Over the plains of Waterloo, along the green grass and underneath the sounds of birds, the battle raged on all day long, until victory was granted to France, thanks to the skills of a lawyer... Such are the events that transpired at the first tournament of the Duvieusart Cup.
Eighteen years ago, Herman Nayeart (EJ Belgium), initiated one of the most celebrated traditions in the network : a friendly, yet challenging, golf competition, open to all members of Eurojuris. « It has been successful ever since », he tells us. « We have two dozen participants on average each year ». He is organising the next tournament, from May 9 to 11, close to the city of Ghent, where his law firm is located. With the typical joyful voice of a Flemish gentleman, he explains the basic rules of golf to the uninitiated. « Every golfer has a handicap. It starts at 36 and goes down, a player with 5 or 10 would be considered very good. It allows players to play together even at different levels. But we have no Tiger Woods here ! Only one of our regular players is a really big one ! »
This big shot, with a feared handicap of 4, was the winner of the Waterloo battle : Thierry Clerc (EJ France). Based in Normandy, he used to play golf at an advanced level. « I won a competition in the eighties », he says, « I ended up Vice-Champion of the European Cup of Clubs, which was played in Baleares islands ». Thanks to the handicap system, Mr Clerc faces an actual challenge when playing against his fellow golf enthusiasts at the Duvieusart Cup. « It is a very friendly event, really. A good example of the conviviality at Eurojuris, this idea of multiplying professional contacts through leisure. It's a pleasure every year to be reunited with golf pals! » Traditionally organised at the occasion of the Feast of Ascension to guarantee a long weekend, the Duvieusart Cup allowed Mr Clerc to meet lawyers he ended up working with.
« A cultural event always follows the tournament », explains Mr Nayeaert. « This year we will visit an art exhibition in the nearby town of Latem, and if we have enough time after a second round we will tour Ghent ». At the first tournament of the Duvieusart Cup, the venue was a golf club close to Charleroi, in Southern Belgium, where Etienne Duvieusart was a member. « Mr Duvieusart is a founding father of Eurojuris, » explains Mr Naeyaert. « We named the cup in his honour. ». Not far away lies the plain of Waterloo, where the famous battle was fought. Quite logically, the place is full of museums and memorials, and the competitors of the first Duvieusart tournament were invited to visit. « At this occasion », says Mr Clerc, « I declared I was going to avenge Napoleon by winning on this ground, which I did ! But really, it was a friendly joke, and the ambiance was good ». His victory was engraved on the cup itself. He then received custody of the cup for one full year before giving it to the next winner – a rotating system that, Mr Naeyaert tells us, is called in Flanders « a Wisselbeker cup ».
Another Frenchman won the cup last year – Alain Ledoux, a lawyer based in Eastern France, where the tournament was organised. « It was in the region of Champagne », remembers Thierry Clerc. « We had a lot of wine tasting ! » The current keeper of the Duvieusart cup, Mr Ledoux, tells us, « We were close to Metz and had the opportunity to visit a local museum which is actually a recent project of the French government : decentralising some collections of Parisian museums in other towns. We were granted nothing less than pieces from the famous Musée d'Orsay ! » Mr Ledoux seems enthusiastic about his participation in the Duvieusart tournament. « It was my first year, and my only regret is not to have started earlier ! My handicap is not even that good, I'm quite an average player compared with a man like Thierry, for example ».
Mr Clerc remembers other trips : « Thanks to the Cup I travelled accross the Low Countries, to Germany, Scandinavia, the UK... I remember a lovely visit to the town of Chantilly in France, which is an important place for horse races, it was really great. But we are missing Southern Europeans, we miss people from Spain, Italy, Portugal... » Mr Ledoux seconds : « They must come, we will welcome them ! »
A final word from Mr Naeyaert is to plead for more Southern European golfers. « We have a diverse array of players, people whose handicaps are 25 or 31 or much lower... I think of a regular player, Göran Svenvall (EJ Sweden) who is based so far away, almost in Polar regions », he says with a laugh, « And still, Mr Svenvall comes every year, he has a handicap of 9 if I remember well, and we are always happy to see him. Normally, the winner must organise the venue for the next year, but sometimes, like this year, we just change it to release presure on the winner's shoulders ». One more reason it shouldn’t be missed.
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