The Solibad Team

Raphaël Sachetat is a freelance journalist and photographer. Involved very early in the associative world (Amnesty International), he is now a journalist at Les Echos - Week End where he deals with new technologies and presents impact entrepreneurs. He also follows the professional badminton circuit (he is the founder of the photographic agency of the International Federation) and is at the origin of numerous projects in the badminton community (creation of Badzine, a chain of multilingual information sites, he also worked during the London and Paris 2024 Olympic Games as "Photo Manager"). Solibad is for him the opportunity to combine his two passions.

His motto, which has become that of Solibad: "Do things seriously, without taking yourself seriously"

Leslie Doumerc is a freelance journalist, currently based in Brussels after spending two years in Montreal, after Norway. Passionate about badminton - but a jack of all trades -, she also exercises her profession as a journalist with as much curiosity as open-mindedness - and ear: she is a radio host and a fan of sounds. More than anything, she loves good ideas and is always on the lookout for new programs for the Association. She is the mother of the soundtrack for the title song of Solibad, to be discovered mid-2018.... She is one of the very first to have embarked on the adventure.

As a professional video reporter, Loic, 39, has joined the Solibad team very early on, bringing a clear professional knowledge in the world of editing and filming our events. As a badminton coach himself during his leisure time, he is behind most of Solibad’s work in terms of video programming and editing and has become a key person in the foundation through his investment and talent.

Olivier Duband, 24, is in his 4 years Masters degree in Dijon, France. Caught up into Raphael’s projects and good spirits, he joined the Badzine troops in 2006. Specialized in video editing, self-educated and passionate, he spends countless hours behind a lens or a computer. This is how, at the cost of a serious dose of motivation, Badzine Tv was born. His most treasured memory? The Badzine trip to Malaysia. Such a fascinating and overwhelming culture. And is there a better way than SOLIBAD to combine both his passions ?

Colette has been involved with Badminton in Belgium for a long time. As a physiotherapist, but also in her home club of Mont sur Marchienne. Ever since she became involved in Solibad in 2011, she became more and more active and quickly became the Association’s most reliable member, on all fronts. She was behind the success of the 2012 Solibad day with over 100 cities celebrating all over the world, before accepting the tough challenge to become Solibad’s Secretary, where her hardest work was to draft the dossier which allowed us to obtain the status of Officially Registered Charity (Organisme d’Intérêt Général on France). Also, she is coordinator of the projects. She speaks fluent English, French and Spanish and can be asked anything about Solibad – she knows it all. A key to the foundation.

Marc Desnos officially joined the Solibad team in 2023 as Human Resources Manager. He is in charge of managing volunteers and civic services. He takes a great deal of time and care to ensure that everyone feels at home at Solibad. The father of three outstanding badminton players, he is also President of the Bry sur Marne club, the oldest Solibad club, which, since the first partnership signed in 2010, has contributed year after year to providing additional resources for our programs. He too has become a pillar of our association.

Yves Lacroix, late forties is an archivist in Québec for the CSN (Confederation des Syndicats Nationaux). He combines his professional efficiency with his passion for badminton in general and for the chances this sport gives to travel, meet people and share. A video enthusiast – his Montreal home is like a small museum, he’s also vice president of Badmintonphoto, the official agency of the BWF, and has covered some 50 international tournaments, becoming a familiar face on the circuit, as a photograph, journalist, and  in his first role as Solibad’s secretary. He handed over the post to Colette but vowed to remain on the team to help with our international work and as a consultant. His vision is always of value for the Solibad board.

Taking over from Marina in 2023, Kim joined our team with her professional accounting skills, which she immediately put to good use at Solibad. As the mother of three daughters - two of whom play badminton at the highest level in France - she knows the badminton ecosystem inside out and has given our programs a real boost with her time and unfailing commitment. In addition to her great empathy for our beneficiaries, whom she supports with much more than just numbers...

Sandrine joined the team after a partnership with an association she had founded "Bulles d'Espoir". Very quickly, she found herself "caught" by the ambient optimism - before officially joining the office in 2015, as assistant treasurer. She has many hats: a teacher in Normandy, she left France to manage a structure to help children in difficulty in Switzerland. She is responsible for communication for the Adapted Sport Federation. Artist, she paints, draws and has set up a small publishing house to talk about differences to children. She coordinates several projects in Solibad, Népas and India. An unfailing dynamism and good humor have made her indispensable to the structure. Badiste too, necessarily ...

Benjamin joined the team in 2014, first by offering his services as regional coordinator. very quickly, his ideas hit the mark within the office and all of his achievements and the local partnerships they have forged have given new life to the association. Always ready to lend a hand, he also quickly found himself "caught" in the office. Social worker, in his daily life he is at the heart of social debates, and as such, of invaluable advice for the collegial decisions of the association. Particularly invested, he also took over the management of the online store - a big job! And this, always with humility and immense kindness. It has become completely indispensable to Solibad.

Her move to Solibad as a civic service in 2022 gave an incredible boost to the organization and dynamism. Since then, Manon has caught the Solibad “virus” and officially joined the team as a member of its executive board, with a thorough knowledge of our Association's programs and organization. Among other things, she now coordinates relations with our partner structures, clubs, committees and leagues, notably around solidarity actions and the “Solibad Days”.

Marie-Christine has been with Solibad since the very beginning, first as a dedicated volunteer, then as a full member of the management team for the past few years. A skilled player, she is responsible for the Solibad boutique, and handles orders and shipments of our goodies - an incredible task of management and organization, which she accomplishes with her good humor and rigor. An essential member of the team, she is also regularly to be found manning our stalls in all directions.

One of the world’s top players for the last 10 years, Pi Hongyan was born in China and was naturalized French in 2004. She’s the ideal patron for such a project! Because of her education, her travels, her open-mindedness, her ability to speak various languages (English, Chinese, French), she will be specially involved and Solibad will benefit from her experience of high level, her numerous contacts within the badminton community and her overflowing energy.

Ranked world n°4 in 2010, she won the silver medal in the European Championship in 2004, the bronze medal in the World Championship in 2009, 6 French national titles and many international open tournaments. She retired after the 2012 London Olympics and now lives in Marseilles, France.

Jean-François, 42, works as a computer specialist and head of the technical department for the Caisse d’Epargne. Initiator of every project of the team, big chief and brains of Badzine, he’s likely the one who spent the most hours on the site, coding, debugging and enjoying other computer related delights.

Creator of the Badmintonphoto sites, Jeff provides his skills to serve the badminton community with ever new functionalities and more conviviality – the site is now in its 3rd version. As a sports fanatic, he never goes without his motorcycle, dividing most his free time between the badminton and squash courts, in his lovely Languedoc-Roussillon province – he lives near Montpelier.

As soon as he heard about the Solibad project, he immediately volunteered to put together its website.