For children who excel in sports

Combining school with the many hours required for sports training is not always easy. Luckily, many Québec schools now offer sports-study programs for secondary level students. The main goal is to provide a stimulating, well-supervised school environment that allows young athletes to achieve the best possible balance between their academic and sports objectives.

Good marks remain a priority in each program. Students must remain focused on academic success, and must be independent and industrious enough to keep up with students in regular programs. To help them succeed, various pedagogical support measures including remedial classes and tutoring are offered by the school. These allow for times when students must miss school to take part in training or competitions.

Financial assistance

Not everyone can enroll in a sports-study program. Applicants must be recognized by a sports federation as an athlete at the espoir, relève, élite or excellence levels, and their performance level and number and level of competitions must match the requirements set out in their federation’s excellence development program. They must also meet the entry requirements for the school offering the sports-study program for the sport concerned.

Students enrolled in a sports-study program are also eligible for lodging assistance from the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS). To qualify, they must be enrolled in a sports-study program recognized by MELS, because only officially certified programs are eligible for financial support from the Direction du sport et de l’activité physique of MELS.

A proven formula

All parents want what is best for their children and to support their interests, without endangering their school results. The sports-study combination has proved its worth, as shown in a 2005 statistical analysis of the average marks achieved by Secondary IV and V students in official MELS examinations. The marks of the students enrolled in sports-study programs were actually higher than those of the other students!

Sports-study programs bring together all the necessary ingredients for academic success, while giving young athletes an opportunity to excel in their chosen sport with support from Level 3 trainers with the provincial coaching certification program.

For more information about sports-study programs, or to obtain the list of schools offering such programs, see the MELS Web site at www.mels.gouv.qc.ca.