SUDBURY – Since the end of last season, Sudbury hockey fans have been entitled to announcements in French every Friday during Wolves games. While the first bilingual game of this season will be presented this Friday evening at the community arena, ONFR went to see what it’s like behind the scenes of these matches with a touch of French.
Like every Friday evening since September 27, Robert MacMillan crosses the arena to reach the cabin where the technicians and other artisans of Wolves matches operate.
The crowd is present in large numbers for this sold-out match between the young Sudbury residents of the junior league of the Ontario Hockey League and their opponents from the Windsor Spitfires. From the start of the game, Robert MacMillan knows that he must be alert and places himself, standing, behind the regular announcer whose shadow he will be.
“It’s stressful, but it’s good stress,” confides the man who has a long career as a journalist at - behind him.
“From the moment a goal or penalty is scored, you have to wait for the phone call from the officials who confirm the goal information and, after that, read the notes from the English-speaking announcer and translate immediately after him. »
Contacted last year by the Association canadienne-française du Grand Sudbury (ACFO), Mr. MacMillan came out of retirement and never stopped holding the microphone every Friday evening.
“I thought it was a one shot deal but it continues. That they thought of that is very honorable because we know that there are still a lot of Francophones in Sudbury,” he says.
This is the case of the Bazinet family, a few meters further down in the stands, who attentively follow the action on the ice.
“We were very surprised. We wondered if we heard French well,” says Natacha Bazinet, looking at her husband who nods.
A nice surprise for parents, accompanied by their young children, for whom it is Wolves’ first match: “We are happy to hear French, it’s a nice surprise.”
An exception in Ontario
If, originally, it was a suggestion from the ACFO with a very first match in 2019, the recent perpetuation of this format was the initiative of the Wolves.
“We did a few tests, it worked well, people love these matches,” says Paul Hamilton, between two screens in the technical booth.
“We are the only team that offers a French component outside of Ottawa”
— Paul Hamilton
The marketing director of Sudbury Wolves Entertainment says his team is the only one in Northern Ontario to include the language of Molière in game control. “It’s very unique for the Ontario Hockey League, we are the only team that offers a French component outside of Ottawa. »
Other efforts included translating the team roster information page.
Joanne Gervais, general director of the ACFO of Greater Sudbury, recognizes that the gesture behind this initiative is cause for celebration, but would like the organization to go even further by making all matches bilingual and hiring more francophones.
This Friday’s match will be devoted to the theme of Francophonie with displays and activities in French offered by the Conseils de Nouvelon and du Grand Nord, the presence of 500 French-speaking schoolchildren and announcements mostly in French during the match.
Beyond hockey
Ms Gervais also hopes that this project will extend to the other team belonging to the Wolves group, the Fives from Sudbury. A first bilingual match for this professional basketball team took place last January at the community arena.
“We will work with them for bilingual games on the other side, hoping that we will have the same level of improvement with basketball,” she believes.
On the Wolves side, we say we hear the requests from the ACFO of Greater Sudbury: “We want to include more and more French components in our games and events every evening. »
Mr. Hamilton, who is also in charge of the technical management, has no doubt that this partnership will go further: “This year will be a big difference compared to last year and I hope that every year we will be more and more appreciated by the French-speaking community. »
