There was the Canadian Grand Prix, there will be the National Bank Open and there is the Smash Festival, the host of the Elite 16 tournament of the Beach Pro Tour. The Biosphere will shine like a gigantic volleyball, as the eyes of the world will be riveted on this tournament featuring the international elite of a sport gradually converting countless faithful.
Almost all of them will be there. Both in men and in women. Olympic medalists, world champions and overall leaders will arrive at Parc Jean-Drapeau. Starting Wednesday, everyone will be battling to take top honors in the sixth Elite 16 tournament of the season, the most prestigious tournament category after the Worlds.
Preparations are well underway, and Île Sainte-Hélène will be transformed into a place of worship for fans of sunglasses and winning smashes.
This tournament represents a golden opportunity to highlight a sport already popular in Canada, but in lack of recognition, believes Marie-Andrée Lessard, ambassador of the event.
“On a developmental scale, it’s an unprecedented week for young people who will be able to watch this and see the best level at the international level playing in our backyard”, explains the former player and Olympian at the London Games in 2012 during a Zoom meeting.
For her, the objective behind holding such an event is to “give visibility to this sport”, because “then it will be small, for sure”.
Not far from the second stop on the yellow line, there will be the leaders in the general classification, Duda Santos Lisboa and Ana Patricia Ramos for the women, Anders Mol and Christian Sorum for the men.
“There are Olympic medalists in qualifying. From day one, it will be a super high caliber. There is no better level in the world. It’s an Olympic qualifier, so the athletes are going to want to go for points to rank,” continued Lessard.
In other words, the players present in Montreal will also be in Paris, at the Olympic Games, next summer.
It is essential for Lessard, in her role as ambassador, to make it clear to amateurs and neophytes alike how much the arrival of the Beach Pro Tour in Quebec represents an immense privilege. Especially since “it’s been a long time since we had one at home”.
Moreover, Lessard, now a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee as senior director of the Games for Team Canada, did not have an arm twisted to act as a representative of the tournament in the media.
Although sand, unlike snow, does not necessarily run through the veins of Canadians, Canadian players have proudly represented the maple leaf over the past few years across the four corners of the volleyball planet.
They will be three duos at the Smash Festival to be able to play under the Canadian banner.
The best hopes for success, however, lie in the play of the duo of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson.
Already two-time medalists this season, the Canadians were brought together only at the start of the season with the aim of reaching the podium at the Paris Olympics in a year.
Despite this, they are already establishing themselves as one of the most threatening pairs.
“It’s an opportunity for people to learn about beach volleyball, but especially Melissa and Brandie,” Lessard points out.
According to her, the expectations for them are enormous: “You can expect nothing less than a podium, if not victory. […] And it’s not even an additional pressure for them, because they know it. »
Beyond giving hope to all young players that it is possible to reach this caliber and this quality of play, Lessard prefers to talk about their ability to offer a good example of healthy success.
“Both are exceptional athletes. But in addition, what I find really beautiful is that we always say in sport that you have to be aggressive, that it hurts, that you have to be mean and aggressive, but they show us that it is possible to have fun, to have a good relationship. »
Sarah Pavan and Molly McBain for the women and Sam Schachter and Daniel Dearing for the men will be the other Canadian teams.
Amidst the temporary stands and the smell of sunscreen dissipated in the ambient air, there will be beauty at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
A certainty on which it is easy to rely, because bringing together the cream of the crop ends most of the time in a successful recipe.
