Hydro-Québec Awards $88,000 in Bursaries to 30 Promising Québec Student-athletes

In the 17^th edition of its program with the Québec Foundation for Athletic Excellence

MONTREAL, Sept. 24^th, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Hydro-Québec and the Québec Foundation for Athletic Excellence announced the names of 30 student-athletes 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.

This 17^th edition of the Hydro-Québec Bursary Program once again offers two distinct bursary categories: Academic Excellence Bursaries, given to 14 student-athletes to reward exceptional academic results, and Academic and Athletic Support Bursaries, given to 16 student-athletes to support their ability to balance sport and studies - a demanding challenge for these young athletes making their way into national and international competitions.

Recipients come from various regions throughout Québec and were nominated for bursaries by their respective sport federations. Mr. Claude Chagnon, President of the Québec Foundation for Athletic Excellence commented, "The Québec Foundation for Athletic Excellence seeks to support promising athletes early in their athletic careers while also offering them more personalized assistance. The Foundation feels that emphasizing the importance of dedication and organization in scholastic and athletic endeavours is a winning strategy for their lives as a whole – even if they may only be teenagers now. Since 1998, the Hydro-Québec Bursary Program has concretely contributed to these important goals."

Eligibility Criteria

Student-athletes must be involved in an after-sport career project - often the pursuit of secondary school, college- or university-level studies. In addition to being identified by their sport federations as Hopeful or Elite, each bursary recipient must be eligible to represent Canada at the Olympic or Paralympic Games, or at the World Championships of their discipline. A unique feature of the Hydro-Québec Bursary Program is that it awards at least one athlete originating from each of the regions where the company maintains operations.

2014 Hydro-Québec Bursary Recipients

HOPEFUL CATEGORY – 16 Recipients, Bursaries of $2,000 Each

First Name	Last Name	Sport	Age	City
Academic Excellence Bursaries
Alicia	Côté	Table Tennis	14	Drummondville
Pier-André	Côté	Cycling – Road Cycling	17	Saint-Henri-de-Lévis
Zachary	Cristofanilli	Cross-Country Skiing	18	Orford
Sophie	Gauthier	Table Tennis	11	Repentigny
Eamonn	Gomez-Perales	Fencing - Foil	19	Montréal (Plateau-Mont-Royal)
Lauriane	Lalonde	Archery	15	Saint-Constant
Béatrice	Lamarche	Speedskating - Longtrack	15	Québec
Alex	Moore	Olympic Wrestling	17	Montréal (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce)
Raphaëlle	Villotte	Trampoline and Tumbling	17	Saint-Lambert
Academic and Athletic Support Bursaries
Jasmin	Boisvert	Judo (Under 66kg)	18	Saint-Sauveur
Michaël	Chatel	Soccer	15	Mascouche
Marie-Laurence	Godin	Swimming	17	Trois-Rivières
Charles	Paquet	Triathlon	17	Québec
Nicholas	Pigeon	Cross-Country Skiing	19	Gatineau
Simon	Pratte	Weightlifting	17	Ste-Anne-des-Monts
Olivier	Vaillancourt	Boxing	16	Jonquière

ELITE CATEGORY– 14 Recipients, Bursaries of $4,000 Each

First Name	Last Name	Sport	Age	City
Academic Excellence Bursaries
Brooke	Brimo	Synchronized Swimming	18	Pierrefonds
Geneviève	Favreau	Rowing	24	Boucherville
Daniel	Kinumbe	Soccer	15	Sherbrooke
Andréanne	Poulin	Figure Skating – Ice Dance	19	Île Bizard
Trishia	Villedrouin	Basketball	16	Montréal (Ahuntsic)
Academic and Athletic Support Bursaries
Virginie	Chénier	Archery	20	Laval
Marika	Couturier	Basketball	16	Val d'Or
Audrey-Anne	Déry	Shooting	20	L'Ancienne-Lorette
Daniel	Dubreuil	Speedskating - Longtrack	19	Lévis
Linda	Morais	Olympic Wrestling	21	Montréal (Côtes-des-Neiges)
Samuel	Murray	Racquetball	21	Baie Comeau
Chloé	Plante	Taekwondo	22	Québec
Teo	Sanchez	Biathlon	17	Wakefield
Abraham	Toro	Baseball	17	Greenfield Park

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 $4.6 million in bursaries, and will distribute $1.1 million in bursaries in 2014 to over 350 student-athletes across Quebec. 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, Ariane Connor, Media Relations, Telephone: [phone], [email protected]; Québec Foundation for Athletic Excellence, Annie Pelletier, Communications Director, 514.252.3171 ext. 3538, [email protected]