Rouages: “Keeping sports facilities in the best possible condition”
Henri Boutier is a technical staff member and groundskeeper with the university’s physical education and sports department. At the School of Pharmacy campus, he maintains the green spaces and keeps the sports facilities in good working order. He tells us about his work this month in the video series *Rouages*, produced by the University of Montpellier.
Under a slightly gray sky, we meet Henri Boutier at the offices of the University Department of Physical and Sports Activities, located on the campus of the School of Pharmacy. At this early hour, calm reigns over the tennis and padel courts that line the small building where seven staff members work every day to provide UM students and staff with a free and varied range of sports activities.“We’re a small team, and we really work in a great atmosphere,” says the staff member in charge of green spaces and sports facilities with a smile.
Prune, cut, maintain, and repair
The Pharmacy Campus is one of four sports facilities that host the more than 10,000 students enrolled in SUAPS throughout the year:“There’s the university sports center, also known as La Motte Rouge, located just behind the Triolet campus, and the university sports arena on the Veyrassi and Richter campus,” lists Henri Boutier, whose duties are tied to the “pharmacy” site. And at the top of his list of duties is the maintenance of green spaces: lawns, palm trees, hedges… Henri prunes, trims,andmows,“and with the amount of space we have, that’s quite a bit of work!” A skill he acquired working alongside the team of gardeners at the Jardin des Plantes.“It was the first job I held when I joined the University of Montpellier about ten years ago. A real little paradise where it was a pleasure to learn,” recalls this former construction worker turned gardener.
Although Henri Boutier has a green thumb, he doesn’t neglect his role as a maintenance worker. “My job is to keep the sports facilities in the best possible condition so that people can play in good conditions,”explains the maintenance worker. Cleaning and blowing out the tennis courts, maintaining and repairing the nets—“the padel courts require specific maintenance because they have synthetic surfaces covered with sand, which need to be regularly leveled and swept. Sometimes we also have to replace the glass panels on the padel courts, which can break quite easily.” The large synthetic soccer field also gets his full attention:“I have a small tractor with a trailer that brushes the field and helps loosen the soil. It’s a job that can take a whole day and needs to be repeated every two weeks.”
Logistics and versatility
When Henri Boutier isn’t out in the field, he continues his work at his computer or on the phone:“There’s quite a bit of equipment to order for the maintenance and repair of these facilities, so I’m the one who liaises with the contractors and receives the deliveries... ” It’s a versatile job that also requires good listening skills and a certain amount of diplomacy.“SUAPS offers both open-access sports and classes, so I have to be attentive to the needs of all the instructors to ensure everyone gets along and that classes run as smoothly as possible,” emphasizes the staff member, who truly appreciates the collaborative aspect of his work:“I’m both independent in my duties—since I’m the only technical staff member on site—yet in constant contact with the entire administrative team and the sports instructors. We’re a group working toward a common goal, and I really enjoy that,” he concludes with a broad smile.