DCHP-2

espoir Espoir, > French espoir 'hope' DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• 1 adj. — Sports, often in compounds

  a status as a junior athlete of potentially international calibre.

  Type: 1. Origin — From French, espoir is used to describe a high level of sporting ability, where athletes are hopeful of joining a professional or Olympic team. This term is most frequently used in Canada (see Chart 1). The term is used for a wide variety of sports.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "espoir" (2), which is marked "Cdn".

  See also: peewee  atom  bantam  major junior  Junior A  

  • 1967  There is a lack of communication between parents of members, divisions, zones and clubs of the CASA [Canadian Amateur Ski Association] and unless there is some interest in the financial problems, this Espoir program will fold. 
  • 1987  Espoir is French for hope and is used as a class name for amateur wrestlers between the ages of 17 and 20 - young hopefuls seduced by visions of Olympic gold. 
  • 1997  Earlier this year, 19-year-old Colborne finished third in the Tour of Oregon. Courtenay's Schum, 19, is a former national team pursuit champion who raced in Belgium last season and 20-year-old Kabush of Victoria recently finished fourth in the espoir cross-country division at the national mountain bike championships and will ride for Canada in the under-23 category at the world championships. 
  • 2008  Canadian men's Espoir team member David Glass will anchor Manitoba's No. 2 team and he will be joined on the team by Gene Turk and Tom Brown. 
  • 2014  But this is only part of his officiating record. He has also officiated at eight world junior and espoir championships, seven European senior championships, six Pan American championships, four world cadet championships and two Commonwealth Games. 

• 2 n. & adj. — Sports, usually attributively

  an athlete in such a division.

  Type: 1. Origin — See meaning 1.

  • 1986  Other espoir winners from the Montreal club were: Tom Rebello, silver in the 74-kg class and Larry Michenzi, bronze in the 68-kg division. 
  • 1989  For the 3 1/2-4 morning hours they are on the slopes, the creme de la creme of Canadian skiers work hard - perfecting something their coaches see during those endless runs. "It's no problem to get myself up for (training camps)," explained Percy. "For me, every training camp is important because I do all four events and I get the chance to train in all four events." "We are relaxed but looks can be deceiving. We are all working hard on different things," said espoir team member Rardi Van Heest of Kelowna. 
  • 1990  Michael Meekins of the Montreal Wrestling Club completed the list of Quebec medallists with a bronze at 62 kg as an espoir. 
  • 1994  Wade Elliott, 21, finished in third place in the 68K category. Elliott, defending Espoir (under-20) Canadian champion, compiled a 3-1 record, his only loss coming at the hands of eventual gold medallist Rob Betz of McMaster, 9-2. 
  • 2007  To be selected, athletes must satisfy the following criteria: -Must be a "carded" athlete under the policies of Sport Canada: [...] -Must belong to Team Québec or be rated an "espoir" by his or her sports federation. 
  • 2011  “Winning the 2010 Canada Cup Series was a major step in my progression in the sport of mountain biking. [...] Winning the overall was great last year, I had won the series three times as an Espoir (U23) and since then it has been a goal of mine to win the senior title,” said Watson. 
  • 2013  In the 13- to 15-year-old age category, also called the Espoir division, Keiran Leboe was named male athlete of the year. The 15-year-old earned a spot on Team B.C. at the Legion Nationals in August and placed fifth in the hammer throw. Other Espoir athletes recognized were Ryan Gaiesky and Omar Medina.