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Mark Isfeld basketball team experiences Quebec culture

Courtenay high school senior girls enjoyed cultural sport exchange in Quebec City
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THE ISFELD ICE senior girls basketball team were hosted by the Quebec City Blizzard during a recent cultural sport exchange.

Mark Isfeld's senior girls basketball team enjoyed an extraordinary cultural sport exchange in Quebec with Séminaire St-Francois senior girls from Quebec City.

The Isfeld girls were hosted and billeted by the Quebec City Blizzard basketball team, enjoying French Canadian hospitality and the special and traditional sights, tastes and views of Quebec City while squeezing in seven basketball games over seven days in La Belle Province.

Organized by Isfeld French immersion teacher and basketball coach Jouska Lockquell, the girls played two college  and five high school teams in exhibition play, finishing with a 4-3 record. The Isfeld team's only losses were to two college teams and the defending Quebec high school AAA champions.

Additionally, the trip highlights included immersion into Quebec City's French Canadian culture. Highlights included visits to the Quebec City aquarium, Chutes de Montmorency, maple syrup harvesting, supper and Quebecois folk dancing, circus station training at Cirque de Quebec, tour of Old Quebec City including outdoor ice skating, 10-pin bowling, and of course, a traditional poutine supper!

Fit into each day were basketball practices and games, daily three-hour school study sessions, and cultural tours and activities. For the Isfeld French immersion students the opportunity to speak French 24-7 was a great experience. For the non-French immersion students on the trip, though the language barriers proved challenging, the friendships and understanding of our Canadian Francophone culture was very rewarding.

Kudos to Madame Lockquell, the Isfeld administration and Isfeld parents for making this wonderful cultural sport exchange possible. The Quebec girls from Séminiare St-Francois school come to the Comox Valley the week of Dec. 15-22 for a return visit for exhibition games against Isfeld, Ballenas, Wellington and top AAA Vancouver schools and will be introduced to a cultural taste of the Comox Valley and surrounding areas with activities to include Chimo gymnastics, a visit to Horne Lake caves and Cathedral Grove and various other  activities in the Comox Valley.

 

– Mark Isfeld Senior Secondary School