Moments of sheer madness at the Verdun Auditorium

This photo illustrates nicely the kinds of crazy moments in the history of the Auditorium. On March 1, 1976, the Verdun Arena welcomed the Junior Provincial Barrel-Jumping Championships. This spectacular discipline of Dutch origin combined speed skating skills with the power of the long jump. Very popular in Québec and the rest of Canada in the 1970s and 1980s, this sport has practically disappeared today. But, when this discipline was at its peak, the Auditorium welcomed a few times young athletes who engaged in a hard-fought battle to determine who would succeed in jumping over the most barrels.