Sports Quebec celebrated their 50th birthday last nighte Anniversary of the first Quebec Games finals, held in Rivière-du-Loup in 1971, and as Bob Dylan sang: The world and times are changing.
• Also read: The Quebec Games: 50 years of crazy stories
• Also read: Opening Ceremony: Spectacular debut for the Quebec Games in Rivière-du-Loup
First of all, the disciplines are no longer the same. In 1971, track and field, baseball and soccer all had – and still have – their place at the Summer Games. However, other disciplines such as lacrosse and field hockey were dropped.
Back then, not all registered athletes were between 12 and 17 years old. In tennis, the organizers had set up a category “45 years and older”.
There were also events for adults in the areas of shooting, water skiing, cycling… and pétanque competitions.
emergency hearse
Ambulances were in short supply back then. In order to present the Quebec Games in complete safety, the organizers had to rack their brains to find a solution as only two emergency vehicles were available in the region.
With more than 3,200 athletes, several competition venues and thousands of spectators and supporters, this number was not enough.
The Gaming Committee therefore turned to the funeral directors, who agreed to lend four hearses. Yes, the injured athletes were transported in a hearse! The six cars in operation were busy, drove 362 hours and covered 1165 km.
Photo courtesy of the Rivière-du-Loup Historical Society
In extreme emergencies, a helicopter from the Sûreté du Québec was on site.
A helicopter from the Sûreté du Québec was also permanently on site for extreme emergencies.
At the inaugural Quebec Games, the challenge of communicating and compiling the results was significant and even seemed insurmountable.
The organizers equipped themselves with several typewriters and needed a surveillance TV, radio and telephones to ensure communication. Even the Canadian Army was brought in for the remote locations.
Photo provided by Renée Giard
Gregor Jelonek and Guylaine Dumont with their daughter Cloé at the 2019 Quebec Games.
More than the Stanley Cup
The 1971 Quebec Games benefited from national media coverage that might seem disproportionate today.
When asked, author Gilles Dubé goes so far as to say that coverage of the Stanley Cup in the 1960s was practically a no brainer compared to the 1971 games.
“It’s not complicated, the journalists who wrote about the Olympic Games and major sporting events, Richard Garneau and Co., they were in Rivière-du-Loup,” says the man.
More than 150 journalists from the written and spoken press are accredited. All major national radio and television stations were represented, as well as all of the province’s daily newspapers.
The Journal de Québec had some journalists and photographers on site. Every morning, street vendors would pass by the competition venues to distribute copies of the journal.
Did you know?
A large grocery store
The 1971 Quebec Games had a budget of $220,000 compared to $8.5 million in 2023. Back then, between 30,000 and 35,000 meals were served to athletes. According to projections by chef Roméo Bouchard, the participants would have devoured a total of 110,500 slices of bread, 454 kg of butter, 182 kg of minced meat, 2360 kg of vegetables and 3 tons of potatoes.
And that doesn’t count the other foods! To quench their thirst, the young athletes would have drunk 740 liters of milk, 400 liters of chocolate milk, 4,000 pints of orange juice (because it used to be pints) and more than 1,400 liters of grape juice. Spending on sports nutrition was over $40,000, which would be over $350,000 today.
Source: Laura Martin (Quebec Games)
Unforgettable memories for a mother
Photo provided by Guylaine Dumont
Gregor Jelonek and Guylaine Dumont with their daughter Cloé at the 2019 Quebec Games.
Guylaine Dumont, considered Canada’s greatest volleyball player of all time, was lucky enough to compete in the Quebec Games as an athlete, but her greatest moments were as a mother.
Married to Gregor Jelonek – the coach of skater Laurent Dubreuil – the one who set the country on fire at the Athens 2004 Olympics is another athlete who has no hesitation in promoting amateur sport. She was also an ambassador for the 2019 Quebec Games.
Photo archive, Agency QMI
Gabrielle Jelonek was on the podium at the 2013 Quebec Games in Saguenay.
The couple’s children have a very impressive track record in the provincial finals. Gabrielle competed in soccer at Shawinigan in 2012 and short track speed skating at Ville Saguenay in 2013 and Drummondville in 2015.
For her part, Cloé was a soccer player at Thetford Mines in 2018 and a short track speed skater in Quebec in 2019. In 2021 she unfortunately had to miss her third participation in Rivière-du-Loup due to the pandemic.
“Following our youngsters is not the same feeling as an athlete competing. As parents, we travel a lot, she says, calling herself an elderly mother. I had the family baby when I was 39,” she adds with a laugh.
Photo provided by Guylaine Dumont
Cloé won two medals in long distance speed skating at the Canada Games last month.
Today Gabrielle is part of the Canada team and Cloé has just won two medals at the Canada Games with Team Quebec. Like their father, the two opted for the long haul.
An unexpected medal
In 1981, Guylaine Dumont competed in athletics at the Quebec Games in Hull. She had just started at the club and had very few chances against youngsters who had been training for a number of years.
“That was the first competition I experienced. Leaving home for the sport – and I was very shy on top of that – was something big,” says the one who already had a very good impulse for the long jump.
When she thought about going home without a medal, a colleague who was scheduled to start in the 4 x 100m relay got injured.
“Just before the last race I was shown how to pass the baton and we ended up winning a medal. I was so focused on not missing the witness rendition that the rest was almost secondary,” she recalls.
Years later she meets one of her teammates in this 4 x 100m relay. By chance, she saw Simone Lemieux – wife of skater Benoit Lamarche – and since then the two mothers have followed their children’s exploits.
“It’s still incredible when I think back to all of that. We were in the same car going to a reception for former Olympians at Gaétan Boucher’s and as she spoke she said to me, “You’re the girl who replaced our injured runner.” »
Start over for the games
As she reflects on her career and her children’s athletic achievements, she admits that a competition like the Quebec Games goes far beyond medals.
She says her daughter Cloé stopped skating at a certain point and she decided to resume training, especially to go to the Quebec Games.
“His motivation was taking part in the Quebec Games. It was the spark that gave her the desire to start over, and today she still does and loves the sport,” concludes the member of the Panthéon des Sports du Québec.