Valérie Villeneuve: The Girl Who Didn’t Do Cartwheels

Courage in Action

Valérie Villeneuve brought that same courage into her role as she led the Gymini Club to reach unprecedented heights. As the club approaches its 40th birthday, Gymini enters a new era—marked by physical expansion and constant adaptation to the growing demand for acrobatic programs.

At the Helm at Just 25

Director of Gymini since the days when the club was located on Lotbinière Street in the Dorion sector, Valérie Villeneuve assumed her leadership position somewhat by chance. With a background in management and communications, the young professional first worked at the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Palliative Care Home before officially accepting the directorship, right as Gymini moved into the newly built Centre Multisports. At just 25, she saw herself stepping into the role much like stepping onto a dewy flat stone at the edge of a cliff:

“Gymini had no network,” she recalls. “It was a small community organization. We had no resources, no branding, no structure. We had to build the network from scratch. The Palliative Care Home had been a great school for me—they really mentored me.”

What she doesn't say is that she had exactly what it took to steer the ship and inspire the crew. Today, following a season of facility expansion, Gymini welcomes 1,600 recreational participants and 150 competitive athletes.

“For the first time in seven years,” says the director, “Gymini now looks like what I had envisioned.”

A Beacon in the Region

Since September, Gymini offers 15,000 square feet of play and training space for young gymnasts—who, according to Villeneuve, are more than just girls doing somersaults. To diversify and meet demand, the club has added circus arts, cheerleading sessions, and, more recently, acrosport for thrill-seeking youth. This broad offering requires equally robust organizational planning.

Valérie is quick to highlight her invaluable team—Andréanne, René, and other long-time staffers:

“Everyone here could be doing 100 different things—they’re all educated professionals. But they choose to stay. After each goal we reach, we ask, ‘What’s next?’ We had an idea, a dream, and decided to build something special with this club.”

And what a club it is. Today, Gymini represents 15% to 20% of total memberships in the Quebec Gymnastics Federation—an institution that continues to make the region proud since its founding in 1978.