The French Swimming Federation has struck up a partnership with the Japanese city of Kanazawa with an eye on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
The two organizations are coming together to build a new aquatic facility in Kanazawa by 2017. The facility, complete with a 10 lane, 50 meter pool; a diving well; and all the necessary springboards and platforms, will play host to multiple French swim teams from 2017 until the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
The deal was negotiated in mid-April between Kanazawa’s deputy mayor and director of international relations and the French Swimming Federation, along with the French city of Nancy as part of Japan’s “Project 2020” initiative.
Both Great Britain and Australia have formed similar training partnerships with the Japanese Swimming Federation. The programs focus on a young generation of talent that won’t be ready for the Olympics in Rio this summer. The young athletes will have a chance to participate in competition, joint training camps, coach exchange programs, and sports science exchanges between the nations.
These programs aim to expose athletes not just to the training and racing of aspects of international competition, but also to the culture of swimming in different countries.