MontrealAlouettes.com
MONTREAL – The Montreal Alouettes, in conjunction with the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence, awarded $32,500 in bursaries to 25 Quebec student-athletes. Alouettes C.O.O. Mark Weightman presented the students-athletes with their grants during a ceremony prior to the team’s game versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Now in its eighth year, the Alouettes Bursary Program has committed to give a total of $280,000 to student-athletes who excel in a recognized high school, CEGEP or university-level football program and who also stand out in the classroom and the community.
“Since the team’s return in 1996, the Alouettes have made it a priority to help cultivate the next generation of Quebec football stars,” said Weightman. “Participation in the sport has exploded in recent years and consequently the number of student-athletes who play football continues to grow. We are proud to help continue to develop minor football with the goal of keeping Quebec’s best young athletes in the province to both study and pursue their football aspirations.”
The program is co-directed by the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence and Football Quebec in partnership with the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec. The Foundation’s President, Claude Chagnon, Football Quebec’s President, Pierre Robinette and RSEQ’s President, Gustave Roël, released the following statement regarding the Alouettes involvement in the program: “With the province’s professional football team contributing on this level, it shows today’s young athletes just how far they can go with football and a solid education. We believe strongly that this involvement will allow for today’s Alouettes to become role models, creating a link to the solid future of the sport in Quebec.”
The bursary award ceremony was presented by RDS, which was represented by Sales & Marketing Vice- President, Mr. Patrick Jutras. A Prestige level communications partner of the Foundation for many years, RDS broadcasts testimonial clips of bursary recipients and is the official presenter of the 27th Quebec University Athletic Gala which will take place on November 28th, 2012, in Montreal.
The Montreal Alouettes also took this opportunity to honour six Quebec athletes who medaled at the London 2012 Games: Andréanne Morin in rowing, Antoine Valois-Fortier in judo, Rhian Wilkinson in soccer, and Meaghan Benfeito, Roseline Filion and Émilie Heymans in diving. With the exception of Rhian Wilkinson, all of the Olympic athletes on hand have received bursaries from the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence.
For more information about the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence: www.faeq.com
For more information about Football Quebec: www.footballquebec.com
For more information about the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec: www.rseq.com
