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For the three club presidents, their first visit to the Village was eye-opening. “I never imagined that we could reproduce the Landes life in this village, it was a great source of pride to see the realization of this Landes project” says Alexandre Baumont president of Dax Omnisports. After this discovery, the next step seemed obvious to Yannick Garcia, President of Jeanne d'Arc de Dax and former Director of Health Services in Dax: “The VLA has a true village life, with shops and festive events… so why not sports too?”

Taking advantage of the COVID crisis to organize, the three clubs agreed that they should not focus only on one-off events in a Village meant to last. As the President of JAD explains: “Instead of clashing with weekend competitions or weekly training sessions, couldn’t the three clubs, with around 20 sports sections and 52 weeks in a year, create a sustainable program?” It was decided that the club members would come to train one afternoon per week, allowing for a two-hour activity session every two weeks in different areas of the Village (the park, la Bastide, the auditorium, etc.).

Attracting the Villagers’ Attention

However, beyond an organization, the idea of clubs is not to force sports. Their goal is to attract the attention of villagers by offering different activities as health-focused basketball, Nordic walking, or country line dancing, among others. “We need to stay in the Village’s spirit of being in the moment, and the results are always surprising: first, someone observes us, then approaches, and eventually wants to join in. Suddenly, something happens. A villager takes a fencing foil and engages in forty five minutes of high-quality fencing game, with smiles and words of thanks exchanged.” Alexandre Baumont confirms that this approach aligns with the civic and educational values of the Dax sports clubs.

Accustomed to working in nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and other facilities treating various conditions through health-focused sports, club members sometimes had to overcome their own fears about Alzheimer’s disease, which all Village residents share. For Yannick Garcia, sports are just as beneficial here as for the other groups they assist: “Sometimes, their engagement is tied to memories they still have, even though their present memory is heavily impaired. At this point it’s beyond sport: none of us are doctors or caregivers, and we don’t want to be, but the well-being that we bring is important.” A win-win relationship because, in the other direction, the club members, beyond teaching, practicing or performing, realize that sport allows for creating connection with the villagers, especially with children, with whom something special always happens when they interact with the elderly.

See further for adapted sports

This initiative held special significance for Vincent Novo, head of ASPTT. Having had his father in the Village and then becoming the president of the Village's Social Life Council, he was able to assess both the sports activity needs of the Villagers and the benefits for the club in helping others. “During these events, beyond practicing their sport, our members and volunteers meet villagers who impress them with their ability to participate and engage so easily in the activities offered.” The JAD President shares this sentiment and dares to look even further to continue promoting adapted sports: “Coming to the Village also increases our teams' skills in supporting people suffering from pathologies. Based on this experience, why not, alongside our local partners, present proposals to the Ministry of Sports and Health or sports federations on these adaptive sports practices?”