Ski jumping could quickly revive in the Outaouais
Ski jumping could soon revive in the Outaouais. Former athlete, trainer and analyst Jean Séguin has been working for months to bring his favorite sport back to the region. He could move to Camp Fortune, Chelsea.
A recent meeting with ski center executives and Ski Jumping Canada’s High Performance Director Nikolai Petrov went well and athletes could be trained as quickly as next fall.
They gave us some territory [on the slalom track] where there had already been ski jumping. Everything has been demolished, but the track could easily be upgraded. There is almost nothing left to do for the 20m because there has been some work recently. The work would be minimal, a little filling and we are equipped for that
, says Jean Séguin, who specifies that we have also proposed to develop the bottom of the Marshall track.
According to the former skier, the proposed location is the best given the orientation of the track.
The sun comes late to this place. The preparation of the springboards is done every day so it is better to work the snow and it keeps better. This site was well chosen more than a hundred years ago so we will reuse the place
, adds Séguin.
The 55-year-old will travel to Camp Fortune with a surveyor and another former athlete, Pavol Skvaridlo, over the next few weeks.
We will arrive with a report for the owners and the NCCNational Capital Commission so that everyone is happy and that it is a win, win, win situation.A quote from:Jean Séguin, former athlete and ski jumping trainer
A return to the heyday of ski jumping
The project to bring back ski jumping to the Outaouais stems from the desire of the International Ski Federation to repopulate this sport in Canada. There are few jumping sites in Canada.
Jean Séguin would have liked to develop an urban track, near Lac-des-Fées, but he will live very well with the option of Camp Fortune, where he managed a club, l’Envol, until 1994.
I coached the club for about 15 years. I was the founder of the club. It was a shame to see it dying out
, Séguin says. 
The former ski jumping athlete, Jean Séguin, during an event in the 80s
For him, the region represents great potential for developing the skiers of tomorrow.
I don’t want us to get carried away right away with big 90m and 120m jumps. It’s really to start at the base, create a ski jumping program that will help the next generation one day
, underlines the one who was. reservist at the Sarajevo Games and who wants to avoid falling too quickly into elite sport.
We focused too much on the elite and the Olympics. I want to create a base to keep ski jumping. The next generation will come when the young people show us that they can go higher. When the time comes, we will build bigger centers
, concludes Séguin, feverishly, facing the possibility of seeing his sport revive next fall.
