Mother from Gatineau Joins Umpiring Team for Toronto Blue Jays Tournament

All that is now ancient history for the mother from Gatineau, who is preparing to experience a new adventure behind the plate in the next week. She is part of a group of eight umpires, including another woman, who were invited to work games at a tournament hosted by the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre.

The event will pit the brightest prospects in Canadian baseball against each other.

“Players eligible for the major baseball draft in 2024 and 2025,” underlines St-Arnaud Gaboury on the phone, Monday evening.

Baseball umpire from Gatineau, Geneviève St-Arnaud Gaboury. (Christian Gingras/Courtesy)

The 41-year-old woman was waiting at Jean-Lesage International Airport for her plane flight to the Ontario metropolis. She has lived in Quebec since the mid-2000s.

At the time, it was a job as an assistant coach at the Laval University diving club that attracted him to the old capital. Previously, she had directed the Outaouais diving club.

“I never dove when I was young because I have a fear of heights,” she says with a laugh.

“Except that I was already involved in the aquatic world as a lifeguard,” she adds.

His move to baseball came a few years later. Another sport that St-Arnaud Gaboury had not practiced.

“However, I had already coached my brother in baseball in Outaouais,” she notes.

Eight seasons in the LBJEQ

In 2015, the doors of the Quebec Junior Elite Baseball League (LBJEQ) were opened to him.

St-Arnaud Gaboury has just completed his eighth season there. However, this summer was the first time that she agreed to referee in the playoffs.

“Previously, I stopped voluntarily. I wasn’t tempted to have match management. I referee for fun. In the series, there is some complaining. It’s not something I enjoy.”

This time, she wanted to experience it.

In July, St-Arnaud Gaboury was invited to participate in the Canadian senior women’s baseball championships. His excellent work earned him the invitation to the Toronto Blue Jays showcase.

If this meeting is important for the players, it is just as important for the referees.

“It’s an opportunity to show what I’m capable of and perhaps find myself on the international list of referees,” explains the main interested party.

The world championships in his sights

The finals of the women’s baseball world championships will take place in 2024 in Northern Ontario.

St-Arnaud Gaboury would like to be chosen to referee a match or two there. “It would be a good time since it will be in the country,” she said.

These will be his first steps on a major league field at the Rogers Centre.

What is the biggest stadium in which she had the opportunity to call balls and strikes? Canac stadium, in Quebec.

His passion for baseball is not just limited to umpiring.

Geneviève St-Arnaud Gaboury can be found in the press gallery at Quebec Capitals games in the Frontier League. She plays the role of timekeeper.

After this trip to Toronto, it will be back to his normal daily life. That of a mother of an 11-year-old teenager and that of an employee of the Premières-Seigneuries school service center.

2023-09-18 23:39:22
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