Montreal, Aug. 29, 2008 – For the fourth-consecutive year, Montreal Alouettes’ President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Smith will hand out $27,000 in bursaries to benefit 25 Quebec student-athletes during a pre-game ceremony at tonight’s President’s Club gathering.
Proud to be partners with the Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence du Québec and Football Québec, Smith said this program is consistent with the Alouettes’ philosophy of developing minor football and hopes it will help entice the best of Quebec’s young athletes to stay in the province both to study and to pursue a career in sports. “Since the launch of the program in 2004, we’ve continued to see the growth of football in Quebec,” Smith said. “We are proud to have been part of the growth of minor football here since 1996 and even more so since launching this bursary program.”
In 2004, the Montreal Alouettes announced a three-year $75,000 investment plan to get the program on its feet. Under the banner of the bursary plan, the team distributes monies annually to young student athletes who excel in a recognized secondary, collegiate or university-level football program. Several types of bursaries are distributed to highlight excellence in both sports and academics, for perseverance in education, and for leadership and participation in the community. Last year, Montreal Alouettes announced the renewal of their partnership with the Fondation by committing $90,000 through 2010.
As the program is directed by the Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence du Québec and Football Québec, in partnership with the Quebec Student Sport Federation, the presidents of each organization – Claude Chagnon, Pierre Robinette and Yves Paquette, respectively – said they are all happy to have the Alouettes on board. With Quebec’s professional football team leading the way, it shows today’s young athletes just how far they can go with football and a solid education. They believe strongly that this involvement will allow for today’s Alouettes to become role models to young athletes, creating a link to the solid future of the sport in Quebec.
The bursary ceremony will be presented as part of tonight’s RDS broadcast, with network president Gerry Frappier on hand. The network will feature interviews with a handful of the honoured athletes and will also broadcast a 30-second clip called “Au cœur de l’action” on the bursary program, over the next few weeks.
For more information on the Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence du Québec: www.faeq.com
For more information on Football Quebec: www.footballquebec.com
For more information on the Quebec Student Sport Federation: www.sportetudiant.com
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