Montréal, September 26, 2012

Thanks to the 15th edition of its program with the Quebec Foundation for Athletic ExcellenceHydro-Québec awards $88,000 in bursaries to 30 promising Québec student-athletes

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 15^thedition 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 divisions.

2012 HYDRO-QUÉBEC BURSARY RECIPIENTS

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

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

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.