The year 2022 promises to be important, without yet being decisive, for the French municipalities and territories candidates to be Games Preparation Centers (CPJ) for teams and delegations before Paris 2024. The organizing committee (COJO) has created a catalog of 560 training sites. It is proposed to the national Olympic committees.

In a good place, the Maremne Adour Côte-Sud Community of Communes (MACS), located in the heart of Landes, on the Atlantic Coast. FrancsJeux asked its president, Pierre Froustey (photo below).

 FrancsJeux : What is, in detail, your CPJ offer?

Pierre Froustey : Our offer is spread over two municipalities, Capbreton and Soustons. It concerns a fairly diverse set of sports, indoor and outdoor, individual and team: handball, rugby sevens and skateboarding in Capbreton, judo, rowing, rugby sevens and handball in Soustons. In all cases, the designated equipment meets international standards. The natural rowing water body of Soustons, for example, regularly hosts training courses for the French and German teams. It was recently equipped with a new arrival tower. The French women's handball team, Olympic champions, regularly travels to Capbreton.

What are the advantages of these facilities and the cities concerned?

Before talking about assets, I believe it is important to explain that this candidacy as CPJ for the Paris 2024 Games did not come out of the hat to take advantage of the opportunity of the Paris 2024 Games. It is the the result of an approach built for almost twenty years and sport has been part of the DNA of our territory for even longer. As far as our assets are concerned, I would first of all say the unity of place. The Capbreton and Soustons sites offer a direct link between sports equipment, catering, recovery areas and accommodation. We then have a natural environment conducive to relaxation, calm and well-being, particularly appreciated by athletes and adapted to the search for performance. The combination of these two characteristics allows delegations not to have to choose between one of them. We can offer them everything they want. It should also be noted that communities have regularly invested in equipment to maintain a high level of quality. Finally, beyond the CPJ, our territory also benefits from a high-level complementary offer with a RUGBY Center and the presence of the European Sports Rehabilitation Center in Capbreton regularly mobilized to welcome delegations.

How do you plan to support the reception of foreign delegations before the Paris 2024 Games?
 
The ambition is first of all to facilitate the stay of delegations and to put everything in place to help them achieve their objectives, in particular by providing them with a privileged contact to identify all their needs. We are then used to welcoming national and international teams, decorating the territory to mark their presence, with posters for example. We are planning meetings with young people and schools, if the delegations wish. The population of the region is very passionate about sport. The foreign teams will not be like patches, they will be welcomed and will feel at home.

What impact and legacy could welcoming foreign delegations have, beyond the Games, for your community of municipalities?

I repeat, this candidacy is not a one-off move, but an approach built over time. We want to strengthen the territory's international visibility, but also develop sports practice. This is a major issue for the CPJ. But we also want to go further, through collaborations in the fields of tourism, research and education. An example: we have established a partnership with Serbia. It is not directly linked to sport, but we could add a variation on handball. The surfing industry has brought a large Australian community now settled year-round in the Landes. This presence illustrates our tradition of integrating other cultures. With CPJ, we can go even further. Finally, the candidacy to be CPJ for Paris 2024 is also focused on the Paralympics. It must further strengthen access to sport for people with disabilities.

What types of delegations do you hope to receive?
 
The targets are multiple. Northern Europe, like Norway, whose women's handball team came to prepare with us before the last Olympic Games. The Balkan region, including Serbia, with which we have established a partnership. Oceania, to which we are culturally close through surfing and rugby. South America which will have a significant time difference to absorb. The territory's candidacy as a site for the surfing events of the Paris 2024 Games brought us closer to Japan via the University of Tsukuba. We don't forbid ourselves anything. Our project also includes a solidarity dimension, in line with an operation that was recently initiated with the Ivory Coast rugby team and a local club.