French Paintball Federation

The French Paintball Federation (Fédération Française de Paintball, FFP) is a French association that organises the French Paintball Championship, coordinates regional leagues and selects national teams. It traces its origins to March 1996, when it began as the Fédération de Paintball Sportif (FPS). It adopted its present name in 2016.[1][2][3]

History

Fédération de Paintball Sportif

The federation dates its establishment as the Fédération de Paintball Sportif to March 1996. In 2003, Le Parisien also dated the formation of the FPS to 1996 and credited it with helping to organise paintball competition at national and regional levels. The record for the present association in France's National Register of Associations gives a creation date of 22 March 1999 and a Journal officiel publication date of 10 April 1999.[1][2][4]

Regional leagues helped deliver national competition. In June 2003, the Ligue de Picardie organised national championship matches at Arsy, in the Oise. In 2006, Vichy's municipal journal listed the FPS as organiser of the national championship at the Isle de Beauregard.[4][5]

The FPS sought ministerial approval (agrément) as a sports federation. The sports ministry refused the application, and on 13 April 2005 the Conseil d'État dismissed the federation's challenge to that decision. The court upheld the ministry's assessment that paintball was primarily recreational for the purposes of the legislation then in force.[6]

The FPS internal regulations adopted at an extraordinary general meeting on 22 June 2013 set out its club affiliation, regional league representation and licensing arrangements. Reporting on the 2015 French championship described a system in which regional leagues ran regional competitions and the FPS managed the national competition calendar. Teams could qualify through regional rounds for the three-player and five-player semi-automatic formats.[7][8]

Adoption of the FFP name

A 2016 notice in the Journal officiel des associations et fondations d'entreprise records the change from FPS to Fédération Française de Paintball. The federation says it adopted the name to reflect its work across a wider range of paintball disciplines.[1][3]

In 2017, Le Parisien reported that the French championship at Bonneuil-sur-Marne drew 80 teams and more than 500 players. It described an elite division with promotion and relegation, alongside regional divisions from D1 to D4. By 2019, the FFP's recreational commission was organising scenario events as well as developing a national big-game series.[9][10]

Activities and affiliation

The federation coordinates regional leagues, administers player licences and arranges insurance for players and affiliated clubs. It publishes competition rules and organises the Championnat de France de Paintball. It also lists national teams in men's, women's, veterans', under-19 and under-16 competition.[1][7][11]

The United Paintball Federation (UPBF) lists the FFP as France's representative under the European Paintball Federation (EPBF) and gives 2013 as its membership year. The EPBF's February 2018 congress minutes identify Laurent Capron and Patrice Guigou with the French federation.[12][13]

References

External links