We went to meet with the legendary Pierre Plouffe to underscore the 30 years of the water sports centre that bears his name. As usual, Pierre was bare-chested, tanned like a Greek god and, to top it all off, busy preparing the details of his third water ski outing of the day. Hard to believe that he’ll celebrate his 74th birthday this month.

Pierre and Sylvie Mayrand founded the Centre nautique Pierre Plouffe (CNPP) on the shores of Lac Tremblant in 1993. Since then, every year, they have welcomed their customers with a smile and a warm response to the expectations of families, couples and groups of friends wanting to venture onto the waters of this fabulous lake.

The story of a champion

Pierre officially started competing in water skiing in 1965. But it was in 1962, on Lac Ouimet, that he competed in skill on his skis for the very first time.

After having been crowned World and Canadian champion several times, he hung up his skis in 1990. It was only in 2006 – after receiving a diagnosis of overweight, diabetes and high blood pressure – that Pierre returned to competition on the advice of his physician.

Since then, our John Wayne of national water skiing has collected championship titles in slalom, jumping, figures and combined. In 2014, he was diagnosed with cancer. He fought heart and soul and recognizes today – after having praised the services of his doctor and of the Fondation médicale des Laurentides – that he has beaten this ordeal without it having had too great an impact on his competitive career.

“Of course, my individual performances took a hit,” Pierre concedes. “But I still managed to help Canada finish third in the 2014 Worlds. After my operation and chemo treatments, I decided to keep training to prove that cancer and chemotherapy don’t necessarity keep you from achieving your goals. Then I won the World Championships in 2016 and 2018 and the Pan Am in 2019.”

A serious elbow tear did, however, compel Pierre into a forced convalescence, keeping him from competing in the Worlds in 2022. It’s no surprise that this piece of bad luck did not discourage this tough guy who is currently training for the Pan-American Games in water skiing which are scheduled for September, and what’s more, in preparation for the World Championships in Greece in 2024.

Pierre Plouffe, the trickster

Our interview was interrupted by a certain Guy Lapointe, well-known hockey player for the Montreal Canadians, who had come to visit his old friend. Pierre was in the process of telling us the famous story of that night in 1978 during which he had “borrowed” the Stanley Cup from Claude Mouton in collusion with his Montreal Canadians friends – including the late Guy Lafleur – to go party in the city’s bars. A comical story that his friend Rodger Brulotte managed to tell during the evening of celebration of the 30th anniversary of the CNPP, this past June 30.

Pierre remains a model of determination and courage for a number of us and continues to inspire new generations. But seeing him beside his friend, with a face-splitting grin and a twinkle in his eye, it was easy to imagine him raising hell to get his buddies laughing. Buddies with whom he has, still today, a sincere and steadfast friendship.

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