Pre-Games training camps give small nations big boost ahead of Paris 2024 

For larger National Olympic Committees (NOCs), organising training camps ahead of the Olympic Games is a time-honoured tradition. For many smaller NOCs, however, the financial and logistical demands that such camps require make them largely unachievable. Until recently, that is.

Olympic Solidarity offered pre-games training camp subsidy in its 2017–2020 plan under the IOC Subsidy for NOCs participation in the Olympic Games programme. The main objective is to prepare Olympians to be at their peak physically at the Games. But no less important is helping them acclimate to the host country, bond with other athletes and the local communities, and create a positive, lasting legacy for the Games.

Designed to support athletes from smaller NOCs, ONOC and Panam Sports pool the Pre-Games Training Camp subsidies provided by the Olympic Solidarity and organised multi-sport pre-games training camps in France ahead of Paris 2024.

Two camps held in France ahead of Paris 2024 accomplished all of this and more. The Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) hosted its pre-Games training in Divonne-les-Bains, while Panam Sports selected Mulhouse as its base. Both towns are located about 500 km southeast of Paris.

“We come from very small islands, so the athletes and officials found the transition in Divonne, because it’s a quaint town, very easy,” said ONOC Executive Director Inoke Bainimarama. “It was like a home away from home for us.”

ONOC worked with Olympic Solidarity to make the entire process as easy and cost-effective as possible for its NOCs. By centralising the funding arrangements, ONOC took ownership of all payments in addition to the coordination of logistics such as accommodation, transport and catering.

“It saved us valuable time and resources, especially since we can only send a small team to the Olympic Games,” said Melei Melei, Secretary General of the Tuvalu Association of Sport and National Olympic Committee. “I believe centralising services like this is essential for Oceania, given our unique geography and scale.”

In total, 39 athletes from eight sports, 28 coaches and 17 other personnel from 11 Pacific Island NOCs registered to participate in the Divonne camp.

Panam Sports welcomed an even larger delegation to Mulhouse and its surroundings – the largest ever, in fact. Some 211 participants from 31 NOCs took part, including 114 athletes from 15 sports and 74 coaches.

The Panam camp opened on 14 July, two weeks ahead of the Opening Ceremony, giving all the athletes plenty of time to get over jet lag and get into some serious Games’ preparation.

When they arrived, the athletes found everything they would also require at the Games themselves: world-class infrastructure and facilities, equipment, accommodation, food, and more. It was, as Panam Sports Sport Director Andrea Carvajal put it, like organising a small version of the Olympic Games immediately before the actual Games.

“The athletes and NOCs were so happy because they didn’t have to worry about anything,” said Carvajal. “I spoke with the coach of an Olympic medallist from weightlifting, and he told me, ‘You need to keep doing this because for us it’s very important to focus on the athletes, their training and all their needs, instead of looking for accommodation, checking to see if the food is good, if they have protein, etc.’ It was very important to them to have somebody to take care of all that instead of doing it by themselves.”

Mulhouse and Divonne both organised numerous cultural and social events that provided ample opportunities for the athletes and public to interact. At the same time, the Continental Associations ensured that a number of training sessions were open to schoolchildren and the general public to encourage cross-cultural exchange and to promote Olympism and the Olympic values.

“I am really grateful,” Panamanian gymnast Karla Navas said after a meet-and-greet with 70 local schoolchildren during the camp. “It’s one more experience sport can give us, that Panam Sports gives us, and I’m thankful to all the kids. They see us as role models and dream of one day being like us. It has been an amazing experience that helps us as athletes.”

As the Olympians from both continents departed their respective training camps to compete at Paris 2024, it was clear that the unifying power of sport had once again worked its magic: the athletes would all be taking a little piece of their adopted French communities with them, while the positive impact they left behind would likely be felt for years to come.