Jean-Guy Poitras recently launched a book about sports at the Edmundston campus of the University of Moncton. Author of numerous publications in the field of sports and genealogy, this work is the most recent of the 60 volumes that he published during his career.
In his most recent work, Mr. Poitras covers a period which begins in 1962 to end in 2009. These dates mark the start of the construction of a performance hall, possibly transformed into a gymnasium, and its demolition, 47 years later.
The author admits that these dates also take on a personal character since they mark, respectively, his debut as a student in Edmundston and his retirement as a professor at the University of Moncton, Campus d’Edmundston.
Mr. Poitras mentioned that he had already published a book about student sports at the Edmundston campus, but which covered a slice of history being between 1946 and 1962.
“I hesitated to follow up, but, at my age, I had collected a lot of information, with photos. I told myself that, if I didn’t do anything with these things, it was going to disappear, ”says Jean-Guy Poitras.
To have the most complete work possible, he came into contact with around 150 former students. He also had extracts from newspapers and press releases that were written at the time. It included nearly 500 photos in this volume of 343 pages.
The book is made up of 35 chapters. Each chapter is devoted to a different sport, whether masculine or feminine.
The author points out that there were much more different sports in the 1960s and 1970s. Hockey was predominant, but there is a panoply of sports such as cycling, athletics, badminton, volleyball, baseball, soccer, curling, ultimate frisbee, etc.
During his prolific career, Jean-Guy Poitras published around forty works in genealogy, as well as other books in the field of sports and physical education. His work in the field of genealogy has earned him certain distinctions from the French Canadian genealogical company.
He wrote his first work in 1978.
“It makes good bricks that required a lot of research time in the archives and all that.”
Jean-Guy Poitras is professor in education in education at the University of Moncton, Campus d’Edmundston. Over the years, he was involved in many activities of the Edmundston campus, either as a student, professor or administrator.
He has been active in several social and sports organizations, but he has been a lot recognized in badminton since he was a referee for many years. He took part in the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and several world championships.
His involvement in the sports field allowed him to be inducted as a builder at the New Brunswick sports fame in 2006 and at the Badminton Canada sports fame in 2016. In addition, he received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” recognition of the World Badminton Federation in Nanning, China, in 2019.