Almost every day, Nicolas Constantin-Bicari gets on his Vespa and crisscrosses Montreal to be able to continue practicing his sport.
Accustomed to the professional environment of the Institut national du sport du Québec (INS Québec), closed since the end of March due to a fire, the veteran of the Canadian water polo team is making the best of a bad situation while waiting for a reopening that will not happen before next year.
First stop: Cégep du Vieux Montréal, where the men’s team trains in a fairly long pool, but too narrow to demarcate a regulation playing area. After drying off, he then heads north to the Claude-Robillard sports complex for a weight training session with his young teammates, most of whom will have traveled by metro. His day usually ends in his neighbourhood of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, in the temporary premises of INS Québec near the Pie-IX metro station, for treatments or medical appointments necessary for a 33-year-old athlete who has been pushing the machine for more than half his life.
Constantin-Bicari is far from complaining. After all, as assistant coach of the junior team, with which he trains, he must set an example. He is rather grateful to be able to touch the water thanks to the welcome of the Cégep du Vieux Montréal.
“At least we can train,” he noted earlier this week. “Under the circumstances, the coaching staff has still put together a nice schedule so we can focus on our goals, including qualifying for the world championships at the end of November.” [en Colombie]. »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
A fire on March 21 caused the sudden closure of the Institut national du sport du Québec, the sports center and the rental offices of the Olympic Stadium mast (Montreal Tower).
Discouraging and disconcerting
Like their female colleagues, who had to increase the number of training locations in preparation for their participation in the Paris Olympic Games, Canadian polo players adapted after the fire of March 21 which caused the sudden closure of INS Québec, the sports centre and the rental offices of the Olympic Stadium mast (Montreal Tower).
They initially believed that the move would only last a few weeks, before learning that the renovation and decontamination work would instead take four to six months.
A return at the beginning of October, at the latest, was therefore expected by the men’s group at the start of a “gigantic” season, according to Constantin-Bicari.
But on Friday, September 13, the Olympic Park discreetly published a hard-hitting “update”: given the scale of the “colossal” task, it could not confirm a reopening before the beginning of 2025.
“It’s disappointing, disconcerting, but we’re functioning,” said Water Polo Canada’s high performance director Olivier Pineau. “For now, we’re doing the best we can.”
PHOTO TAKEN FROM WATER POLO CANADA WEBSITE
Water Polo Canada High Performance Director Olivier Pineau
Even though rumors were flying, the news came as a shock to the twenty or so players who train in Montreal. “When we heard that, we were like, ‘Whoa!'” admitted Constantin-Bicari. “But we know it’s a transition and we’ll go back.”
“Commando spirit”
Beyond the hours lost in transport, the man who had a great career of 10 seasons in Europe especially misses the environment of INS Québec, where the male troupe settled permanently in 2018 after two decades in Calgary.
“At the INS, we have everything in the same place: lockers, hot and cold baths, swimming pool, medical clinic, gym. We also have all the specialists around us. There is also a community side, more professional at the INS. That’s what I miss the most. For the rest, we have adopted a commando spirit, we create a small family, we move forward, we motivate each other. It only requires commitment.”
Officials continue their search for pools with “not too stupid” time slots, according to the high performance director. The one-year closure of the Claude-Robillard sports complex pool only complicates the search.
“People are super cooperative and sensitive, they try to help us as best they can, but they already have programming in place,” described Olivier Pineau. “We inherit what is available. These are not optimal time slots, especially not when you are trying to make a training plan with very specific and calculated recovery times.”
Coaches are therefore adjusting accordingly. After an unsuccessful attempt, they abandoned morning sessions the day after the 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. practices at the Vieux Montréal Cégep. “We tried it, but it’s not possible,” said Constantin-Bicari.
At least, like other resident sports, Water Polo Canada avoided the worst financially.
“All of this is disappointing, but the INS has been a useful partner in working with the Quebec government so that many of our expenses related to being relocated are absorbed or reimbursed,” Olivier Pineau emphasized.
Women spared
After a grueling few months leading up to the Olympics, the women’s team has been spared this fall; the program was already scheduled not to be centralized for next year. Its participation in the Pan American Championships in Ibagué, Colombia, from November 20 to 25, is still in question, but the high-performance director would not explain why. Qualified at the last minute for Paris after South Africa withdrew, the team led by David Paradelo won its first group match against China before suffering six consecutive losses to finish in eighth place.