|  | ICSSPE News | No.50 May 2007 |

Farewell for Christophe Mailliet Prof. Dr. Colin Higgs & Prof. Dr. Margaret Talbot |
Christophe will be missed by friends and colleagues at ICSSPE, and be a welcome addition with his new organization. Christophe and I started at ICSSPE at about the same time, and for me he has always been the "voice of the office." I have valued his friendship and his professional assistance. Able to work effortlessly in at least three languages, and able to adapt to the cultural differences of the many national and international organizations with whom he worked daily. Christophe played a large role in the development and growth of ICSSPE, and we would not be where we are today without his commitment to the organization, his organizational ability and his dedication to his job. My favorite memories of Christophe will always be his arrival, at any meeting, freshly showered from one of his daily runs, and his multi-lingual expressions of frustration at organizations with which we worked that were not responding as professionally, or as quickly as he would have liked. At ICSSPE we have watched Christophe grow from single man-about-town, to husband and father, and have seen him take seriously the need for all children, but particularly his own, to be physically active and engaged in sport. While we have lost Christophe from our ICSSPE Office, I know we have not lost him from the organization, and look forward to working with him in the future either in a partnership with streetfootbalworld, or when we entice him back to ICSSPE as a volunteer. Good luck in your new career Christophe, and thank you for your efforts at ICSSPE on our behalf. Colin Higgs Vice President ICSSPE We will all miss Christophe, although we wish him well in his new role with Street Football World. We shall miss his meticulous preparation of meetings and record keeping, his careful marshalling and steerage of issues of governance, and his capacity to manage Board members’ awkward questions, individual quirks and challenges. ICSSPE has benefited enormously from his stewardship of our affairs, and his commitment to our mission and work. His contribution has been enormous, and his support for individual elected officers constant and generous. Will I personally miss Christophe? Of course I will! How will I manage in future, opening my e mail messages, knowing that after every international football match, there will be no more comments from Christophe – sometimes triumphant (not so difficult, with England’s recent performances!), sometimes rueful (when France did not do well, or Zidane did something silly!), sometimes ironic (usually when Italy, Holland or Germany got beaten by a less high profile country). And in the middle of all of that, acid comments about the intellectual challenges faced by certain world leaders, ie how could Bush and Blair be so misguided (that was NOT the word he used!). Christophe’s healthy sense of irony often helped him to manage his emotions when people or organisations didn’t act as he though they should. During his ten years of service to ICSSPE, those of us who were older than he (almost all of us!) appreciatively watched him grow his powers of tolerance and understanding of others’ failings, despite his Gallic facial expressions and body language, when attempting to “be cool” about failure to deliver. But perhaps my favourite memory of Christophe’s facial expressions, was when we met in Orlando. It was his first experience of the USA, and I had warned him that despite language differences across Europe, often there would be elements of the American experience which would be more “foreign” to him than what he had experienced in different European countries. It was our meeting in the Disney sports café which did it! I was sitting opposite him, watching his eyes roll in his head, in reaction to the competing sound tracks, screens and lights. But when the food was served, he could barely contain himself. Here was this Frenchman, reared on belle cuisine, facing vast portions of deep fried, unhealthy, fast food. He had heard and read about it, but the reality was too much. I just wish that I had had a camera …. Thank you, Christophe, for all that you did, and the way that you did it. We know that we have an able successor in Detlef, but over the last years, you have helped take ICSSPE to “another place”. We are in your debt. Margaret Talbot Vice President ICSSPE http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 Farewell for Christophe Mailliet Prof. Dr. Colin Higgs & Prof. Dr. Margaret Talbot