September 24/08 12:38 pm - Hydro-Québec 2008 Bursary Recipients
Posted by Editoress on 09/24/08
Hydro-Québec awards $87,000 in bursaries to 37 promising Québec athletes in the 11th edition of its program with the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence
Today at the Lion d’Or in Montréal, Ms. Louise Gravel, General Manager – Communications at Hydro-Québec, announced the names of the 37 athletes from across the province who will share a total of $87,000 in the 11th edition of the company's bursary program.
Last year, Hydro-Québec had announced that it would renew its strong support of the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence by donating $125,000 a year over a three-year period, for a total of $375,000, to expand its bursary program. Ms. Gravel today awarded $1,500 bursaries to 16 athletes identified as "hopefuls" by their respective sport federations, and $3,000 bursaries to 21 athletes identified as "elite". She also underscored Hydro-Québec’s firm belief in the importance of supporting still unknown but talented young athletes who have yet to receive solid financial support.
One of the objectives of the Hydro-Québec program is to help young competitors in their quest to reach the international and Olympic levels in their sport. In fact, 21 past recipients took part in this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing, including Karine Sergerie, the silver medal winner in taekwondo, and Thomas Hall, the bronze medal winner in canoeing, who both received a Hydro-Québec bursary at the age of 17. Their success confirms the effectiveness and significance of the Hydro-Québec program.
In addition to being identified by their sport federations as "hopefuls" or "elite", the bursary winners must be eligible to represent Canada at the Olympic or Paralympics Games and world championship competitions in their disciplines. They must also participate in a post-career project, which is often the pursuit of secondary, collegial or university studies. The Hydro-Québec bursaries are awarded to at least one athlete from each of the company's nine administrative regions, and four are given to children of Hydro-Québec employees. All of the other eligibility and selection criteria must also be met in these two cases.
The Hydro-Québec bursary awards were attended by Mr. Claude Chagnon, President of the Quebec Foundation of Athletic Excellence, who said he was very pleased with the loyalty and confidence that Hydro-Québec has demonstrated and that enables the Foundation to provide more support for young athletes who could be our future Olympians.
| 2008 Hydro-Québec Bursary Recipients Hopefuls | |||
| Recipient | Sport | Age | Place Of Residence |
| Rébecca Beaumont | Mountain biking | 18 | Alma |
| Patrick Bouchard | Taekwondo | 17 | Dolbeau-Mistassini |
| Marie-Eve De Villers-Matte* | Judo | 16 | Varennes |
| Laurent Dubreuil | Long track speed skating | 16 | Saint-Etienne-de-Lauzon |
| Patrick Gagné | Judo | 17 | Baie-Comeau |
| Monica Gavaris | Diving | 12 | Montréal |
| Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu | Long and short track speed skating | 16 | Montréal |
| Laurie Gingras | Tennis | 15 | Lac Beauport |
| Alexandros Kouvakas | Weightlifting | 19 | Laval |
| Ashley McGregor | Swimming | 15 | Pointe-Claire |
| Samuel Monette | Tennis | 14 | Repentigny |
| Francis Morin | Mountain biking | 19 | Valcourt |
| Béatrice Pineau | Swimming | 15 | Montréal |
| Vadim Stoliarenko | Olympic boxing | 14 | Montréal |
| Mathieu Thériault | Table tennis | 13 | Saint-Fabien |
| Chelse Zarboni-Berthiaume | Weightlifting | 16 | Montréal |
| (*) Child of a Hydro-Québec employee | |||
| Elite | |||
| Recipient | Sport | Age | Place Of Residence |
| Elladj Baldé | Figure skating | 17 | Pierrefonds |
| Sébastien Beaulieu | Snowboard | 17 | Sherbrooke |
| Alexandre Béland* | Baseball | 17 | Trois-Rivières |
| Vanessa Bélanger-Marceau* | Long and short track speed skating | 18 | Saint-Bruno de Montarville |
| Eugénie Bouchard | Tennis | 14 | Montréal |
| Vanessa Charron | Swimming | 16 | Québec |
| Nicolas Constantin-Bicari | Water polo | 16 | Repentigny |
| Samuel Desjardins | Taekwondo | 21 | Lévis |
| Paul Dumais | Weightlifting | 18 | Montréal |
| Geneviève Favreau | Rowing | 18 | Longueuil |
| Maxime Gagnon* | Judo | 18 | Baie-Comeau |
| Li-Yue Grenier | Canoe-kayak sprint | 18 | Lac Beauport |
| Kimberly Hyacinthe | Athletics | 19 | Lachenaie |
| Maude Jacques | Wheelchair basketball | 16 | Sainte-Catherine |
| Julie Labonté | Athletics (discus throw and shotput) | 18 | Sainte-Justine |
| Valérie Lefebvre | Weightlifting | 18 | Godmanchester |
| Joseph Polossifakis | Fencing (sabre) | 18 | Montréal |
| Laurent Rivard | Basketball | 17 | Saint-Bruno de Montarville |
| Jessica Ruel | Weightlifting | 17 | La Sarre |
| Antoine Valois-Fortier | Judo | 18 | Québec |
| Carol-Ann Ware | Diving | 17 | Otterburn Park |
About the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence
The mission of the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence is to support and encourage student-athletes in their pursuit of excellence and to promote athletes as role models in Québec society. By the end of 2008, through its various bursary programs, the Foundation will have handed out over $625,000. www.faeq.com Fondation de l'Athlète d'Excellence du Quéébec.
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