Boxing Canada can now “look to the future,” says Yvon Michel.
Posted at 1:08 p.m.
The news fell on Sunday afternoon. Daniel Trépanier, Boxing Canada’s high performance director, has resigned. A shower of testimonies, starting with a letter signed by more than 120 people published last Wednesday, accused him in particular of having created a “toxic climate” in the federation.
Reached by telephone Monday morning, Yvon Michel, who sits on Boxing Canada’s board of directors as general manager, indicated that Daniel Trépanier’s resignation was accepted because we “consider that he took the right decision “.
“Daniel made a decision based on him personally, underlines the promoter. And, I think, in the best interests of Canadian boxing. He realized he was no longer the man for the job. »
“We had important testimonials that came from all over the place, adds Yvon Michel. […] We needed renewal. There’s a lot of excitement around it. »
Daniel Trépanier was accused in particular of issues of harassment, favouritism, sexism, injustice, security and transparency in events that have taken place since 2008. Kim Clavel’s trainer, Danielle Bouchard, even spoke of “a bit of incompetence” in our pages, last Friday.
Also reached Monday, Bouchard speaks of a “form of victory for the sport” and of “sighs of relief”.
“It’s big,” she adds on the phone. It’s really big. When it happened and the news came out, it was hard to believe. »
“It’s a happy moment. A moment when you say to yourself that in the end, all the efforts we’ve made, all the work accomplished during all these years trying to change things […] allow us to hope for a better world in boxing. »
“Discomfort”
Yvon Michel took his place on the Board of Boxing Canada in 2019.
“I had already heard about the discomfort that many people had towards Daniel, in discussions that I had left and right, he concedes. But I would say the whole board really realized from last summer that there was something big going on. »
He refers to the actions taken since by Boxing Canada. A press release from the federation issued on May 4 — in response to the letter — mentioned the creation of an advisory group to “ensure transparency in high performance decisions”. There was also talk of “separating the role of high performance director from coaching responsibilities,” one of the main complaints against Trépanier.
Danielle Bouchard felt that despite everything, “no change had occurred”.
“Even if it did not seem so obvious, we had taken measures to try to correct the situation, defends Yvon Michel. Concrete measures to ensure the protection of athletes and their supervision. »
“But let’s say that with what happened at the end of the week, we went much further. »
“We are ready to roll up our sleeves”
The Press attempted to reach Boxing Canada President Ryan Savage by telephone. His response came by email.
He refers us to the measures announced in the press release published on Sunday, and mentions that the “process to find a new director of high performance in collaboration with [ses] provincial partners” has begun.
“Our priority and attention is dedicated to improving Boxing Canada’s governance model and its transparency,” writes Ryan Savage. We also want to ensure the safety of our athletes and coaches so that they can thrive in a healthy and inclusive environment. »
If research is obviously only in its infancy, there is already a target in Yvon Michel’s lens.
“We have a major challenge,” he notes. Paris 2024 is not that far away. »
“We need to make a major mobilization of Canadian expertise so that we can replace the director of the high performance program in the short term. Having competent, certified coaches who will be able to take over and restore the confidence of the entire national team to obtain the best possible result. »
The promoter believes that Canada “has everything it takes” to help the federation regain its luster.
“We often talk about hiring people from outside to set them up here and lead our team,” he explains. We did it twice, and it didn’t work. Quite often, you end up with someone who arrives with a different culture and perception. »
“We have a group of very talented young coaches who are just asking to be lucky,” summarizes Yvon Michel, who “favors” local and national tracks to relaunch the program.
We ask Danielle Bouchard if she already has names in mind to replace Daniel Trépanier. A priori, explains the trainer, “there was no favorite name that we saw there”.
“When we were in the pendant, we didn’t think about who could take the place. »
But she ended up naming two candidates: Ariane Fortin and Mandy Bujold.
“These are former athletes who take the sport to heart, and who were part of the process [pour faire bouger les choses]. There are others too. »
“One thing is certain: it will take committed people, people who will have the athletes at heart. Which will be the primary objective. »
She also notes the need to have “good communications with the provinces, with the coaches, everyone’s involvement, so that everyone is rowing in the same direction,” adds Danielle Bouchard.
On the side of Yvon Michel, we judge that the departure of Daniel Trépanier, “it is already in the past”.
“We are looking forward,” he says. We have a lot of work to do and we are ready to roll up our sleeves. »