8-year-old Till Jolly has been playing for the hockey team for three years. He happily reunited with his family last fall, when sporting activities were able to resume after almost a year of hiatus.
Her 14-year-old sister Liv takes high-level circus lessons 13 hours a week. Like her little brother (and tens and tens of thousands of children in Quebec), she does not yet know if she will be able to resume her activities this winter, while the Omicron variant is spreading in a dazzling manner.
Organizations have already made the decision to cancel the winter session, such as the Regina Assumpta Cultural and Sports Center in Montreal. Several others have postponed it to the end of January or even to March. Still others – like those who oversee Till and Liv’s business – are waiting to see how the situation unfolds.
For an indefinite period …
On December 30, the Quebec government suspended indoors group activities for an indefinite period. Only those practiced alone, in a dyad or in a family bubble can take place. Group activities outside remain permitted.
When will this suspension end? At the Ministry of Education, which oversees sports and recreation, it is indicated that “a decision will be taken before January 17” and that “Public Health continues to monitor the evolution of the pandemic”.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, PRESS ARCHIVES
Isabelle Ducharme, Executive Director of Sports Québec
At Sports Quebec, an association that represents 65 sports federations and 17 regional leisure and sports units, it is confirmed that most organizations have had to cancel or postpone the session that was to begin after the holiday season. Many are in the process of developing an offer of activities alone, as a pair or as a family bubble.
They are trying to find ways so that people can still benefit from the infrastructure. The pandemic is bigger than sport now.
Isabelle Ducharme, Executive Director of Sports Québec
At Gymnix, the gymnastics club at the Center Claude-Robillard in Montreal, we are preparing an offer of private lessons for next week. “We are going to create a hybrid between private lessons and virtual lessons,” indicates Katerine Dussault, high-level technical director at Club Gymnix, who is uncomfortable coming back to the load with lessons on Zoom, aware that it does not meet the needs of children.
Katerine Dussault sees it as a temporary measure. At this point, the recreational winter session is not yet compromised. ” We have [bon espoir] that the government will be able to put in place measures so that we can return to at least a minimum of physical activity, ”she said.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Till, 8, and Liv, 14, surrounded by their parents, Arthur and Annelise Jolly
Disappointment and hope
Liv and Till’s mother, Annelise Jolly, hopes the suspension from indoor activities doesn’t last forever. Liv too. “It gives me a purpose,” Liv confides. Last year, she had to follow her circus lessons in virtual, without much motivation. If history repeats itself, Annelise fears that her daughter – previously very active – will drop out of sports.
“The teenagers are fine, under their covers. If there are no more sports activities, they will become couch potatoes, ”Annelise laughs, although there is a sadness in her voice. “If it ends like this, it’s a shame,” she said. Liv wanted to make the circus her profession. ”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANNIE GIROUX
Bérénice Lajeunesse climbs a climbing wall.
Bérénice Lajeunesse, 9, was due to resume her taekwondo lessons this week and start climbing lessons. In the eyes of her mother, Annie Giroux, sport plays a major role in the life of Bérénice, who has learning disabilities.
Like at school, it’s very difficult, sport is not just a way of socializing for her. It’s one way to have success.
Annie Giroux, mother of Bérénice Lajeunesse, 9 years old
The future of Bérénice’s two activities remains in limbo. “An outbreak in a class is not ideal, agrees Annie Giroux. But seeing the impact of not going to school and activities on my daughter, it might be selfish, but I would like classes to resume. ”
Isabelle Ducharme, of Sports Québec, believes that the strength of people in recreation and sports lies in adaptation. “If we can resume in two weeks, we will find a way to restart activities. If we can resume in three months, we will find a way to do it, ”she assures us.
Despite her worries, Annelise Jolly, Till and Liv’s mother, tries to see things on the bright side. If the children’s lessons are canceled, the family will engage in other activities, such as skiing. “It will allow us to get out of Montreal more on the weekend,” she concludes.