From futsal to bingo nights: Boosting morale on Op Horizon
By Ryan Melanson,
Trident Staff
CPL BRENDAN GAMACHE
The ship’s company of His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Ville de Québec, though in the midst of a busy Indo-Pacific deployment, are still finding ways to stay active and have a little bit of fun during downtime.
While in Australia for Exercise Talisman Sabre earlier this summer, sailors from Ville de Québec connected with peers for a day of futsal, a soccer-based game played with smaller teams, and beach volleyball. There was enough interest aboard to fill multiple teams for matches against both Australian counterparts and Royal Navy sailors attached to HMS Prince of Wales.
The sports opportunities were organized by the Australians, with Ville de Québec’s embarked Personnel Support Programs (PSP) Fitness, Sports and Recreation Instructor, Tianna Pietrowski, acting as liaison to help coordinate rosters and transportation.
The matches not only offered a chance to break a sweat, but also to build camaraderie with sailors from partner nations, creating memories outside the high-tempo exercise schedule. For Ville de Québec’s crew, those kinds of outlets can make a long deployment feel more balanced, and ensuring they happen is part of the job for the ship’s recreation staff.
In addition to her full-time role running fitness classes and creating tailored workout plans on board, Pietrowski has also taken the lead on morale-boosting recreation activities. This can mean organized events during port visits, or simpler initiatives like bingo nights, trivia or painting, all of which have been popular with the ship’s company.
“She took the ‘morale’ intent and ran with it, which has made my job easier,” said Lieutenant-Commander Pierre-Luc Dessureault-Beaulieu, the ship’s Executive Officer.
To learn more about the different deployment support roles offered by PSP, including fitness, sports and recreation positions, visit https://cfmws.ca/about-us/cfmws-careers/our-team/deployment-support.
