French D1 Championship: D-8 Before the Kick-off in Sarcelles

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The start of the 2025/2026 French Championship is imminent. Next week, from November 8th to 9th in Sarcelles, the first round of the D1 league will take place. The 18 qualified teams—10 men’s and 8 women’s—will meet at the « Nelson Mandela » swimming pool in Sarcelles to launch the season.

D1 Composition:

• Men’s D1: Dinan, Fontenay-Tresigny, Pessac, Diderot XII, La Rochelle, Rennes, Moirans, Pontoise, Le-Puy-en-Velay, Saintes.
• Women’s D1: Saint-Malo, Le Chesnay, Hope, Pontoise, Dinan, Fontenay, Moirans, Rennes.

For this season opener, eyes will naturally be on the previous edition’s reigning champions: Dinan on the men’s side and Saint-Malo for the women. They will face the usual runners-up and challengers: Rennes and Fontenay for the men, and Le Chesnay and Hope for the women.

Disqualification and the Quest for Redemption

This season begins with two major developments that are redrawing the league map.

The first affects the Pontoise club. After years of domination, the women’s team finished the 2024/2025 season off the podium. This is a real blow for this powerhouse of French underwater hockey, which has been consistently navigating between the 1st and 3rd place since 2016. The Pontoise women will have to prove that this underperformance was simply a blip.

The other major piece of news concerns the Women’s D1: the Hyères women’s team has been disqualified for the 2025/2026 season due to a lack of AN2 referees. This notable absence opens up a spot for the Rennes F team, which has been brought up from D2F to participate in D1 Round 1.

The offseason player movements clearly show a divide between clubs focusing on continuity and those strengthening with international recruits to shake up the rankings.

Women’s D1:

• Saint-Malo F shows the most remarkable stability (9/10 players retained) and the strategic acquisition of former Hyères players Marjorie LAMOUREUX and Marie-Lou MAGERAND.
• Pontoise F attempts its return to the top 3 with the addition of English player Susannah HOLMES BEDDOW, while retaining eight veteran players.
• Dinan F opens up to international talent with the arrival of Colombian Andrea APONTE RICON and Spanish Marta LORENTE SOROLLA PONTE.
• Moirans F strengthens its core of seven players with four new recruits: Eleanore PRADES, Flavie PAULIN, Charlène MONNIN, and Fabienne COURTIAL.
• Conversely, Fontenay F and HOPE F are models of continuity, retaining almost all of their rosters. This cohesion could give them an early-season advantage.
• The Le Chesnay F roster is completed by Hélorie TUAL and Camille DEIMAT.
• Rennes F, a new team in the elite, relies on young prospects (Julia BABARIT, Emma ROCHA, Mila FAUQUEUX) to make their mark.

Men’s D1: Stable Leaders and New Faces

• Moirans M boasts the best retention rate (82%), banking on team unity (MARANT and GRANDAMAS families) and the sole recruit Adrien DULONG (ex-Diderot and key player for the French U19 Youth team).
• Fontenay M also retains its core of 9 players and brings back its international players from last year (Declan MCNULTY, David TEIGA), with the notable arrival of Julien POTIER (ex-Clamart/ex-Neuilly and first selection in the French Elite Group – 12th).
• Dinan M maintains a very structured team around 7 retained players, including the two Englishmen RUPERT IRONSIDE-SMITH and Thomas PITCHFORTH.
• Pessac M continues to rely on youth (Romain RAHOUL and Soufian BENZOUBAIR) by keeping 9 players.
• Among the reinforced teams, Pontoise M and Diderot M are turning to international players to complete their rosters. Saintes M made a major move by signing Ward BALENS to join his brother Niels BALENS.
• Finally, Le Puy M, a new team in D1M, arrives with a roster of 12 players, including foreigners (Saul QUINTERO, Mateo VICTOR), making them a young and promising unknown for the start of the season.

For now, mark your calendars for November 8th and 9th in Sarcelles for the first round of the D1. Between the clashes of the favorites, the teams seeking redemption, and the new dynamics created by the summer transfer window, the Nelson Mandela pool in Sarcelles is set to establish the tone for what promises to be an unpredictable season.