Virtual Reality for Mental Preparation of Divers

The Olympic destiny of the French divers is in the hands of the student and his little camera. During this week of the “test event” at the Saint-Denis Aquatic Center, the future engineer followed in the footsteps of the staff. His roadmap: storing the most accurate images of the site that will host the Olympic events. The location of the diving boards, the arrangement of the stands, the athletes' path on the stairs… Nothing about the organization of the building should be lost on him. Because it is simply a question of recreating, thanks to virtual reality, the conditions of the Olympic Games at home and the atmosphere that we imagine – hopefully – is unique.

France coach Clémence Monnery asked herself last year: “What is the solution for divers to understand what the Games will be like in France? For us, with five (For women) or six (For men) Let's dive in, the moment we are being evaluated lasts less than twelve seconds. If we don't direct the pressure, we won't succeed. A more pressing question because among the Blues, only one athlete experienced this exceptional event, and again, without an audience, because it was in Tokyo: Alexis Gandar, now (very) famous for being inaugurated as president during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Aquatic Center in early April.

Optimize different scenarios

It became necessary to complete the filming work carried out with the team's mental coach, Cécilia Delage, who mainly took care of the technical aspect. Through Robin Pla, scientific director of the swimming federation, contact was made with EFREI, an engineering school located in Villejuif.

“We had to rebuild the pool from every angle to make it look like this. ''As if we were therethe PLA summarizes. During the 2023 World Cup in Berlin, and then last February at the World Cup in Doha, a team of students produced the first set of shots to represent the typical environment of a diving competition. This week’s “test event” is supposed to allow for the refinement of the reconfiguration of the aquatic center and different scenarios.

“The table that shows a good or bad rating, the coach's view, the audience that cheers or that is disappointed…, Faten Shakshouk, the teacher leading the study at EFREI, explains. The technical challenge is not the most difficult because it is our task, we must above all meet the expectations of the coach and the mental coach. The latter particularly asked for emphasis on sound effects – “The way it will echo in the pool” – Knowing that divers rarely work in the Champions League atmosphere.

Jules Poyer, who will form the French 3m pairing with Alexis Jeandar and represent France's best chance of a medal, recalls that he was “shocked” With a thousand people in the stands of the Youth Olympic Games (2018) in Argentina.. “It will be a big gap, Guess when thinking about these home games. Get out of the big silence before you get into too much noise if we succeed…” Taming this environment will be one of the keys to turning the page on every dive, no matter the outcome.

A few weeks ago, Clemence Monnery put on his headset to judge the premiere, even though it was just a rough draft, especially in terms of audio. “It's amazing!”She says she can't wait to test V2, perhaps sometime next week. The stakes are high: “Those who have experience are motivated by the prospect of playing games at home, Cecilia Delage explains. But there are many who have been told: ''You are the generation of 2024'' It's been a constant refrain for years, and some people say to themselves: ''Now I'm there and I better not miss it,'' So you have to take this encouragement to achieve success.

Jules Boyer confirms: “He's taking risks. There are a lot of people out there for us and that can add pressure. If you're not prepared for that, it can be dramatic.» Virtual reality should give a tangible touch to all of this.