La Camaradière high school is not really represented at running events like the cross country of “ Commission scolaire de la Capitale” because of poor student participation at the school running club.

Year after year, the number of La Camaradière students that participate in the cross country of our board of education is really disappointing. The other schools are well represented by the many students who run for them. It is not the same thing for us since only 10 students represent our school in the open air run race.

The teenagers from different educational institutions are divided into six categories, depending on their school cycle and gender. Cross country is an individual but also a team sport. The ranks of the runners represent points for their team. The total of points per team is calculated and the goal is to keep it as low as possible.

Every school at the run of our board of education has a chance to win a banner in every category. To win one, a team must have a minimum of five runners registered in that classification. If La Camaradière is disadvantaged, it is because only a runner or two are registered in each of the classifications. This is why we are considered as the forgotten school.

The schools that participate the most are generally Jean-de-Brébeuf and Cardinal-Roy. These big groups of 12 to 20 runners per classification are also the ones with the lowest scores with the point calculation system.

“When they ask you from which school you are and you say La Camaradière, people don’t even know what this is and are surprised”, said a runner who won the second place of the Benjamin category two years ago.

The low number of students who run with the school running club is one of the reasons why we are always in minority at running events. Generally, between eight and twelve students run with this group, making us one of the smallest team.

The training is during lunchtime which doesn’t help to get runners in the club: the students are generally lazy and want to get their free time at this time of the day. The poor motivation of the students is another cause. Some people say they will run with the club but they end up not doing it.

” Even if it occurs on school days, students are not interested. I can see it with my friends when I ask them if they want to run with the club” said a team member.

The coach, Jean Brouillet, who is also a physical education teacher in secondary 4 and 5, puts all his energy to find new people to run. He focuses on the word of mouth to recruit runners. 

If you are interested in running with us, contact Jean Brouillet during lunchtime. After all, the voice inside your head that says you can’t do this is a liar.

Written by: Vickie Collin