Elite Athlete at the School of Science: Manon's Story

For the 2020–2021 academic year, 22 students in the Faculty of Sciences have been granted elite athlete status.

Across all levels—from the first year of a bachelor’s degree to the second year of a master’s degree—these students specialize in various sports such as volleyball, sailing, soccer, rugby, golf, first aid, water sports, track and field, handball, and triathlon.
By virtue of their status and the agreement they have established with our university, they are worthy representatives of our institution at intercollegiate competitions.

In order to balance their studies with training, elite athletes can ask their school to make accommodations for their academic program.
This applies to exams, classes, and/or other commitments.

Due to the current health situation, we were only able to gather one testimonial—that of Manon, who shares her personal experience here

“I’m 20 years old, and I’ve been practicing competitive lifesaving since I was 8 at the France Sauvetage center in Montpellier, which is affiliated with the CREPS. I’ve been selected for the French national team three times. My current goal is to qualify for the 2022 World Games.
I’m currently in my second year of a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Organism Biology, and I plan to pursue a master’s degree in ecology and marine biology later on.So I have two goals: athletic and academic.
Thanks to the accommodations provided for elite athletes, I was able to choose to complete my second year of my bachelor’s degree in two years in order to best achieve my goals, which allows me to complete half of my TU year and the other half next year.

My daily routine:
Every morning, I get up at 6 a.m. to go to practice (at the pool) from 7 to 9 a.m. When I get back home, I attend my online classes, which run from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  I take a 2-hour break to eat, rest, and take care of necessary tasks. Then, I go back to training from 2:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
At the end of this second daily training session, I go home and review my coursework. Twice a week, I add a weight training session at the gym from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
I also have one or two physical therapy sessions per week to help me recover and treat minor aches or injuries as needed.
In total, I spend 22 hours a week training. This fairly intense schedule requires a lot of discipline and organization to avoid burning out over the course of the year.

Given the current health situation, I have very few in-person classes. Online classes—especially recorded videos—allow me to manage my time differently and work on the material whenever I want during the day, without being tied to a specific schedule. This works better for me given my relatively busy daily routine.

"Unfortunately, intercollegiate competitions have been canceled ever since I started college."