Raouf Henri Sassine, an extraordinary man, will have lived with the sword, the saber and the foil without dying in such a way.
Although fencing has never been a favorite sport in Quebec, coach Henri Sassine, who died peacefully earlier this month at the age of 83, will have achieved the unusual feat of integrating the discipline into the culture of Chibougamau.
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Originally from Egypt, Sassine was still a young adult at 25 when he arrived in Quebec. He quickly ended up in the north of the province, in Chibougamau, where a job as a sports teacher was waiting for him. Over the years he has introduced several young people to fencing, with nine of his athletes reaching the Olympic Games between 1984 and 2020.
“It really touches all the testimonies we have received since his death,” confided his daughter Sandra Sassine, who herself twice took part in the Olympic Games in Beijing (2008) and in London (2012) with her saber. “He was a fencing master, but he was someone who first and foremost had a love of sport in general, he wanted to get people moving, he cared about the health of others. “We could go on holiday with the family and he would recruit people on the beach playing sports.”
Henri Sassine with his daughter Sandra. “Photo provided by the Sassine family”
In addition to the athletes he produced at the Scaramouche club, including brothers Jean-Paul and Jean-Marie Banos, Mr Sassine will also have left his mark on many students at Vinette Secondary School in Chibougamau. We are also working to honor him there.
“A proud immigrant”
This Saturday, his family, friends and former athletes will celebrate his life at the Église de la Visitation du Sault-au-Récollet in Montreal.
“He was a proud immigrant,” said his daughter Sandra. He was so proud that we represented Canada in fencing on the international stage. He insisted that we go into the competitions with our heads held high. He believed in us athletes and this feeling overwhelmed us. Because of his past in the army, he was sometimes tough, but he pushed us to do our best and he gave that from his side too.
To manage to create a nursery for fencers in Chibougamau, a town that has never far exceeded the limit of 10,000 inhabitants, it certainly took someone very special. In the Montreal area, Mr. Sassine also shaped the existence of the Cœur de Lion fencing club at Regina Assumpta College.