Return of the Tournoi pee-wee de Québec: behind the scenes of a small miracle


When we made the decision in January to postpone until May, we knew it would be difficult. But it’s 100 times worse than you might have thought in terms of logistics, organization, everything. says Patrick Dom, sitting in a living room at the Videotron Center.

A few days before the first game of the tournament, his cell phone keeps ringing. The general manager does not hide it. Until recently, despite the announcements, he still had doubts that the competition would take place. We’ve been so discouraged at times, but you can’t imagine the excitement of knowing, really, it’s coming.

He poses in front of a tournament logo

The General Manager of the Quebec International Peewee Hockey Tournament, Patrick Dom

Photo: Radio-Canada / Guillaume Piedboeuf

Everything is now tied up to hold a tournament which, in the public eye, will be 90% a real pee-wee tournament. One hundred and thirty teams from 13 countries, a Videotron Center at full capacity and festivities on the sidelines of the competition.

Behind the scenes, Dom and his team have prepared plans from scratch, but they still expect the unexpected. The unexpected is the story of the past two years.

A sacrificed year

When the COVID-19 pandemic put the whole world on hold in the winter of 2020, Patrick Dom felt pretty lucky. The 61st Pee-Wee Tournament had just ended. We had a year ahead of us. You would have told me at that time that 798 days were going to pass between the last match of the tournament and the first of the 62nd edition, I would have bet my house that it would not be the caselaunches the DG.

But the more the months progressed, the clearer it became that the pandemic was going to stretch out. Hence the decision taken in September 2020 to cancel the tournament for the first time in its history, last year. A decision that was not taken lightly. Patrick Dom is still regularly talked about by the parents of young hockey players born in 2008 who missed their only opportunity to step onto the ice at the Videotron Centre.

The first year, we said to ourselves that we were going to take the opportunity to do some work, to implement projects for the future of the tournament., says the DG. With a team to pay and no income in 2021, he turned to government financial aid. As soon as we knocked on the door of the Capitale-Nationale express network, they were there. We had at least that financial burden less.

An offer from New York

But last fall, the organization again found itself in a dead end. Between the travel restrictions, the vaccine passport and the ban on large gatherings, moving forward with the tournament seemed the impossible. The most prudent, financially and logistically, would have been to cancel again.

The minute we were able to get our heads out of the water a bit, it wasn’t even a two-by-four, it was a sledgehammer that came crashing down on us. But two years without a tournament would have been catastrophic. For me and for the gang, it was unthinkable. I think we would have ended up somewhere else. »

A quote from Patrick Dom
Press conference by Patrick Dom

Patrick Dom during the press conference preceding the 61st edition of the Pee-wee Tournament, in 2020.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean-Philippe Martin

Patrick Dom, who has devoted the past 32 years to organizing the pee-wee tournament, does not say this lightly. For the first time in his life, he considered moving on or even moving the tournament. In September, acquaintances from Albany in New York State offered to hire him and his entire team to organize the competition south of the border.

It was almost inconceivable to think of moving the tournament, but we had to consider all the options because you never know. The Oilers traded Gretzky, the best hockey player in the world. If Gretzky was traded, anything could happen. »

A quote from Patrick Dom

The puzzle of the last few months

Nevertheless, the pee-wee tournament is inseparable from Quebec, quickly agreed Patrick Dom. We couldn’t take it anywhere else. It would never have the cachet. It would never have tradition. Quebec, in terms of size, hospitality, it’s the most beautiful city in the world to do that.

The organization therefore opted for patience. Then when a new wave of COVID-19 hit the province over the holidays, Dom looked to the last option to save the tournament. A postponement of the competition in May. Since then, the DG has often questioned the decision.

Surrounded by his comrades, a young boy shouts with joy while raising a banner on which one can read

The young people will finally6 celebrate again on the ice of the Videotron Center in the coming weeks.

Photo: Quebec International Peewee Hockey Tournament

It’s been public health, COVID testing, airports. The day we held the press conference a month ago, a club canceled its presence in the afternoon. We had already printed all our things. We had to redo everything. Just the calendar, I don’t know how we have factual versions. I don’t know how we managed. It’s a miracle, but we did it.

And now, as of Sunday, the best pee-wee hockey players in the world will be back on the ice in Quebec. Teams from all over the world have written to Patrick Dom to thank the organization

After 32 years, I still find the enthusiasm for this tournament excessive. For me, it’s a long love story and, for the people of Quebec, I think it’s even more so. This tournament belongs to them. You have 10,000 people in the Videotron Center. There are 9950 who do not know the names of the players. They are there to see a show. You can’t find that anywhere else in the world.



Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca

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