The Dordogne prefecture issued an order on Saturday June 20 at the start of the evening prohibiting, among other things, outdoor sports. As did the Lot-et-Garonne prefecture, which led to the cancellation of the French rugby championship semi-finals in Ribérac and Montignac.
On Périgord soil, the La Périgordine cyclosportive was cancelled. The same goes for the French military rugby championship which was to take place in Bergerac from Monday June 22 to Thursday June 25.
The Engie Open du Périgord, the international women’s tennis tournament organized by CA Périgueux, is also finally canceled, as the organization confirmed on Sunday 21 at the beginning of the afternoon.
The qualifications were to begin on Sunday 21 and continue on Monday 22. Initially, in order to comply with a municipal decree of the City of Périgueux, the organizers had planned to play the matches in the morning between 8 and 11 a.m., then in the evening after 8 p.m. The prefectural decision reshuffled everything.
Format modifié
The qualifications will not be able to take place, because the prefecture’s decision extends until Wednesday the 24th. The question then arose of an outright cancellation of the tournament. Only the international tennis federation, the ITF, could make this decision. The players “don’t understand,” explains Clément Coyral, the co-president of CAP Tennis. They are used to playing in the heat.”
The club had stocked up, particularly with food, “120 meals are waiting in the cold room. We decided to invite the volunteers, the players, on Sunday lunchtime, so as not to lose the food.”
On Sunday 21, referee Yan Kuszak took temperature and humidity readings, before participating in a video conference with the international federation. The ITF initially decided to maintain the tournament, before the decision was made. “The extreme weather conditions and the prefectural decree no longer make it possible to ensure a secure environment,” explains Philippe Veersé, the tournament director.
The Engie Open du Périgord, which was to celebrate its 29th edition this year, could have taken place in another form. Until the end, the CAP tried to maintain its competition. Hoping for example for the lifting of the decree on Wednesday 24, which would have made it possible to extract eight players from qualifying to constitute a final table of 32 competitors.
