To get to the London Olympics, beach volleyball player Marie-Andrée Lessard had to resort to drastic measures. Her sport is underfinanced, and so is she. So Lessard, 33, of La Salle, Que., appeared in a popular television reality show in Quebec called Le défi des champions, competing against nine other athletes, including former sprinter Bruny Surin, retired speed skater Marc Gagnon, and former female netminder Manon Rhéaume.
When the show ended on April 24, Lessard had won the event and $50,000 after displaying some unusual acrobatic skills: trapeze, juggling, aerial, even something to do with a bungee. Who knew that a child of the sand could fly so high?
Foremost in her mind was paying the costs she and her partner, Annie Martin of Sherbrooke, face to qualify for the Games next year. The $50,000, Lessard said, will balance their budget for the 2011 season. “That is exactly the amount that we lack so far,” she said.
Lessard and Martin will also compete in the world beach volleyball championships in Rome June 13 to 19, eyeing its prize money ($500,000 U.S. each for men and women) and the potential of earning points to qualify for the Games next year. Other Canadians in the world championships: Heather Bansley and Liz Maloney of Toronto; Christian Redmann of Toronto and Ben Sexton of Calgary.
Currently, Lessard and Martin are in 35th place on the FIBV World Tour, making them Canada’s top beach volleyball players, male or female. But if they want to use the tour to qualify, they need to be in the top 16 by the middle of next June to earn a chance to play at the beach volleyball venue in front of Buckingham Palace.
Without the money, Lessard and Martin might be where the Own the Podium program currently places them – without a chance at a medal. Although Canadians John Childs and Mark Heese won a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games and some male teams were ranked in the top 10 for years, beach volleyball in Canada has hit a dry spell. No team made it to the Beijing Games. Shortly afterward, OTP cut its support.
“We don’t have any money to support their travel,” said Ed Drakich, high-performance director for Volleyball Canada. “They have Sport Canada carding. They have training support and coaching support. But no travel. It’s quite expensive, as you can imagine.”
Lessard and Martin had to foot the bill for all that travel to Europe: hotels, food, transportation. If they want to bring their coach with them, they also have to pay for his hotel, food, transportation – and salary. Needless to say, they don’t always take their coach.