My name is Évelyne, I am 14 years old and I do competitive gymnastics in sports studies. I have been practicing this sport since I was very young and I have suffered a lot from the health rules concerning COVID-19.
During the first confinement, I adapted well to the instructions. I did several virtual training sessions that my club’s coaches organized to keep us in shape, and when possible, there were outside training sessions and sometimes even private lessons. When the regular summer training started again in the summer of 2020, I was really happy. I was finally going to be able to start practicing my passion again despite the fact that there was no competition yet.
When the 2020-2021 school year started again, I entered secondary 1 in sport-studies. It was the first year I trained five days a week. Shortly after, sports were once again canceled but as I was in sports studies, I had the chance to continue to train almost normally in “bubble-class” groups. At first, I was happy that there was no competition. I thought it was more stressful than anything else after everything we had been through with the pandemic. About once a month, my gymnastics club organized competition simulations only for sports-study athletes. The goal was to be ready when the competitions started again. For me, it was enough pressure like that, I didn’t want to go back to normal life right away. I was therefore satisfied with my year without competition; I was able to improve and enjoy my sport in a different way.
At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, when I learned that the competitions were fast approaching, I was very stressed about having a first competition in two years, especially since I was coming back from a injury.
It was time to resume all of my movements and master them for the competition. Finally, my competition, which took place in November 2021, went very well. I had very good results. It was the first time that I had an almost assured place for the provincial final which normally takes place at the end of the competitive season. In addition, thanks to this competition, I developed my self-confidence and I managed to manage my stress like never before. I was, surprisingly, looking forward to the next competition! A few weeks later, my coaches informed me that I was registered to qualify for the Quebec Games even though I did not have all the requirements for this level. I was excited to have a new challenge!
New interruption
Unfortunately, just under a month ago, all sports competitions were suspended by the government, with no distinction between team sports and individual sports. I was very disappointed. I had just started to have a more assiduous training routine and to find more pleasure in playing my sport. I am especially disappointed that we are penalized in large part because of team sports like hockey because, let’s face it, the cases are mainly from hockey, and have been since the start of the pandemic. I witnessed this in my sports-study class since when there was a case it was often a hockey player who tested positive for COVID-19 and other sports were rarely affected.
This is what prompted me to write this letter today. Why cancel competitions for all sports when team sports are the main problem?
During my competition in November, the sanitary rules were very well respected. Each club was isolated from the others throughout the competition. On the very large competition area, we were a total of 20 gymnasts, around 10 coaches, 2 judges per apparatus and a few volunteers. They cleaned the devices between each rotation and everyone wore their masks. We gymnasts too would wear our masks and only take them off when we were about to do our routine. There were also very few spectators and the stands were large enough that each family was away from the others.
In short, I felt very safe and I was not afraid of catching COVID-19. There was not even a medal presentation to avoid a rally at the end of the competition! Even though I was disappointed not to have my first podium for a long time, I find it a good compromise to allow us to have a competition.
All this to say that I find it unfair that individual sports are treated the same as team sports when it is more team sports that are more at risk of having an outbreak. I am talking about my sport, but I am sure other individual sports experience the same reality.
I would like individual sports to have the chance to continue their season, to be allowed to compete, to surpass ourselves individually, to develop our self-confidence, to have a goal to reach and a little more pressure! Several things that I realized was missing in my sport without the competitions.