Virginie Carrien, a woman of many talents

Virginie Carrien isn’t particularly fond of the limelight. That, in fact, is the very paradox of her character. A woman of action, she prefers to get things done rather than be in the spotlight, but her successive commitments have gradually brought her into the limelight. “I’ll have to learn to say no one day,” she smiles.
It all began at the age of 12, watching Roland-Garros on the television. She’d never even held a racket, but told her father she was going to play tennis “at a competitive level”. Events proved her right: having won the Guadeloupe championship several times, she began coaching younger players at the age of 16. Her passion for passing on her knowledge was already evident.
With her state teaching qualification in hand, she taught for seven years in Guadeloupe before settling in Saint Martin in 2009. There, she discovered beach tennis. And as is often the case with Virginie, this discovery turned into a total commitment: French champion in 2012 and ranked in the world’s top 10 with her partner, she competed in the biggest tournaments. But from this sporting adventure, one thing in particular stayed with her: a desire to offer the island’s young people the chance to experience, for themselves, ‘a wonderful human and sporting adventure’.

From the court to supporting young people

Together with Alex and Greg, she set up KKO Beach Tennis. The club now has 90 members, including 35 children at the beach tennis school. For the past two years, she has also been coaching at the Centre for Excellence and Education through Sport (CEES), four times a week. These hours slot into a flexible timetable. “My days can be very long,” she admits.
For the other pillar of her career is education. After graduating from Irma, she passed the primary school teacher’s entrance exam and went on to become a special needs teacher working with children with disabilities. Since the start of the 2025 academic year, she has been coordinating the educational support centre. Working in tandem with a special needs teacher, she supports pupils requiring a tailored educational programme: those with disabilities, social exclusion, behavioural difficulties, speech and language impairments, high potential, or difficulties arising from itinerant schooling. Around sixty cases were supported in the very first year. The scheme also helps to integrate medical and social support more fully into the school, with the potential involvement of occupational therapists or special needs teachers, in collaboration with the Regional Health Agency (ARS) and local organisations. Here too, Virginie focuses on practical solutions: finding ways forward for the children, their families and the teaching staff.

President against her will

And then there’s the CTOS. A role she hadn’t really anticipated. Asked to join the Committee, she initially agreed to take on the role of secretary-general. Following the chairman’s departure, she took over on an interim basis. Three months later, there were still no candidates. Give up? “Impossible – there’s too much to do.” So she accepted the chairmanship, but with one firm belief: the CTOS must operate as a team.
The role, however, takes her far out of her comfort zone. Representing the committee, speaking in public, attending conferences, becoming – despite herself – a recognisable figure in the sporting world… She learns, observes other CTOS committees, exchanges views with their chairpersons, has her doubts at times, but presses on. Ultimately, whether it’s sport or school, the driving force remains the same: giving young people the tools to grow, to learn the value of hard work, to manage stress, to gain confidence and to find their place in the world. “My passion has become my calling,” she sums it up simply.
Virginie Carrien may not like being in the spotlight. But through her determination to light the way for others, she has, despite herself, ended up becoming one of the leading figures in sporting and educational engagement in Saint Martin.