82 athletes from Vaudreuil-Soulanges will represent the region at the 58th Winter Finals of the Jeux du Québec, to be held in Sherbrooke from March 1 to 9.

The opening ceremony of the 58 th Finale des Jeux du Québec - Sherbrooke 2024 will be hosted by Bleu Jeans Bleu, who will be performing at the Palais des sports Léopold-Drolet.

Thousands of athletes, coaches and support staff from the 19 Games delegations will be descending on the Eastern Townships to do battle, and the Sud-Ouest doesn't intend to let them get away with it.

"We think we have a chance in a few disciplines this year. We're the defending champions in wheelchair basketball, and we want to defend that banner. Once again, expectations are high in weightlifting, and we have high hopes," says Antoine Lépine, head of the blue-and-green mission.

The Sud-Ouest delegation is proud to be able to count on many hopefuls in several of the disciplines on the program.

Two blocks of competition

The Games are divided into two distinct blocks. The 1st block runs from March 2 to 5 and features badminton, wheelchair basketball, boxing, gymnastics, men's field hockey, karate, figure skating, ringette and trampoline.

The second block, from March 6 to 9, will feature athletes in men's and women's curling, fencing, weightlifting, women's field hockey, judo, short-track speed skating, diving, cross-country skiing and table tennis. (Underlined sports are those with South-West representatives at the Games). "In judo, we have a large delegation with 14 athletes out of a possible 15. We'll also be well represented in trampoline, a new discipline for our Quebec Games delegation.We'll be keeping an eye on a number of sports," says Chef de Mission Antoine Lépine.

The Chef de Mission for the Sud-Ouest took advantage of the athletes' pre-departure meeting on February 11 in Châteauguay to confirm the identity of the delegation's flag bearer for the opening ceremony at the Palais des sports Léopold-Drolet. He is Theodore Gallant from Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, a 15-year-old wheelchair basketball player.

"He's an athlete with a remarkable work ethic and a good chance of winning a medal.He won gold at the Quebec Games in Rivière-Du-Loup and is making his debut with the Quebec junior team this year," says his coach Collin Lalonde from Saint-Clet, himself a former standard-bearer of the Sud-Ouest delegation.

Inspiration among the troops

This year, young athletes from the Sud-Ouest will have plenty to inspire them, as one of the team's missionaries will be making his thirtieth appearance at the Jeux du Québec. Starting out as a cross-country ski athlete in the 90s, Dominic Brisson has been a chaperone and then a missionary for three decades. The career firefighter remains fit and enthusiastic about working with local athletes, and he'll be proud to cheer on the hopes of the Sud-Ouest once again.

The badminton team will be led by Jasmin Felx, who will be making his 17th appearance at the Games. The former Chef de Mission will be part of the first block with the badminton players, a sport in which he himself is an undisputed champion

.Competing athletes