Gee-Gee named Canada’s young ambassador for Youth Olympic Games

Élise Desjardins, a student of uOttawa’s Faculty of Health Sciences, will be Team Canada’s young ambassador at the first winter games of the Youth Olympics from January 13 to 22, 2012, in Innsbruck, Austria.

With five years of experience on the Gee-Gees soccer team, three of which she served as captain, Elise matched the job profile well and, not surprisingly, is elated to have been chosen. “It’s an honour to have the chance to work with so many incredible people from around the world,” she says, while hoping that the volunteer experience will help her land the job of her dreams after she completes her master's degree in human kinetics.

Desjardins thinks her experience with both the Gee-Gees soccer squad and her academic research projects (including her field trip to Africa with Professor Norm O’Reilly) played a decisive role in her selection. “I really appreciate the incredible support I’ve received from my thesis supervisor, Eric MacIntosh, and from my faculty, who’ve encouraged me so much in the Olympic experience I’m pursuing,” adds Élise, who’s completing a thesis in sport management at the University.

In addition to guiding and supporting athletes at the Innsbruck games, Élise will be responsible for launching the Olympic culture and education program by organizing a range of activities for Olympians in partnership with the ambassadors of the other participating countries. “The goal of the program is to instill the culture and values of the Olympics among athletes,” she explains. The young competitors will be taking part, for instance, in personal-development and environmental-awareness sessions.

On top of the duties she’ll be performing in Austria, Élise is tasked with promoting the Olympic Games among Canadian youth by designing projects that encourage young people to be more active.

To learn more about the Youth Olympic Games and about Élise’s adventure, visit the website of the Innsbruck 2012 Canadian Olympic Committee. [External site.]

Text and photo: Nadia Gervais
Published: August 2011