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Concordia wins third place at the Jeux

All-new translation team takes its best to first Jeux de la Traduction
March 27, 2013
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By Louise Lalonde


Concordia’s translation team brought home a third place win from the eighth annual Jeux de la Traduction, held March 15 to 17. Teams from as far away as Winnipeg trekked to Université de Moncton in New Brunswick for a weekend filled with fun, spirit, and friendly competition.

2013 Translation Team: Caroline Draws (coach), Émilie Robertson, Alex Gauthier, Catherine Hine, Christine York (accompanying professor), Ugo Ellefsen. | Photo by Concordia University
2013 Translation Team: Caroline Draws (coach), Émilie Robertson, Alex Gauthier, Catherine Hine, Christine York (accompanying professor), Ugo Ellefsen. | Photo by Concordia University

The third-place win was a special triumph for Concordia because the entire team was composed of new members. Even more challenging were changes made to the lineup at the last moment, with the final team comprising Ugo Ellefsen, Alex Gauthier, Myriam Gervais, Catherine Hine, Kelly Proulx and Émilie Robertson. Ellefsen, Hine and Robertson are members of the Institute for Co-operative Education and have recent work-term experiences in a community organization, with the publisher of a music magazine, and within an advertising agency respectively.

“It should be seen as a networking activity first, because even if we compete against each other, we develop relationships between students (and future professionals) from different universities and that might be useful in the future,” Ellefsen says of his weekend at Les Jeux. 

Ellefsen appreciates other aspects of Les Jeux, too. “The competitive events become a sort of proving ground, a way to see not only our own limits but also our individual strengths. For example, I was on a three-person team on the "adaptation publicitaire" event and the sheer creativity that was emanating from our discussions was very positive. It gave me an idea of how I might like to steer my career path.”

First place was won by Université de Montréal, second by Université de Moncton. Université du Québec en Outaouais took home “Le Gerry” (le trophée Gerry-Boulet) as the team that best demonstrated the spirit of Les Jeux. McGill University, Université de Hearst, Université de Saint-Boniface, Université de Sherbrooke, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, and Université Laval also competed.

Christine Hine says she enjoyed the event from beginning to end. “The whole experience was incredible. To begin, the 13-hour bus ride was a great opportunity to meet and bond with students from other universities,” she said. “The events were loads of fun, and the enthusiasm of all the other teams was so motivating. No one seemed to care about winning; it was all about translating and having fun together. Taking third place was the cherry on top! It definitely changed my outlook on translation, and I would love nothing more than to return again next year with such an amazing team.”

Spirited participation is an important part of Les Jeux, and everyone, even the accompanying professors, was dedicated to having fun. In fact, “Les Profs” had so much fun that the next day they were recognized with a special prize for team spirit – a case of Gatorade™, reputed to be an antidote for dehydration.

Tired but happy, the teams bade farewell to Moncton and began their journey home. One Concordia team member was overheard saying, “I’m not going to stop smiling until I get home.”  Traveling between Moncton and Montreal works out to about a 13-hour smile, plus many new friends and memories.

Related links:
•    Jeux de la traduction 2013
•    Institute for Co-operative Education
•    Département d'études françaises



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