JEAN MICHEL CANET ACADEMY
CONSERVATORY OF MEMORIES OF CATALAN RUGBY

Rugby is at home in Pézilla! Everything breathes it and everything brings us back to it. The "yellow and black" on the windows, to recall a recent title and the Armel Costa stadium which stands proudly at the edge of a busy road, bearing the name of a famous player, leader of a long list of illustrious teammates. In short, the Jean Michel Canet Academy (Catalan Rugby Memory Center) could not have found a more beautiful place, a more emblematic village to hold its annual general meeting, the 15th of its name. And this number is also a symbol, after the 13th which took place in Estagel… On this Saturday, June 29, gloomy outside, but so warm and bright inside, the president Yves TARISCON had gathered the members of the association in a new municipal hall, next to the stadium, the scene of many exploits. At his side were the mayor of the commune Jean Paul BILLES, Joseph RESPAUT, one of the founding members of the Academy, Jacques VILLEPONTOUX, treasurer and Louis CARLES, vice-president. The words of the mayor of Pézilla opened the session. He set the scene by congratulating himself on the national title won, 8 days earlier, by the Entente de la Têt, then evoked the memory of the elders whose life revolved around the family, of course, but also the "land" and the "oval". COMMISSIONS AND PROJECTS The screening of a film on the history of the Academy, created in 2006, was followed by the reading of the moral report by Yves TARISCON, who recalled the many activities of the Academy (from the exhibition co-organized with the association "Visa pour l'Image" from November 2025 to June 2026, to the series of conferences in preparation, under the expert direction of Pierrot AYLAGAS, including the establishment of 4 commissions with diverse and essential missions, such as communication, projects or finances). And his conclusion was on the dimension of the vocation that drives the Academy, attached to memories and memory, but resolutely turned towards the future, because "in our blood flows the love of rugby, a rugby that aims, he said, to carry values necessary for our youth, namely respect, sharing and solidarity". The memory, very present therefore throughout the morning, allowed to pay tribute to René MONIE, international quinziste and Irénée CARRERE, international thirteenists whose daughters evoked the memory with emotion, love and kindness. Treasurer Jacques VILLEPONTOUX for his part accomplished with precision the thankless task of listing the figures for the past financial year, showing a surplus of 333 euros. Financial report approved. SPOTLIGHT ON THE EXHIBITION Jean Luc SORET, on behalf of the association "Visa pour l'Image", gave an overview of the November 2025 exhibition, listing the chapters and themes that will illustrate it. A rugby historian, Francis MEIGNAN, succeeded him on the podium to present his remarkable research and compilation work (Encyclopedias, books, files). He will be a major reinforcement for the Academy. The strong words of Louis CARLES closed the work of the Assembly, words summarized as follows: "After the land, Catalanness, there is rugby, it is the only link that remains to us!". The final moment of the ordinary Assembly, the Extraordinary General Assembly to modify 2 articles of the statutes, namely the date of the AGM and the number of members of the Board of Directors increased to around thirty.