Hydro-Québec awards $88,000 in bursaries to 30 promising Québec student-athletes

October 5th, 2012

Hydro-Québec and the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence announced the names of the 30 student-athletes from across the province to whom were awarded a total of $88,000 thanks to the 15th edition of the company's bursary program.
This year, Hydro-Québec awarded bursaries to the amount of $2,000 to 16 student-athletes identified as Hopefuls and bursaries to the amount of $4,000 to 14 student-athletes in the Elite category. The recipients, who come from different regions of Québec, were recommended by their respective provincial sport federations. “For the past fifteen years, Hydro-Québec has upheld the Foundation’s values and has accepted to provide financial support to very young student-athletes who are still far from the spotlight, but developing rapidly so they can reach the junior or senior national teams. Indeed, many athletes have distinguished themselves on the international scene a few years after receiving a Hydro-Québec bursary. At the 2012 London Olympics, there were 22 Olympians and 2 Paralympians who had previously been recipients in the Hydro-Québec bursary program with the Foundation, which proves the importance and relevance of supporting them early in their career,” said Mr. Claude Chagnon, President of the Foundation.
Among the Quebec Olympic medallists this year, seven had already received at least one Hydro-Québec bursary during their career and three of them attended the bursary award ceremony earlier today. Medal in hand, the following Olympians met a new generation of athletes and shared inspiring testimonials: Antoine Valois-Fortier, bronze medallist in judo as well as Roseline Filion & Meaghan Benfeito, bronze medallists in synchronized diving. The 4 other medallists who had previously been recipients in the Hydro-Québec bursary program are Andréanne Morin, silver medallist in rowing, Jennifer Abel, bronze medallist in synchronized diving, Christine Girard, bronze medallist in weightlifting and Lyne Bessette, Pilot for a tandem who won a gold medal in road cycling at the Paralympics.


Eligibility criteria
The student-athlete must participate in a post-career project, which is often the pursuit of Secondary, Collegial or University Studies. In addition to being identified by his/her sport federations as "hopeful" or "elite", the bursary recipient must be eligible to represent Canada at the Olympic or Paralympic Games and World Championships in his/her discipline. One of the specifics of this program is that Hydro-Québec bursaries are awarded to at least one athlete from each of the company's nine regional directorates.

2012 HYDRO-QUÉBEC BURSARY RECIPIENTS

16 bursary recipients in the Hopeful Category ($2,000)

First name    Last name    Discipline    Age    City of origin
Marc-Antoine    Blais Bélanger    Fencing (epee)    17    Montréal (Outremont)
Nicolas    Bousquet    Racquetball    16    Montréal (Anjou)
Virginie    Chénier    Archery (recurve bow)    18    Laval (Chomedey)
Vincent    Dallaire    Wheelchair Basketball    17    Québec
Tamara    Farquhar    Basketball    15    Montréal (Côte St-Luc)
Vincent    Foster    Taekwondo (-58 kg)    18    Québec
Mikaël    Gonsalves    Weightlifting (-94 kg)    19    Saint-Constant
Mary-Sophie    Harvey    Swimming    13    Trois-Rivières
Vincent    Lanctôt-Reeves    Athletics (octathlon)    17    Brossard
Mikella    Lefebvre-Oatis    Athletics (high jump)    14    Châteauguay
Alex    Moore    Wrestling (-46 kg)    15    Montréal (Hampstead)
Ana Laura    Portuondo Isasi    Judo (78kg)    16    La Prairie
Andréanne    Poulin    Figure skating (ice dancing)    17    Île Bizard
Émilie    Stewart-Jones    Cross Country Skiing    17    Chelsea
Roody    St-Pierre    Weightlifiting (- 69 kg)    20    Lachute
Frédérique    Trudel    Mountain Bike    18    Breakeyville

14 bursary recipients in the Elite Category ($4,000)

First name    Last name    Discipline    Age    City of origin
Léandre    Bouchard    Mountain Bike    19    Alma
Émilien    Boucher Johnston    Boxing (- 49 kg)    20    Saint-Nicolas
Raphael    De Chantal Dumont    Soccer    16    Saint-Alexandre
Jade    Dusablon    Swimming    18    Québec
Yoan    Gauthier    Short Track Speed Skating    18    Rivière-du-Loup
Louis    Krieber-Gagnon    Judo (- 81 kg)    16    Montréal (Hampstead)
Myriam    Leclerc    Freestyle Skiing - moguls    19    Beaconsfield
Sarah-Jane    Marois    Basketball    17    Québec
Michèle    Morissette    Racquetball    16    Baie-Comeau
Pierrick    Naud    Road & track cycling    21    Amos
Philippe    Ouellet    Swimming    19    Saguenay (Chicoutimi)
Pascal    Plamondon    Weightlifting (- 77 kg)    19    Ascot Corner
Pascal    Soucy    Karate (fighting - 75 kg)    19    L'Ange-Gardien (Outaouais)
Audrey    Vaillancourt    Biathlon    21    Québec

About the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence
The mission of the Foundation is to financially support and encourage student-athletes in their pursuit of excellence and to promote athletes as role models in Quebec society. Over the past five years, the Foundation has awarded over to $3.4 million in bursaries to student-athletes and will distribute a minimum of $925,000 in 2012. Visit our website at www.faeq.com and like our Facebook page: FAEQ – Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence du Québec.