OLYMPIC GAMES/European Congress: One of the commonly held assumptions about the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been that when its Olympic wave comes splashing into town, even the smallest backwater will feel the ripples.

Ireland's proximity to London for the 2012 Olympic Games has been seen as an ideal opportunity to capitalise on the Olympic phenomenon, which has come to this part of the world only twice, the last time in 1948.

However, unless Ireland can significantly enhance sports' infrastructures over the next four years, the country will miss out to other European nations in one of the great Olympic spin-offs - pre-Olympic training camps.

As the heads of the European IOC descend on Dublin today and tomorrow for their European Congress, it might have been an opportunity to lobby.

But offering Santry for athletics or Fitzwilliam (the London Games will stage the tennis on grass at Wimbledon) for prospective tennis medallists would be seen as no more than a darkly humorous gesture.

"There is a great interest in pre-Olympic camps," says the secretary general of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) and Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) president, Pat Hickey.

"I've been asked about bringing teams here by many, many countries.

"But they (camps) will never happen in Ireland unless we get something like Abbotstown (the sports facilities, not the national stadium) up and running. If they go ahead with that it would lead to opportunities. Otherwise countries would be selective about coming here.

"They might send an equestrian team or something like that but the rest of the teams would go somewhere else where they had the proper facilities.

"My Dutch and French counterparts, if they came over now, would say thanks very much Pat but good luck. The London Games are a very big plus for us if we get it right."

As secretary general of the EOC, a body which represents all of the European nations of the IOC, Hickey and Ireland have strong purchase in the corridors of the association.

This weekend 400 delegates from 57 countries will converge on the Four Seasons Hotel in Dublin for congress elections as Ireland host the biggest jamboree of the year. As global sports politics go, this is a heavy crew and while we may begrudge them bivouacking in five-start luxury, under the outward calm and the protocol legs are kicking furiously.

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, will open the event this morning in the presence of Jaques Rogge, president of the IOC, Mario Pescante, president of the EOC as well as luminary individuals such as Prince Albert of Monaco, who will receive an Order of Merit award, and Sebastian Coe.

The former Olympic champion will present the first update to delegates since London won the bid in Singapore earlier this year.

Presentations by the Chinese Olympic Games Organising Committee on progress in Beijing will also be heard.

From the delegates' perspective, the elections are the main reason many are in Dublin. Hickey's place is secure as his position is not being contested leaving 22 people to run for 12 EOC positions.

Italy's Pescante, who is also the Under Secretary of State for Sport in his country, is also eyeing up the IOC vice-presidential job, which will be voted for in February in Turin and for him this is a chance to further lobby the 27 European delegates, who are also voting IOC members.

"Of the five continents, the European is the strongest and has the biggest majority of IOC members. It is an extremely influential body," says Hickey.

As they say - let the Games begin.