THE “OLDEST” TOURNAMENT IN THE EASTERN TOWNSHIPS!
The Mousquiri tournament is the oldest M-11 (atom) category tournament in the province and the “oldest” hockey tournament in all categories in the Eastern Townships. It’s worth noting that throughout its 60 years of history, the Mousquiri tournament has always hosted players aged 9 to 11 years old. In short, it has always kept the same category, and only the name has changed, as it was originally referred to as the mosquito tournament.
The Mousquiri M-11 National Tournament in Richmond was established during the 1963-64 season and will celebrate its 60th edition from February 3 to 16, 2025. It was a group of volunteers from the Richmond Sports Association who initiated the organization of the first regional mosquito tournament, which took place in March 1964 with 13 teams in attendance.
Among these volunteers were Roger Martel, Paul-Emile Lefebvre, Albert Dunn, and Jean Dion, as well as Oscar Thibault, Lloyd Tibbits, Charles Gendreau, Arthur St-Sauveur, Jean Beaudoin, and Gérard “Ti-Noir” Martel.
This tournament was created to prepare the teams in the region for the competition of the Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament, as it’s important to remember that tournaments did not exist at the time, except for the one in the old capital. The founders of the tournament had no idea that the Mousquiri tournament, as we know it today, would become one of the most enduring in Quebec over time!
The tournament received its accreditation as a provincial mosquito tournament in 1970. Then, a major turning point occurred in 1975 when the Richmond mosquito tournament became the Mousquiri tournament. By doing so, it became the first tournament in Quebec to have a mascot, aimed at emphasizing the human aspect of this competition, which has always welcomed young players aged 9 to 11.
This initiative was the result of two great builders of the tournament, René Thibault and Gilles Fontaine. They were behind several important achievements during their years of volunteer work, as well as many other volunteers who have served on the boards of directors over the years.
Then, in 1986, the tournament received national tournament status, allowing it to welcome teams from outside Quebec, including many from Ontario and the United States. Since that time, the organizing committee has consistently hosted teams from outside the province, particularly from the United States, including some from Michigan, Wisconsin, New York State, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, and even California!
It is worth mentioning that since the start of the tournament in 1964, a total of 3,967 games have taken place at the Richmond arena. More than 2,525 teams have participated in the tournament, including a record number of 80 teams in 1982. Over the years, it has also hosted more than 20,000 young players, many of whom later became stars in professional leagues.
We only need to think of Sylvain Lefebvre, Marc Fortier, Sean McKenna, Gilles Hamel, Yannick Perreault, Alan Haworth, as well as Vincent Damphousse, Luc Robitaille, Patrice Brisebois, Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Félix Potvin, Stéphane Robidas, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Patrice Bergeron, Marc-André Fleury, Antoine Vermette, Pascal Dupuis, Mathieu Perreault, David Perron, Sarah Vaillancourt, and many others, including our two most recent, Anthony Beauvillier and Philippe Danault, who competed for the first time on the ice of Richmond.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that this tournament’s success over the decades is largely due to the work of its volunteers, the continuous financial support of sponsors, the participating teams, and the support of the people of Richmond and the surrounding municipalities. A big THANK YOU to everyone for the encouragement shown over the years.
Research : Guy Marchand