Who are we?
PAISAC is a coach training center based in Montreal and Lausanne. The training services, which its programs offer to NOC coaches from countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Central and South America, are fully funded by the Olympic Solidarity (IOC) Coach Scholarship Program.
Paisac's mission
The initial mission of PAISAC is to participate in the sustainable development of sport in African and Caribbean countries, members of the Francophonie and the Commonwealth, while contributing to the enhancement of the role and function of the technical sports executive and/or the coach, male and female, through training and the improvement of knowledge and skills, in the fields of training and teaching.
It pursues three major objectives:
- Train and/or improve, in sports sciences, high-level coaches and/or trainers from developing countries who need them.
- Train and/or improve, in sports sciences, women to give them the opportunity to get involved in the sports supervision of young girls, while promoting their integration into the sports system of their country, as coaches, trainers or leaders.
- In the medium and long term, encourage sports organizations, institutions and federations to implement their own programs, while benefiting from Canadian-Swiss educational tools and expertise in the field of training, in order to better ensure their autonomy and self-sufficiency in a sustainable manner in this area.
Our history
The African and Caribbean International Sport Support Program, acronym PAISAC, is a Canadian-African international sport development project. It was developed in 1997-99 in Côte d'Ivoire, under the initiative of physical education and sports teaching staff from the National Institute for Youth and Sports (INJS) in Abidjan and the Abidjan sports community, with the contribution of coaches from Gabon and Senegal and the participation of coaches from Gabon and Senegal and the participation of high-level athletes from the Dakar International Athletics Center.
This program is mainly focused on the training of coaches, in sports sciences, a gap unanimously identified in all African coach training programs, by the 170 technical, administrative and senior officials of sports federations, who participated in the exploratory study that served to develop the project.
Our team
Michelle Castonguay
Vice-President
MBA - Conseil in Management Consulting
For nearly 40 years, she was a manager with the Mouvement des Caisses populaires et d'économie Desjardins du Québec, including Assistant General Manager at Caisse populaire Desjardins des Mille Iles from 2003 to 2013. During her professional career, Ms. Castonguay also worked in international cooperation for Développement international Desjardins (DID), as a technical advisor in the former Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) in the field of savings and credit cooperatives, then in Côte d'Ivoire as project manager for the establishment of a financing center for Ivorian small and medium-sized enterprises. Ms. Castonguay was also a member of the Board of Directors of La Dauphinelle, a shelter for abused women. She retired at the end of 2012.
Rebecca Sueur
General Director
MBA in Management Consulting - M. Sc. Sport Sciences & Master in Public Administration
Graduating with a Master's degree in Sports Science (ISSUL), she went on to obtain a Master's degree in Public Administration with a specialization in Sports Management at IDHEAP in Lausanne. To refresh her management skills, in 2020 she will undertake an MBA in Management Consulting at ESG, graduating in spring 2023.
A former athlete with the Swiss national judo team, she obtained her J+S coaching diploma and has coached from young children through to the regional talent cadre. A physical education teacher and schoolteacher for 10 years in Switzerland and Germany, she was very involved in Lausanne sport, having coached the City of Lausanne's selection for the International Children's Games from 2005 to 2008.
2009, she moved to Canada where, while working as marketing manager for a private sports organization, she developed her own sports association, Rêves Passion Montréal, which is still active today. In 2013, Rebecca joined PAISAC and has been a member of its management team ever since.
Pierre Ambroise Preira
President
M. Sc. in physical activity sciences
He is the founder and president of the PAISAC center.
He was a former top-level handball goalkeeper and coach of the Jeanne d'Arc women's team in Dakar (Senegal). During his studies at Laval University (Quebec), he held the position of Technical Director of the handball competition site in Quebec City, during the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976. He was Technical Director of the Fédération Handball Québec from 1981 to 1999; assistant national coach of the Canadian men's team at the 1986 Pan-American Games in Indianapolis (USA). Following an unpaid leave of absence, he lived from 1989 to 1991 in Bukavu (Democratic Republic of Congo - ex-Zaire), then from 1997 to 1999 in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), where as a teacher of coaching theory at the INJS (Institut national de la jeunesse et des sports) in Abidjan, he developed the PAISAC project with the active participation of the sports community. Returning to Canada in 2002, he set up the PAISAC training center project, of which he was promoter and director. At the end of 2012, he retired from the general management of PAISAC operations, and continues to be involved in certain representation and supervision activities.
Amadou Diouf
Assistant PAISAC Switzerland
Master in STAPS
A graduate of Dakar's Cheikh Anta DIOP University, he is a recognized expert in athletics, sports performance planning and LTAD.
Enriching his international experience, he obtained a diploma from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and went on to complete levels 3 and 4 of the PAISAC program in Montreal, where he also became a trainer of trainers in 2010 and 2013. 2013 saw him join the INSEPS teaching staff as Professor in charge of athletics courses. He will graduate in 2021 with a Master's degree in STAPS, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in LTAD.
On the sporting side, he has shone as a former international 110m hurdler, racking up a host of titles: several times Senegal champion, double African university champion and semi-finalist at the World University Championships in Daegu in 2003. Finally, since 2009, he has been World Athletics Expert for the Kids Athletics program, actively contributing to the promotion of youth athletics worldwide.
Brigitte Tonon
Assistant PAISAC Switzerland
PhD Physiology
A teacher-researcher in STAPS, specializing in exercise physiology and sports training, she has a career based on higher education, applied research, coaching and professional collaborations.Passionate about basketball and sports science, she holds several diplomas (ITK, PAISAC and FIBA) in these fields.
A former Benin international player, she has managed youth and senior teams, including the Benin men's national team during the AfroBasket qualifiers. A PAISAC Trainer of Trainers in Energy and Physical Preparation, she has also been a member of FIBA's WABC since November 2023. An expert in performance optimization, she remains committed to the field of sport with a scientific approach and a constant watch on sports science innovations.
Eddy Bonvard
Assistant PAISAC Canada
M.Sc in Event & Leisure Management DESS Sport Management
Passionate about sports, project organization and human relations.
With over 10 years' experience in sports project management in France, he moved to Montreal in 2012 to put his expertise at the service of various sports organizations, with a strong commitment to the community. In 2013, he founded a sports association dedicated to the development of rope skipping in Greater Montreal, actively contributing to the development of this discipline. Always striving for perfection, he validated a DESS in sports management in April 2024 and is currently finalizing his master's degree at HEC Montréal.
Today, Eddie is fully committed to the Quebec sports and events scene, where he puts his skills to work on structuring and inclusive projects.
About the Paisac Center
PAISAC is a coach training center based in Montreal and Lausanne. The training services, which its programs offer to NOC coaches from countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Central and South America, are fully funded by the Olympic Solidarity (IOC) Coach Scholarship Program.
