The young people of the Freestyle Ski Club Mont-Sainte-Anne cannot use their mountain at the moment and can at least live their season thanks to a great history of collaboration with the Club du Massif.
The fall of the gondola at the beginning of the season, which led to the closure of Mont-Sainte-Anne, obviously had an impact on the young people practicing their sport at the Beaupré resort.
If there is a time in sport for competition, there is also a time for mutual help. Noticing the impasse, Le Massif freestyle ski club approached Mont-Sainte-Anne freestyle ski club to offer its facilities.
Since December 27th, around fifty athletes from U8 to U16 have joined the 32 freestyle skiers of the Charlevoix mountain.
Photo courtesy of Sarah Fallu, Le Massif Freestyle Ski Club
“When young athletes are left without a mountain, we have to help each other. Sport is a lifestyle, you can’t stop everything overnight. So it was natural to help,” said Sarah Tremblay, President of the Freestyle Ski Club Le Massif.
Working for a lead
The collaboration quickly extended to the parents. Only one mogul slope no longer met the demand and everyone contributed to building another one.
It usually takes almost a day to set up such a route. Around 70 parents from both clubs rolled up their sleeves: a second line of pimples was added in two hours.
“We work together to develop athletes and sport. We’re not talking about a mountain-to-mountain competition here. We adjusted the training schedules and asked for the two groups of parents to work together to make it workable,” explained Ms Tremblay.
In her opinion, in this excitement, the young people showed themselves understanding and open.
“They rub the shoulders of the competition course. They know there is no club safe from a closing mountain. During this time we hold hands. That’s sport,” concluded Sarah Tremblay.
Grateful parents
For their part, the parents of the Mont-Sainte-Anne Freestyle Ski Club wanted to express their gratitude.
“We are very grateful that Club Le Massif welcomed us and shared their track. The best thing is the cooperation of the parents in all of this,” says board member Marie-Julie Couturier.
At the moment nobody knows when Mont-Sainte-Anne will be able to reopen its doors. Le Massif freestyle ski club says it is ready to welcome young MSA students for the season if needed.