Handisport: La Relève Recruits Future Paralympic Champions.
As the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games approach, France more than ever needs to recruit athletes who may become future Paralympic champions. To find the talents of tomorrow, it has set up a scouting program called La Relève. Explanations.
What is La Relève?
"The Next Generation" is a talent detection program created in 2019 by CPSF, the French Paralympic and Sports Committee. The program aims to open up the Paralympic sport to a wider audience. Its objective is to identify individuals aged 16 to 35 who have potential in one or more Paralympic sports and who have not yet joined the competition circuit.
This initiative is aimed at men and women aged 16 and over who are motivated by competition and who are looking for a Paralympic sport that suits their profile (whether they are already athletes or not).
Why such a program?
The road that leads a person with disabilities to sports practice is often tortuous, even fraught with obstacles. Many people who have potential abandon this project along the way because it is difficult to find the right information, the right club, and the right equipment. However, doing handicapped sports and perhaps integrating into sports competitions constitutes an exciting challenge that promotes resilience.
The La Relève program aims, of course, to find talents to strengthen the 2024 generation. Since 2004, France has not been in the top 10 countries for the number of medals won at the Paralympic Summer Games.
As the next edition of the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Paris, the CPSF is looking for competitors to represent France at this event, which is also the world's largest parasport event!
But beyond the prospect of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, this program is based on the idea that sports practice is a unique opportunity for anyone with disabilities. Even for those who do not integrate high-level competition, the program is a good way to find specialized clubs in handicapped sports around them. Sports are beneficial for the health and autonomy of disabled people, for their morale, and their well-being.
What does this program consist of?
The La Relève program aims to evaluate the physical abilities of participants and their capacity to perform in various Paralympic sports... with the possibility of one day representing France at the Paralympic Games!
The program takes place over one day. For just over 2 hours, each participant undergoes a dozen targeted tests, in the presence of federations, to evaluate speed, balance, strength, flexibility, and endurance.
At the end of these tests, each participant receives an individual evaluation of their profile and advice to guide them towards a discipline based on their place of residence, physical abilities, and desires.
During the program, participants can also interact with Paralympic athletes and representatives from relevant federations. For some, this will be the beginning of their journey towards competitive high-level sports practice.
How to participate?
If you are interested, you can register online through the official website of La Relève (link below).
After registration, a video conference exchange is organized and you are invited to a testing day.
However, please note that physical performance alone is not enough to hope to become a Paralympic champion one day! Like all high-level athletes, it is also necessary to commit to long-term rigorous practice.
