While schools are to reopen on January 17, the future of indoor sport and leisure activities remains uncertain. Organizations have already canceled the winter session, while others have suspended or postponed it for a few weeks. Parents remain hopeful that the shutdown will be short-lived, unlike last year.
Posted on January 7Catherine Handfield La PresseTill Jolly, 8, has been playing on a hockey team for three years. He found his family with joy last fall, when sports activities were able to resume after almost a year off.
His sister Liv, 14, takes high-level circus lessons for 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, when the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly.
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 overseeing Till's and Liv's businesses — are waiting to see how things turn out.
On December 30, the Quebec government suspended the practice of indoor group activities for an indefinite period. Only those practiced alone, in a dyad or in a family bubble can take place. Outdoor group activities are still permitted.
When will this suspension end? At the Ministry of Education, which oversees sports and recreation, it is indicated that “a decision will be made before January 17” and that “Public Health continues to follow the evolution of the pandemic”.
At Sports Québec, an association that represents 65 sports federations and 17 regional leisure and sports units, we confirm that most organizations have had to cancel or postpone the session that was to start after the holidays. Several are in the process of developing a range of solitary, dyad or family bubble activities.
They are trying to find ways for people to still enjoy the infrastructure. The pandemic is bigger than sport right now.
Isabelle Ducharme, General Manager of Sports Quebec
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 do a hybrid between private lessons and virtual lessons, indicates Katerine Dussault, high-level technical director at Club Gymnix, who is uncomfortable returning to the charge with lessons on Zoom, aware that it does not respond. to the needs of children.
Katerine Dussault sees this as a temporary measure. At this point, the winter recreational session is not yet compromised. "We have [good hope] 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.
Liv and Till's mother, Annelise Jolly, hopes the suspension of indoor activities won't drag on forever. Lib too. "It gives me a purpose," says Liv. Last year, she had to take her circus lessons virtually, without much motivation. If history repeats itself, Annelise fears that her previously very active daughter will drop out of the sport.
“Teenagers are fine, under their duvets. If there are no more sports activities, they will become couch potatoes,” Annelise laughs, although you can hear sadness in her voice. "If it ends like this, it's a shame," she said. Liv wanted to make the circus her profession. »
Bérénice Lajeunesse, 9, was supposed to resume her taekwondo lessons this week and start rock 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 is very difficult, sport is not just a way of socializing for her. It's a way to be successful.
Annie Giroux, mother of Bérénice Lajeunesse, 9 years old
The future of Bérénice’s two activities remains unresolved. “An outbreak in a course is not ideal, agrees Annie Giroux. But to have seen the impact of absence from school and activities on my daughter, it may be selfish, but I would like to see classes resume. »
Isabelle Ducharme, of Sports Québec, believes that the strength of people in recreation and sports is 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.
Despite her concerns, 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 do other activities, such as skiing. “It will allow us to get out of Montreal more on weekends,” she concludes.
