A must-see competition at École Centrale
For the past 32 years, the institutions of the Groupe des Écoles Centrale have been coming together to compete in six sporting disciplines: basketball, football, handball, rugby, volleyball and cheerleading.
Every year, in turn, the Sports Committee of one of the five schools takes charge of the event and organises the competitions, which run over three days. For this year’s event, around 120 students from Centrale Lyon came together over the weekend. The students coordinated the management of venues, equipment, scheduling, accommodation and meals.
As well as learning how to manage an event from start to finish, the InterCentrales helps to reaffirm the ‘schools’ aspect of the event, which is organised jointly by the various departments of the host school, PE teachers, the AS and the BDS.
First place and eight medals
Students from Centrale Lyon took first place on the podium at the 32nd edition, just ahead of CentraleSupélec and Centrale Méditerranée. The tournament is held in a league format, with the overall winner determined across the whole weekend and the various disciplines.
In total, the Centrale Lyon teams won 8 medals, including three golds. The School triumphed in volleyball with a double gold medal, thanks to its women’s and men’s teams. The third gold medal was won by the women’s rugby team, which remained unbeaten throughout the tournament.
Beyond the rankings, it was team spirit that was the driving force behind this competition, both within the Centrale Lyon teams and, more broadly, amongst the five schools.
![Simon Chalton, PE teacher at Centrale Lyon]()
“We are very proud of our teams, who have been working hard to prepare for the event since early September. The tournament takes place very early in the year, which really pushes the teams to get organised. We’ve performed well in this regard, and a great sense of school spirit emerged over the weekend. The year is off to a great start!”
Simon Chalton, Head of the Sports Department
Sport: a key part of education
At Centrale Lyon, sport is a veritable institution, deeply rooted in the university’s identity and passed down from one cohort to the next. Sporting activities are compulsory for engineering students and constitute a teaching module in their own right. At the start of the year, each student chooses their activities from around twenty individual or team sports, suited to all tastes and all levels.
This is much more than just a complement to the course. The Sports Office, which brings together nearly 1,000 students within the institution, takes part in numerous competitions. The School holds the title of French runner-up in the 2024 Challenge and organises an annual inter-school competition, the Challenge, which brings together nearly 2,500 students.
Team spirit, solidarity, pushing oneself to the limit, respect for one’s opponents, rigour and commitment: these are all values that students cultivate on the playing fields, and which they will carry forward into their professional lives as engineers. Competitions such as the InterCentrales showcase these values, combining sporting performance with a spirit of camaraderie.
