JAAA signs MOU with German city for pre-Olympic camp

THE JAMAICA Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the German city of Stuttgart, to host a training camp ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Jamaican athletes selected to compete at the Olympics later this year will travel to Germany to take part in a final training camp to complete the country’s preparations for the games.

German ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Jan Hendrik van Thiel, described the agreement as a mutually beneficial deal for both the JAAA and Germany. He said this agreement was born out of the positive relationships between both countries.

According to van Thiel, with Jamaica’s talent on the track combined with the German technology and facilities available in Stuttgart, the partnership will bring success for both parties.

“This is one of the prime occasions to show our cooperation with Jamaica,” he said.

“There is a lot of power in Jamaica that is coming through sports, and all of us acknowledge with humility how good you are and how excellent you are. Germany also brings something to the table, as these gentlemen are excellent in different ways.

“They don’t run as fast as you but they can organise stuff, they have the technology, they have science behind. So I think the partnership is bringing together Jamaican talent and Jamaican identity with the German organisation and German technology.”

JAAA treasurer Ludlow Watts said the agreement to have the training camp in Stuttgart came about as the administrative body had difficulties in securing appropriate facilities in France.

He explained that because of various factors, including the cost they would incur by hosting their camp in France, Jamaica was forced to look elsewhere.

In their search, the city of Stuttgart was offered as an ideal location. After inspecting the facilities on hand, as well as the transportation to Paris, it was decided that Germany would be the destination for the JAAA training camp.

“We came together, Stuttgart, Germany and the JAAA, by luck,” he said. “This year being an Olympic year, we sought the way out in terms of getting our camp organised. We flew into France to make some arrangements but we didn’t find the arrangements suitable.

“A friend of ours invited us to come to Germany, so we made a second trip to Germany. We were driven to Stuttgart and we met all these wonderful people. They offered to provide the camp facilities. They had a playfield, they had a track, an indoor track, and they have a gym, an indoor medical facility for medical training, recovery rooms and everything one would ever want,” said Watts.

Watts explained that, with the agreement with the city of Stuttgart in place, the JAAA will be spared a tremendous financial burden as, he said, a training camp of this size would typically run the administration close to US$250,000.

The training camp will run from July 10 to July 21, after which, the athletes will travel to the Olympic Village in France.