Club Sportif History
The Club Sportif was established in 1947 with two main objectives; Entertain the people of La Broquerie and raise funds for hockey and baseball. This group consists of eight volunteers and has had more than 120 members during its existence. It is considered an honour in La Broquerie to be a member of the Club and in many years there have been elections to decide the membership. One of the main reasons this model has been so effective over time is because of the creative nature of its members and the tremendous pride the members have of the tradition developed over the past 60 years. Some examples are
1951-The Club Sportif became incorporated to better pursue its activities including the construction of the first arena.
1951- Organized a draw for a Chevrolet worth $1700 to raise money for the new arena.
1952- The Club received a $3000 loan to build the arena
1953- The arena was built with a total cost of $5000. It was owned by the Club Sportif, who was therefore responsible for all related expenses.
1956- The Club organized a draw for a Meteor Rideau and held a bazaar to raise money to repay debt incurred in the rebuilding of the roof damaged by a storm in 1954 and to make further improvements to the arena.
1957-The first minor hockey teams were organized.
1957-The Club honored the jersey of Gerald Freynet who passed away due to an illness.
1959- The Club organized a winter carnival to celebrate minor hockey, figure skating, and a game for the Senior Habs.
1960- The Club took a loan of $3000 from the Royal Bank to finance improvements to the arena and install a new scoreboard.
1966- The arena was condemned and The Chamber of Commerce took over construction of a new arena.
1969- The Club rented a bus to take fans to Crystal City to cheer the Habs to victory in the Provincial finals.
1972- The Club organized the Sport 100 draw. One hundred tickets of $50 each were sold with half the money $2500 being disbursed through 20 draws throughout the hockey season. This fundraiser, with a few minor changes, is still in effect today.
1978- The Club participated in the building of the new, municipal owned, arena by purchasing a tractor and an ice-maker. The Club members got involved personally, as they each took out a $1000 loan to finance the construction of the boards. The members were paid back within five years.
1982- The Club purchased an illuminated sign to publicize arena activities and hockey games. The sign was placed on Rue Principale.
1983- As part of the celebration of the centennial year of La Broquerie, The club organized a special celebration for all past Habs players, coaches, and management.
1988-The Club organized a celebration for the 40th anniversary of hockey in La Broquerie.
1989-The Club honored the jersey of Marcel Connelly who passed away in a car accident on the way home from a game.
1993- The Club organized an exhibition tournament for former Habs players and a social evening to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Senior Hockey
1998- The Club organized many activities throughout the year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hockey in La Broquerie. The activities included members of the original senior team participating in a ceremonial face-of at the start of a Habs senior game, the publishing of a book highlighting the illustrious history of Le Club Sportif and hockey in La Broquerie and a social evening that included speeches from many people including Montreal Canadien legend Jean Beliveau.
2004- The Club organized the first annual “Hockey Day in La Broquerie” where all minor hockey teams played at home and there were many fun activities planned for the kids. The day ended with the La Broquerie Senior Habs playing a game.
2004- The Club organized the first annual alumni hockey tournament. Former Habs players along with people new to the community were invited to participate.
2005- The club honored the jersey of Gerard Tetrault for his work as a player, coach, and volunteer.
2005- The Club worked cooperatively with the schools in La Broquerie, Ecole St. Joachim and Arborgate School, to promote minor hockey in La Broquerie. The students and parents were made aware of the inexpensive nature of hockey in La Broquerie and the benefits of being involved in hockey. These activities included Club members and Senior Habs speaking to the students and informative notes going home with children.
2006- The first annual “Melt the Ice Tourney” was organized to raise money for minor hockey goalie equipment.
2007- The Club organized the first annual “Free hockey camp”. Kids aged 5-10 were invited to participate. Equipment was provided as needed and information promoting hockey was given to the parents.
2008- The Club honored the jersey of Jean-Guy Tetrault for his work as a player, coach, and volunteer.
2009- The club nominated La Broquerie for Kraft Hockeyville 2009. The community was named a Top ten Finalist by a panel created by the competition. This nomination included a trip to La Broquerie from a CBC documentary crew to create a vignette that would be shown on the CBC Kraft Hockeyville show. CBC was treated to an outstanding day of activities that included backyard, pond and river hockey games, a tailgate party, and of course a Senior Habs game that had fans fill up the arena wearing habs jerseys and red touques. The community finished with over 300,000 votes which placed them 4th in Canada.
2010- The club registered its first female hockey team. The team finished third in the Atom A provincials and led the way to the club forming a peewee girls team to play in the Winnipeg Minor Hockey Association for the 2010-2011 season.
2013 - Pat Tetrault president of The Club was nominated and recognized as one the top 100 minor hockey volunteers in Canada in the Kraft Hocke Goes On contest.
2015/16 Exceeded over 150 kids registered in Hockey and have one of the largest programs per capita in the province