Hydro-Québec Awards $88,000 in Bursaries to 30 Promising Quebec Student-athletes In the 16th edition of its program with the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence

MONTREAL, Sept. 25, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Hydro-Québec and the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence announced the names of 30 student-athletes from across the province who have been awarded bursaries totalling $88,000. The awards will go to 16 student-athletes identified as Hopeful, who will receive bursaries of $2,000 each, and 14 student-athletes identified as Elite, who will receive bursaries of $4,000 each.

The 16^th edition of Hydro-Québec's bursary program has a new feature, its bursaries have been divided into two distinct categories: Academic Excellence Bursaries, given to 12 student-athletes to reward great academic results, and Academic and Athletic Support Bursaries, given to 18 student-athletes to reward their ability to balance their sport and studies - a demanding challenge for those who are emerging onto the national and international scenes.

Recipients come from a wide variety of regions in Québec and were recommended for the bursaries by their respective provincial sport federations. Mr. Claude Chagnon, President of the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence commented, "We are very excited to see that our partners support our values - particularly ensuring the academic success of our future star athletes, which undeniably requires a delicate balance between sport and studies, in an effort to better prepare them for life after sport. The Hydro-Quebec Bursary Program contributes a great deal to raising awareness about that transition and does so, at a very young age".

Eligibility Criteria

Student-athletes must be a part of a post-career project, which is often the pursuit of Secondary School, College, or University-level studies. In addition to being identified by their sport federations as "Hopeful" or "Elite", the bursary recipient must be eligible to represent Canada at the Olympic or Paralympic Games or at the World Championships in their discipline. The Hydro-Québec Bursary Program is unique in that it awards at least one athlete from each of the company's nine regional office areas.

2013 Hydro-Québec bursary recipients

HOPEFUL CATEGORY - 16 Recipients of $2,000 Bursaries

First Name	Last Name	Discipline	Age	City
Academic Excellence Bursaries
Brooke	Brimo	Synchronised Swimming	17	Pierrefonds
Mélyssa	Fortin	Road Cycling	16	Longueuil
Sophie	Gauthier	Table Tennis	10	Repentigny
Félix	Leathead	Diving	15	Montreal
Academic and Athletic Support Bursaries
Marc-Antoine	Blais Bélanger	Fencing - Épée	18	Montreal
Laurence	Blais-Tétreault	Equestrian - Dressage	16	Montreal
Marc-Antoine	Chaudry	Soccer	17	Montreal
Elliott	Doyle	Road Cycling	19	Alma
Nicolas	Houle	Soccer	17	Varennes
Eugénie	Lemieux	Judo -57 kg	18	Lévis
Alex	Moore	Olympic Wrestling -46 kg	16	Montreal
Étienne	Papineau	Golf	17	St-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Nicholas	Pigeon	Cross-Country Skiing	18	Gatineau
Samuel	Reiher	Waterpolo	16	Longueuil
Mitchell	Recher	Rugby	17	Huntingdon
Élodie	Tessier	Wheelchair basketball	17	St-Germain de Grantham

ELITE CATEGORY- 14 Recipients of $4,000 Bursaries

First Name	Last Name	Discipline	Age	City
Academic Excellence Bursaries
Brianna	Clark	Artistic Gymnastics	15	Greenfield Park
Jade	Dusablon	Swimming	19	Quebec City
Tamara	Farquhar	Basketball	16	Pierrefonds
Yoan	Gauthier	Short-track Speed Skating	19	Rivière-du-loup
Mary-Sophie	Harvey	Swimming	14	Trois-Rivières
Sarah-Jane	Marois	Basketball	18	Quebec City
Andréanne	Poulin	Figure Skating - Dance	18	Ile Bizard
Philippe	Soucy	Combat Karate -84kg	18	Gatineau
Academic and Athletic Support Bursaries
Virginie	Chénier	Archery - recurved bow	19	Laval
Daniel	Dubreuil	Long-track Speed Skating	18	Lévis
Mikella	Lefebvre-Oatis	Athletics - High Jump	15	Chateauguay
Samuel	Murray	Racquetball	20	Baie Comeau
Pierrick	Naud	Road and Track Cycling	22	Amos
Steven	Okito	Basketball (deafs)	19	Montreal

About the QUEBEC FOUNDATION FOR ATHLETIC EXCELLENCE

The Foundation's mission is to financially support and encourage student-athletes in their pursuit of academic and athletic excellence, and to promote them as role models in Quebec society. Over the past five years, the Foundation has awarded student-athletes with more than $4.4 million in bursaries, and in 2013, will distribute $1 million in bursaries to over 325 student-athletes. Visit the Foundation's website at faeq.com and "Like" us on Facebook (FAEQ - Fondation de l'athlète d'excellence du Québec).

SOURCE: Hydro-Québec

Hydro-Québec     
Louis-Olivier Batty
Press Officer - Media
Telephone: [phone]
[email protected] 

Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence 
Annie Pelletier
Communications Director
514.252.3171 ext. 3538
[email protected]