- Nature hike , Nordic Walking

Meeting with Alexandre Durand, Head of the Partnerships Department at the FFRP

With a very fine network across the territory, the French Hiking Federation is present throughout mainland France and overseas. With a growing number of members over the past 20 years, it ranks 20th among the 103 federations approved by the Ministry of Sports, in 3rd position among nature sports federations and 2nd federation of "terrestrial" nature sports.

Meeting with Alexandre Durand, head of the Partnerships, Sponsorship & Resource Development department.

What is the role of the FFRandonnée and its missions?

Created on April 22, 1978, the French Hiking Federation (FFRandonnée) is a association under the 1901 law recognized as being of public utility. It is a delegate of the Ministry of Sports for the practice of hiking and coastal walking, for which it defines the standards, a member of the French National Olympic Sports Committee (CNOSF) and the European Hiking Federation (FERP).

The FFRandonnée has several missions and ambitions which are:

  • Organize, develop and promote the practice of hiking for all audiences: development of the practice of walking with poles, diversification of practices to offer a sufficiently wide range to please the greatest number of participants...
  • Land use planning: organization of hiking networks, creation, marking, maintenance and promotion of GR®, GR®de Pays and PR trails.
  • Represent the interests of hikers.
  • Contribute to the protection of nature and the environment.
  • Train and support leaders, markers, developers...
  • Inform via various services: the website, the MaRando mobile application, the Passion Rando magazine.

The federation also has the status of publisher since it manages the Topo Guides collection, which includes around 230 titles.

The FFR in figures

The federation has a very fine network across the country. It is represented by 115 regional and departmental hiking committees, bringing together some 3,500 local hiking associations or clubs.

20,000 volunteers, including 10,000 trail markers

12 million weekly walks according to a study carried out in 2021

230,000 members

90% of them are over 50

30-35% of clubs offer Nordic walking

~50 permanent employees

What activities does the FFR offer?

Historically, the federation mainly offered hiking and roaming from point A to point B. In recent years, walking practices have diversified considerably with snowshoeing, Nordic walking, health hiking (aimed at a vulnerable population), coastal walking, or more recently Fast hiking. For the latter, we organized the first open in 2022, and aim to organize several events of this type to promote the discipline.

As clubs are also big consumers of tourist stays, we help them organize stays or trips in France and abroad with our partner agencies and tour operators. For your information, 1,500 clubs organize this type of stay.

The federation organizes specific Nordic walking training courses for club leaders.

A word about the FFRP X GUIDETTI partnership
What does this partnership bring you?

The partnership between the federation and Guidetti dates back to 2015. This merger was born from a shared desire to promote walking throughout France. The collaboration started with Nordic walking, then logically extended to hiking and trekking.

This partnership allows committees, clubs and members to have quality, durable walking poles made in France. In return, this partnership offers GUIDETTI great national visibility through the 3,500 clubs or associations.

For example, trainers have pole kits at a preferential rate and test parks for demonstrations.

As for members, they benefit from a discount on GUIDETTI hiking equipment.

To find out more, visit the FFRandonnée website.

Comments collected by Aurélie Joubin on May 22, 2023