From March 1 to 9, 16 ringette players from Vaudreuil-Soulanges will be taking part in the 58th Jeux du Québec finals, to be held in Sherbrooke in the Eastern Townships. Interview with Marie-Eve Trottier, who will be accompanying the team to this important competition.  

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The players who make up the Ringuette Sud-Ouest JDQ 2024 team are aged between 12 and 15 and are affiliated with the Association de ringuette 4 Cités. They come from Pincourt, Kirkland, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, Saint-Lazare, Saint-Clet and Rigaud.They are: Rafaelle Boisvert, Grace Plimer, Ariane Beaudoin, Lili-Mai Bertrand, Emma Fournier, Noémie Laniel, Gabrielle Chamberland, Coralie Allard, Léa-Rose Laniel, Coralyne Bourassa, Eve St-Onge, Élodie Poirier, Rafaelle Croteau, Marie-Laurence Poulin, Kara Varin and Chloé Tang. 

Although the team is tailor-made for the Quebec Winter Games, many of its members have played together or rubbed shoulders with each other in recent years. The color-bearers of the Ringette Sud-Ouest JDQ 2024 sports organization come from the 4 different teams of 4 Cités. Fundraising activities, practices and preparatory games have helped to create and consolidate links between them.

A memorable first experience 

The coaching staff consists of: Audrey Ménard-Lavergne, Jean-François Croteau, Miguel St-Onge and Marie-Eve Trottier, who acts as manager and accompanist. "This will be a first appearance at the Quebec Winter Games for all the players and coaching staff. For the past few months, the players have been training with the aim of getting as far as possible down the road to the Games.We're aware that it's going to be a tough road to get to the final day, but we'll certainly be doing everything we can to get as far as we can in the competition. We've got a great team spirit, and this is sure to be a memorable experience", she confides. 

What message will the coaching staff be delivering to the players who will be representing the Sud-Ouest region for the very first time at the Quebec Winter Games? "We work hard, we never give up, no regrets and we enjoy every moment!" she shares. 

Local residents interested in following the team's progress will be able to do so, as certain games will be webcast on RDS. For the moment, it's not possible to know which ones.The schedule and results can be found on the Quebec Games page, as well as on the Association de ringuette 4 cités Facebook page at: https://resultats.jeuxduquebec.com. 

One thing is certain: the team will be part of the first block of competitions from March 1 to 4.The opening ceremony will take place on March 1.The first game will pit the local team against La Mauricie on the ice at Bishop's University in Sherbrooke on March 2 at 8:20 a.m.In the afternoon, at the same venue, the Sud-Ouest team will take on the Centre-du-Québec team at 1:30pm. 

The following day, two games are on the program: the first featuring a head-to-head with Montreal at 11:50 a.m., and the second against the Laurentians at 3:50 p.m.Finally, on March 4, games are also scheduled, but will be determined by standings. 

In closing, Ms. Trottier would like to acknowledge the financial participation of a number of partners in the region, whose financial contributions enabled the team to take part in this sporting adventure? "Thank you to Archambault et Morton orthodontistes, the Ville de Notre-Dame-de-l'ile-Perrot, the Ville de Pincourt, the Municipalité de St-Clet, the Club optimiste de St-Lazare, Toitures Poirier et fils, Ligne dynamique 2005 inc, Réal Huot inc. and L'Association de ringuette 4 Cités," she concludes.