Retired from teaching for almost three years, Gilles LeBlanc has returned to service around the badminton courts. The Septilien has just had an enriching experience as a referee at the School Olympic Games – Gymnasiades, in Bahrain, in the Middle East.
It has already been 20 years since Gilles LeBlanc was called to officiate internationally.
The retired physical education teacher and head of the badminton concentration at IESI returned to refereeing during the Canadian Junior Badminton Championships last May in Moncton. He was subsequently contacted for the Summer School Olympics. He was the only referee from Canada selected. Moreover, there was only Quebec among the Canadian provinces for multi-sport events (badminton, judo, basketball, swimming, etc.).
This competition has been organized by the International School Sports Federation (ISF) since 1974. The summer edition in Bahrain was the 20e. There was only one winter edition, in 2018.
These Games were attended by athletes aged 13 to 18 from 87 countries.
“I missed that, of refereeing high-caliber badminton, of helping. I want to do more,” he confided last Wednesday, the day of the closing ceremony.
Before his return in May, he had to pass an evaluation. He also watched several videos and went back to reading the rule book.
Gilles LeBlanc was used extensively during the School Olympic Games as a referee and service judge. Several junior world champions were there.
The team and individual competitions were interspersed with a cultural day including a museum visit, “to see how people live here,” he mentioned. “It was too fast a day. »
This experience is among the most beautiful for the Septilien “in terms of the change of scenery, the welcome, and having seen other disciplines. Everything was excellent,” he expressed.
Gilles LeBlanc will return to the referee’s chair for the Canadian University Championships in March, in Quebec, and the Junior and Senior National Championships, in May, in Moncton. He will see about other invitations to referee internationally.
