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Sport Aide
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For everyoneTake action! Stand up against bullying in sports 
8 December 2019

“Everything that happens in the locker room stays in the locker room” Fortunately, not anymore!

Perpetuated in the world of sport for many years, this well-known expression has fortunately come under fire in recent days. The recent events involving professional coaches (e.g. Mike Babcock and Bill Peeters among others) have revealed that what happens on the field or in the locker room should no longer be limited to a team’s internal management and remain a jealously guarded secret. This code of silence in sports locker rooms warrants reflection so that we question this practice and ask ourselves who actually benefits from this unwritten rule. The recent revelations lead us to ask why a sport locker room should be like a lawyer’s or doctor’s office, where everything that is said necessarily becomes confidential. If we stop…
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Sport Aide
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Patrice Bernier en compagnie de son père
For everyone
23 August 2019

Patrice Bernier – A born leader!

Patrice with his father During a recent trip to Quebec City to meet college-level athletes, Patrice Bernier took the opportunity to stop at the Sport’Aide offices to share his journey with us, the obstacles he encountered and the message that he gives to young people as an Ambassador of Good Sportsmanship. Believe in your dreams without omitting reality Even though Patrice began practicing sports at age 4, it wasn’t until age 14 that he really began to believe in the potential he had to become an elite athlete and possibly live his passion one day. without however knowing in which sport his dream would come true. Patrice is a great example of an athlete who developed practicing multiple sports, since in…
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Sport Aide
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For everyoneTake action! Stand up against bullying in sports 
19 August 2019

Internet generation, mental health and physical activity

In conjunction with our “Take action! Counter Bullying in Sports” program launched last May, we are currently working on cyberbullying. During our fact-finding consultations, we lingered over the book iGen by Jean M. Twenge professor of psychology at San Diego University. After reading the book, we felt the need to provide you with a short summary, considering that in certain chapters the book discusses the link between well-being, screen time and physical activity. The heart of the argument is based on the democratization of the smartphone and its impacts on the generation following the millennials. In fact, if we go back a few years in the Unites States, we can still see differences based on ethnic origins and social classes in Internet…
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Sport Aide
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For everyone
21 June 2019

Mind our referees

Last October, a report by Société Radio-Canada (SRC) noted that there was a shortage of referees in minor hockey. This report is corroborated by figures from Hockey Québec-Chaudières-Appalaches, which show that the number of federated referees for minor hockey has decreased from 800 to approximately 550 in five years. Based on our experience with several sports organizations, other sports are also experiencing a similar problem. But what’s behind this shortage of referees? In the SRC report, François Talbot, who is the regional referee-in-chief for Hockey Québec-Chaudière-Appalaches states that “Each year, about 100 to 125 officials join the group, but for various reasons, we lose 150 to 175.” This means that people are still willing to get involved in hockey as…
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Sport Aide
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For everyoneTake action! Stand up against bullying in sports 
21 June 2019

Countering bullying: a positive approach

Our most recent blog discussed the importance of a global approach to counter bullying in sports. However, we must not rely on this approach alone, since the approach must be positive as well. This means that we cannot just limit ourselves to interventions of a coercive nature the way zero-tolerance programs do. In this respect, Beaulieu (2011) shows how these programs, founded on an inflexible punitive policy that uses severe sanctions for any type of inadequate behaviour, even minor, have seriously failed in their disciplinary targets. If you would like to learn more about this theme, read the article by Beaulieu (2011) in our mediagraphy section. That said, we do not opt for the “leave it alone” approach, which would…
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Sport Aide
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For everyoneTake action! Stand up against bullying in sports 
21 June 2019

Excellence in sports

Today, we are going to move slightly away from the topic of bullying in sport to talk about excellence. When I was studying to obtain my Bachelor of Physical Education at Université Laval, an extraordinary lecturer, Benoît Tremblay, asked: “What excellence are we talking about in the Rouge et Or’s famous Conquête de l’excellence(Quest for Excellence)?” At first glance, this question appears obvious: It’s excellence in sports. However, he pointed out to us that sport is an engine of development which goes far beyond achieving excellence in sports alone. Moreover, the new terminology for coach-educators adopted by several sports is in keeping with this idea. We would also emphasize the spilling over of the coach’s skills to the sphere of the person’s…
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Sport Aide
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For everyoneTake action! Stand up against bullying in sports 
21 June 2019

Counter bullying in sports with Sport’Aide: a systematic approach

As part of our forthcoming launch of our new program Take action! Stand up against bullying in sports , we are offering you a series of texts on the theme of bullying. __ You will recall that in our most recent blog, we discussed strength and resilience by presenting to you our spokesperson Cindy Ouellet. That was our first blog on an approach to face bullying. This week, we are going to consider this matter further by questioning what we can do to end bullying. Even before answering this question, we must first point out that bullying can be stopped. Some people will say that, since “man is a wolf to man”, violence is part of our nature and therefore…
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Sport Aide
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For everyoneTake action! Stand up against bullying in sports 
20 June 2019

Cindy Ouellet: a lesson in strength

As part of our forthcoming launch – this May 16 – of our new program Take action! Stand up against bullying in sports , we are offering you a series of texts on the theme of bullying. __ Our last blog covered the consequences that bullying leads to. However, it is wrong to believe that all victims will live with psychological scars throughout their life or develop a mental health problem as a result of this negative experience (Ttofi & al., 2011). Let’s say that certain persons are scarred by bullying, but in a completely different way. Who is Cindy Ouellet? Cindy is a well-guarded treasure in Québec. We had the chance to meet with her and hear her story at a conference organized by…
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Sport Aide
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For everyoneTake action! Stand up against bullying in sports 
20 June 2019

Understanding bullying: repetition (Part 1)

As part of our forthcoming launch – this May 16 – of our new program Take action! Stand up against bullying in sports , we are offering you a series of texts on the theme of bullying. __ Definition Over the years, bullying has become a catchphrase often used indiscriminately to speak about violence between young people. Bullying is then confused with conflict, teasing or insults. Yet, there are huge differences between these behaviours. In fact, bullying consists in aggression between peers which: 1) is repeated 2) has lasted for a certain period of time 3) involves a person who has power over another person 4) leads to distress or fear in people who don’t know how to defend themselves. (Boissonneault & al., 2018, p.6)…
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Sport Aide
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For everyoneTake action! Stand up against bullying in sports 
20 June 2019

Understanding bullying (Part 2)

As part of our forthcoming launch – this May 16 – of our new program Take action! Stand up against bullying in sports , we are offering you a series of texts on the theme of bullying. __ The first text taught us that bullying is the fact of living repetitive micro violence. However, when we talk about micro violence, the following question must be asked: Considering that it involves a less intense form of violence (insult or threat), do the victims really suffer and does it have lasting effects? Victims As mentioned in the previous text, repetition is the important element in bullying. You could say that it’s the equivalent of water torture and that this technique causes damage. Psychological and…
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