Problems in Boxing Canada: Ariane Fortin also coaches Daniel Trépanier

Joining Italy, where she looks at the final details of South Korea’s women’s team’s preparations for the World Championships (Istanbul May 6 to 22), Fortin brings the grist to the mill of recremptions directed in place by Daniel Trépanier .

Fortin, who also wears the hat of the president of the Quebec Boxing Federation, did not want to put his personal story to the fore. He was especially keen to highlight the shortcomings of one who holds the fate of the national elite in his hands.

He pointed out from the beginning that this process was carried out following many unsuccessful attempts by boxers, the most recent being built in October. This latest attempt has resulted, after an internal investigation, in full dismissal for the Director of High Performance.

Complaints have also been filed with the Sport Dispute Resolution Center of Canada (SDRCC), but individuals have been told they are outside the Boxing Canada policy register. Fortin explained.

Most of these are complaints denouncing situations that have persisted for years, such as injustice, non-compliance with the selection process or the process of hiring coaches, the abusive speech of some coaches to athletes. These situations persisted for several years.

” This is not the first time these things have been named and nothing has happened. Even Boxing Canada’s response to our open letter was ridiculous. Are you kidding me!? They don’t seem to understand what creates a toxic culture to remove or change it. Daniel (Trépanier) has been at work since 2008 and doing what he loves. “

Among the measures announced by Boxing Canada, there is such a separation of responsibilities between the high performance director and the coaching function.

However, according to Ariane Fortin, Daniel Trépanier continues to operate at the National Sports Institute (INS) in Olympic Park spaces rather than Boxing Canada’s headquarters, on René-Lévesque Boulevard, in Montreal.

The president of the federation, Ryan Savage would then choose to support Trépanier who used the cause of the difficulties associated with teleworking to sweep away the suggestion coming directly from the athletes.

” For me, it’s not a problem in itself that the high performance director also coaches. Daniel was the problem. “

Money, always money

For Fortin, another source of management problems is directly related to the funding offered by Own the Podium.

According to him, Trépanier assumes the power to distribute the amounts provided by this support program for select athletes as it sees fit. It was in this way that a year before the Olympic Games, Fortin would lose important financial support in favor of Mary Spencer, who was fighting in the same weight category as her.

Similarly, in the fall of 2015, Fortin and Mandy Bujold had to pay for their living expenses and the coach they hired for a competition in Germany.

At the time, we were six Own the Podium funded athletes, including me and Mandy. So in theory there is money for us. But Daniel wanted nothing to do with paying for our trip there.

It’s always like that. At the time, I was with Kim Clavel and her sister. We paid ridiculous rent (very low) to steal money. I had already decided that I needed to act like that [pour espérer se rendre à ces tournois servant de préparation olympique, NDLR].

The affected sequence

Ariane Fortin is also against the options of Daniel Trépanier who, according to her, deprives the country of a series capable of achieving success on the international scene. The same goes for athletes and coaches.

Proof of this is that there has been no Level 4 course offered in Canada for over 5 years. Danielle Bouchard, she has been waiting for her Level 4 for 7 years. To tell you, it is no longer called Level 4. There is always a module she has to do, but there is time to move on he explained.

He added that Boxing Canada is disputing its view on having a pilot project of which it is a part.

For this famous Level 3. It seems like two years. This is called Competition and Development. It consists of four online sessions (on the internet). But he (Daniel Trépanier), has continued to postpone it weekly, for at least a year and with 24 hours notice. We ended up having sessions, but then there were delays for (practical) work and this has been going on for two years.

Because the level 3 standard is still in effect in Boxing Canada, Trépanier takes the opportunity to choose his coaches and thus maintain control over operations.

” From his office, Daniel sees everything and controls everything. He watches over the assistants he himself has put in, who will report to him everything and who will do exactly what he wants because they owe him for this work. “

Case with shovels

Regarding the culturally toxic allegations within Boxing Canada, Fortin said he has thousands of situations in mind and each of the signatories has a solid basis to complain.

I thought about that again. I listened to old podcasts again and I realized how toxic it was. I was really affected. And in this open letter, I have reached a quota where I tell myself who I am off. I have drive and energy, and it still gets to me. It takes me because I know my teammates are still going through it.

As for the message sent by this clash, which has become very public, to young people seeking an international amateur career and an Olympic dream, Ariane is unsure.

It does not send a good message. But the path to international teams has not been clear for many years. Previously, you won at the national level and that was enough to go further. It is right to exempt a boxer from Canadian championships so as not to ruin his preparation in the worlds. But to protect an athlete for an entire Olympic cycle, and this has already happened, is not good for other boxers in his category, or for the boxer’s confidence and his own development.

” Another problem is the huge amount of money (Owning the Podium) for the elite and the cream of the crop, with nothing left for development. Fortunately, we have professional boxing to allow some to live their dreams. “

In the absence of clear outlets at the amateur level, this leads to an isolation on the part of young people.

For me, it falls into the category of total vision loss. The national team program is completely down. We haven’t performed at three Olympic Games, but not because we don’t have good results on the outside, especially with women. We have four world champions in Canada, but that is despite the system implemented and not because of it.

According to him, it’s because he got huge funding from Own the Podium-we’re talking about $ 600,000-so Boxing Canada keeps Daniel Trépanier in place. He is also very close to Chris Clark, a member of the board of directors of Own the Podium.he insisted.

Even in Italy, as he coaches the South Koreans, Fortin said he had echoes of fallout from the open letter from Canadian boxers. For your information, Korea will have representatives in each of the 10 weight categories at the World Championships, while Canada sent only four, including Tammara Thibeault.

Fortin also knew he was selected for his skills, however he became the subject of a recommendation from Boxing Canada to which the South Korean federation turned to inquire about his teaching qualities.

This is also why he thought twice instead of once about whether he would testify to what was happening in Boxing Canada.

Does he believe this is the right time to force change in Boxing Canada’s high -performance leadership?

No. First, I was really disappointed with Ryan Savage’s answer that came out so quickly. This is not a mea culpa, but a message to say that things have changed over the past few months.

I have the impression that we have exhausted all the resources. It’s not fun to appear in the media like that. We don’t like that! But I think it needs to be done for Canadian and Quebec athletes. I was disappointed with the response and I think they don’t have the tools. I think they have no will. I don’t think the president of Boxing Canada knew what he got into when he took over as president.

” I hope I’m wrong. I don’t want to say that I am disillusioned or pessimistic, but this is a whole system that needs to change. Daniel (Trépanier) is a big piece. Of course he had to leave for it to work, but there was another step after, that’s for sure. “

Fortin concluded by affirming that we would need to put competent people in place to give ourselves freedom at all levels.

There are competent people who are proficient in boxing on board. It will take more. They are visible a little game. It takes people with enough boxing knowledge to understand that even if we lose Own the Podium, it doesn’t matter. Right now, even with 600,000 piastre, we have nowhere to go …