The youngsters are lined up, impatient to make their entrance at the official ceremony of the Quebec Games Finals. They nervously and enthusiastically anticipate the moment when they will proudly march in front of the cameras, but above all in front of a conquered audience, made up of people who have come to applaud them wildly and who congratulate them on the pride that participation in the Jeux du Québec so aptly instills. For the vast majority of the athletes in the procession, without even knowing it, this will be a unique moment that will rarely be equalled in their sporting careers.
By Laurier Thériault
A very small number will experience more than one Quebec Games Final as an athlete. Fortunately, some will later return to the Games to play a completely different role as volunteers, officials, coaches, missionaries or even journalists! These supporting players are essential to the Quebec Games film, but they will never have forgotten their time as an athlete, of course.
The Quebec Games are unique in that, for a few days, they allow us to experience the excitement and magic of a major multisport event on a province-wide scale. For a few days, we abandon our usual uniforms and don the colors of our home region. Rallying cries, theme songs and promotional items add to the decor of a very special sporting event. While this is a sporting event, it is first and foremost a great gathering of young people. Of course, people take their performance on the playground very seriously, and want to go beyond their limits and do their best. But this time, the presence of athletes from other sports defending the same regional colors amplifies the excitement. While focusing on the primary reason for their presence at the Games, the athletes don't hesitate to go and cheer on their delegation's athletes from other sports. Regional pride is a lasting sign of presence at these Games, and the rallying cries remain engraved for a long time.
In the parade of athletes, there are also those who, in a few years' time, will be making their debut on a bigger stage... the Canada Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Pan-Am Games or, who knows, maybe the Olympic Games. For many of the Canadian athletes from Quebec, the dream will have been greatly nourished by those moments spent at the Quebec Games a few years ago. And they say so with a certain pride. While these Games help to forge strong bonds within our sporting community, they also serve as catalysts for nurturing the dream of sporting excellence. When the Quebec athletes who have made it to the top of their sport enter Paris, the whole community will have reason to be proud of having contributed at one time or another, each and every one in his or her own way, to the unique moments of the sporting events that paved the way for this major sporting event.
Over the past few days in Sherbrooke, Olympic dreams have been born, but we won't really know until a few years from now. In the meantime, congratulations to all the athletes, but also to the countless people who contribute, each in their own way, to this great sporting moment that is the Quebec Games. Of course, if the possibility of dreaming is true for the athletes, it's also true for some of the volunteers, officials and managers. So the dream of the highest levels is not exclusive to athletes! Thank you and bravo Sherbrooke! See you soon in Paris, Los Angeles, Cortina, ...
