Inaugurated this Friday, June 28, 2024 on the occasion of the passage of the Olympic Flame relay, the Great Sports Loop of Saint-Dizier allows you to practice a multitude of sports with free access, in public spaces.
Colorful athletics lanes for sprinting, a pump track for sliding on a bike, scooter or skateboard on the asphalt, or even an obstacle course to put yourself in the shoes of a soldier… These are some of the sports facilities made available to the public in the Deauville park in Saint-Dizier. Inaugurated this Friday, June 28, 2024 on the occasion of the passage of the Torch Relay in Haute-Marne, this so-called “active design” field is the largest in France according to the municipality which has chosen to name this site “Grande boucle sportive”.
In total, this represents an 8 km course with the possibility of eventually practicing 34 different sports, all for free. Although all of the equipment will not be delivered until 2026, we can already enjoy several “spots” along this giant sports field designed in the shape of a “loop around the water”, i.e. say along the Marne river and the canal between Champagne and Burgundy which also crosses the city.
An obstacle course designed in collaboration with the military from the Saint-Dizier air base.
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© City of Saint-Dizier
Several elements have already been installed, such as the pump track, the obstacle course or the timed race track equipped with an educational radar to know your speed. Also available now, connected lockers with provision of sports and leisure equipment: football, table tennis, volleyball, pétanque, Mölkky… Wooden pontoons for fishing as well as stairs providing access to the Marne (for authorized but unsupervised swimming) are also being set up.
A wooden staircase has been built to facilitate access to the Marne.
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© City of Saint-Dizier
An innovative approach that Saint-Dizier launched in 2022 by being selected by the Organizing Committee of the Paris Olympic Games and the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion as a pilot city for active design. “Since then, we have wanted to become an open-air laboratory which would concentrate innovations in active design and open-access sport, directly in public space, explains Mayor Quentin Brière. The Great Sports Loop embodies our commitment in this area, giving our residents the opportunity to exercise outdoors, close to home.”
The Great Sports Loop reconnects the heart of the city to the water
Quentin Brière, mayor of Saint-Dizier
The mayor of Saint-Dizier even speaks of an urban transformation project. “By unfolding along the canal and the Marne, the Great Loop sports physically, mentally and emotionally reconnects the heart of the city to water. It gives back a place to public space, by allowing the practice of walking, running, fishing, or playing – quite simply. She invites our residents to take advantage of the natural and heritage assets of our city, present throughout the loop.”
At the same time, as part of this policy of integrating sport into public space, the city of Saint-Dizier is developing the courtyards of its schools to install active design equipment, such as climbing walls for example. Also a way to promote healthy sport among young people, and to follow the “30 minutes of sport a day” program. 3 schoolyards have already been transformed in 2023, and a total of 18 will be transformed by 2026.
Active design arrangements have already been implemented in certain schools in Saint-Dizier.
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© City of Saint-Dizier
This Friday, the Bragarde city will be celebrating with the passing of the Olympic Flame, expected from 6:20 p.m. at the conclusion of a day spent traveling through the communes of Haute-Marne. To celebrate this event, residents, local sports associations and soldiers from BA113 will come to discover and test the equipment on the loop. Two champions have also been announced: double Olympic taekwondo medalist Pascal Gentil and multiple flat BMX world champion Matthias Dandois.
