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During the fifth century B.C., poets such as Pindar and Bacchylides wrote numerous works known as “epinicion,” celebrating victorious athletes and singing their happiness. For anyone interested in social practices, these poems are rich in clues for specific forms of sociability linked with the grooming of participants in such competitions. The physical training of athletes required the services of the finest trainers. Also, travel offered opportunities to make and cultivate special connections with the citizens who hosted the competitors in their city for the duration of the games. These various types of “agonistic sociability” are examined here based on the experience of young Aeginetan athletes.