Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek
Lucie Orard gets more than her fair share of complaints. Such is the life of a physiotherapist, especially a sports physio who has travelled the world with football.
Originally from the south of France, Orard settled in Tahiti in 2013, having travelled through the Caribbean after her studies.
She is one of OFC’s top physios having first been brought into the OFC Referees camp back in 2017. Opportunities followed, working at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, the OFC World Cup Qualifiers in Qatar in 2022 and last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament in Auckland.
She has also worked at numerous OFC tournaments including the U-16 men’s Championship held over the past two weeks in Tahiti.
Orard has fallen in love with the Pacific, its cultures and its people.
“I used to live in Brazil and in La Reunion, I went back to France, but I prefer to be based here where I have opened a clinic, and I love the Tahitian people,” Orard said.
“They are very welcoming and smiling back all the time. If you have a problem, they are here, people you don’t know on the street, they help you all the time. It’s very nice to be here.” Orard remarked.
The football association started when she was doing some physio work for the Olympic Committee.
“The FTF (Fédération Tahitienne de Football) got in touch, and I started working with the female players, and sometimes I work with the boys too.” Orard explained.
The FTF recommended Orard to OFC as Head of Referees Kevin Stoltenkamp explains.
“It was at the 2017 OFC U-17 Championship. We needed a physio, someone was injured, and we used the Tahiti Physio, he then recommended we use a friend of his, which was Lucie.” Stoltenkamp said.
At eight team tournaments there are usually 20 referees to take care of. Lucie has an assistant, and they work in shifts, often for more than 10 hours at a time.
“It’s a long day but it’s ok because we are in a tournament.”
When Orard is not working at the treatment table she can be seen at matches observing the action.
“I’m here for fitness, I’m here to watch and to see, and to be there if needed, if someone gets injured. So, I’m here normally for the fitness in the morning and in the afternoon for a massage.”
So, what’s the most common referee injury she treats?
“Definitely the hamstring and ankle strains. It’s pretty much all leg work,” she said.
While Orard has been to Pacific Islands countries like Fiji and Samoa she hasn’t been to football hotbeds like Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, and she hopes to get an opportunity to visit there one day.
A career highlight was working with a huge team of physios at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France in 2019.
“With all these women from everywhere in the world, but different, athletes also, different routines. I like the people, so I want to know who you are, and help you to be the best all the time, and to learn more about your body, your spirit, how to, also it’s not just about physical, it’s also mental.”