forget her studies, however, and did a STAPS degree in Sports Management in Rouen, then a work-study Master's degree in project management, which she completed in her first year at SNO Nantes to organize the 2021 National Sailing League. She then joined the Normandy Sailing League, still on a work-study basis. There, she accompanied Cédric Chateau, Director of the Normandy Elite Team, on the Tour Voile and then worked on La Solitaire du Figaro in 2021 " in sea logistics, with a bit of administration on the side ". That same summer, she started working as an assistant Race Director on the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, where she managed registrations. But that's not all. " I enjoyed being in contact with the teams and the Race Director who opened their doors to me to discover this very special environment ". Amélie then moved on to the Transat Paprec, still in sea logistics with a bit of administration. " Francis Le Goff (Race Director) and Yann Chateau (Assistant Race Director) invited me to come and see how the race monitoring was going for two days. That's where I got my first inside look at how a DC works ."
Last year, Yann Chateau decided to involve her more in the start and finish safety system, the racer briefings. She even embarked on the Race Direction boat for the 3rd leg of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, which allowed her to discover the mission of the Race Director at sea. Encouraged by Francis Le Goff, Director of the Normandy Sailing League where she has been employed since autumn 2022 as an event manager, Amélie strengthened her skills in Race Direction on the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie – Le Havre then on The Transat CIC, on which she worked “ in sea logistics and as an assistant in Lorient, then full-time with the Race Direction from the start ”. This new experience allows her to develop her knowledge in terms of " crisis management, before taking watches on her own ", a " very rich " experience, which she completed on the Le Havre - Allmer Cup last June, "a real rehearsal for La Solitaire". This year, she replaces Pierre Hays as Deputy Race Director.