Abstract
This investigation is based on an anthropological and historical approach to croche, a style of wrestling on Reunion Island. The discursive analysis, based on documentary sources, interviews and ethnographic observation, examines the contemporary trajectory of a traditional activity with particular attention to local politics, memory, and the globalization of sport. As a result of a process to regulate this form of wrestling that is primarily exogenous rather than endogenous, croche remains an activity on patrimonial probation. Today, while croche’s place in local and regional heritage may seem contested, its normalization as a sport has been successfully achieved.