This is the rendezvous of the month of January for schoolchildren, sports enthusiasts or in search of discoveries. Olympic and Paralympic Week, also known as SOP, will take place January 24-29 at many schools.
In 2022, 700,000 students should be made aware. The ambition in schools is to talk about sport, Olympism, Paralympism and to get the new generation moving. Because it all starts with one observation: confinement has led to a 25% decrease in the physical abilities of children. In 40 years, young people have lost a quarter of their cardiovascular capacities.
The challenge is great. Especially this year, the students will have a very nice godfather to frame this week, with astronaut Thomas Pesquet. A very good example to talk about sport, him who restricted himself to 2h30 of sport per day in orbit. ISS Commander challenges school children: move 30 minutes every day and as he puts it:
“These are small steps for children, but a giant leap for their health.”
Thomas Pésquet
On the Generation 2024 site, every 30 minutes moved by students will be counted. The goal is to make the equivalent of two round trips to the Moon.
Sport and the environment are deeply linked. The city, the forest, the sea, the mountains remain the first playgrounds for sportsmen. In this sense, 80% of the projects of the SOP integrate the theme of the environment.
Projects on the zero waste approach, or on the reduction of pollution, thanks to active mobility have emerged in schools. The students will also talk about the importance of water and its preservation, or will discover workshops to better understand and preserve their environment, thanks to the French Hiking Federation.
A kit “Do it yourself” is also proposed by Paris 2024 to raise young people’s awareness of reuse and recycling. This kit, made up of 12 workshop sheets, will give you the opportunity to build table tennis rackets, jump ropes or even hoops and slalom poles.
The “Adopt a tree” project, supported by Plaine Commune, will also be a great opportunity to link ecology and the Olympics. 8,000 trees will be planted in the Olympic and Paralympic Village. For this SOP 2022, 9 classes in the territory of Plaine Commune will be able to adopt one of these trees and lead an educational journey around the life cycle of the tree. History of really leaving its mark on these Olympic Games.