Former freestyle skier Jean-Luc Brassard strongly lamented the lack of visibility of skiing competitions on Quebec television.
Earlier this month, Canada’s Valérie Grenier won a gold medal in giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. While on Tuesday’s Philippe-Vincent Foisy show on QUB, Brassard said he was sorry that fans back home were unable to witness his triumph as part of a television program with analysis in French.
“In Quebec, there are 1.4 million skiers out of 8 million [de personnes]. So it’s not true that we don’t have an audience. It’s just that we don’t pull the show. It’s very difficult to keep people going during this time,” Canada’s chief of mission at the Rio Olympics said.
“We have never had such a large number of Quebec athletes perform on the international stage. It’s a pride. The more we spread them, the better it gets.”
“We need models. If we hide Celine Dion in a closet, that won’t encourage young Quebecers to sing,” Brassard imagined.