Claudine Douville is a Québécoise

sports journalist Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

, amateur athlete and author of adventure novels.

Early life and education

Claudine Douville was born in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

. Passionate about sports from her youth, radio broadcasts of ice hockey games inspired her career in

sports journalism Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the ...

. She holds a BA in journalism from

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxemb ...

with minors in physical education and theatre.

Career

In 1980, she was hired by TVSQ (Télévision des sports du Québec, which was later replaced by

Réseau des sports Réseau des sports (RDS), is a Canadian French language specialty channel oriented towards sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. (Bell Media 80% and ESPN 20%). Its full ...

(RDS). She has been working as a sports journalist and columnist since 1989. She is the host of ''Plein air sans limites'' (English: Outdoor without limits). Douville has covered major sporting events, such as the Olympic Games. She also provides commentary on many disciplines, including soccer at the World Cup and Champions League matches. In 2008, along with three other women, she gave play-by-play commentary at a National Hockey League match. Douville has written several adventure novels. The first, ''La Louve des mers'' published in 2008, features the eighteenth-century adventures of Marie Galligan, and was successful enough to have a sequel the following year, ''Le Loup des îles'', which completed the story. Douville did research in Montana for her third novel, ''Une Histoire de cowboy'' (A Cowboy Story, 2010).

Private life

Douville practices scuba diving, karate, alpine skiing, kayaking, fencing and mountaineering. She climbed

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

and to

Everest Base Camp There are two base camps on Mount Everest, on opposite sides of the mountains: South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of (), while North Base Camp is in Tibet, China at (). The base camps are rudimentary campsites at the base of Mount Eve ...

. The journalist has taken part in several

rally raid Rally raid, also known as cross-country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. The length of the event can be as short as 2–3 days for a cross-country baja to as long as 15 days with marathon ra ...

s (long-distance off-road races), including the all-female Raid Amazones. With Louise Bergeron, she won the 2002 edition of the

Rallye Aicha des Gazelles The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc is a rally which is held in the deserted parts of southern Morocco. The distinctive feature of the rally is that participation is restricted to women only. In 2009, the 20th edition of the rally took p ...

in Morocco. Married, she is the mother of three children. Weakened by

celiac disease Coeliac disease (British English) or celiac disease (American English) is a long-term autoimmune disorder, primarily affecting the small intestine, where individuals develop intolerance to gluten, present in foods such as wheat, rye and barl ...

, she says she evokes the subject in order to "show to those who suffer from it that, if it sometimes complicates life, that does not prevent anything".

Awards

In 2011, Douville was admitted to the hall of fame of the Club de la médaille d'or (English: Gold Medal Club) for her contributions to the promotion of amateur sport in Quebec. Inducted alongside her were

Guy Lafleur Guy Damien Lafleur (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six c ...

and

Marc Gagnon Marc Gagnon (born May 24, 1975) is a Canadian former short track speed skater. He is a four-time Overall World Champion for 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998, and winner of three Olympic gold medals. Biography Born in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Gagnon started ...

Selected works

;Novels * * * *''Mission sacrée'' (Holy Mission) trilogy: ** ** **

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douville, Claudine Living people French Quebecers Writers from Montreal Université Laval alumni Canadian television hosts Canadian sports journalists Canadian women journalists Canadian novelists in French Canadian women non-fiction writers Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian women television hosts Quebec Nordiques announcers National Hockey League broadcasters North American Soccer League (1968–1984) commentators Canadian non-fiction writers in French Canadian women novelists