Apr. 11, 2017 – Twenty-three student athletes between the ages of 16 and 26 were awarded a total of $76,000 in individual bursaries, ranging in amounts from $2,000 to $4,000, as part of the 13th edition of the Cascades Bursary Program, which is administered by the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence.
Canadian Alex Harvey, current World Champion in 50 km cross-country skiing and six-time Cascades bursary recipient, since the age of 16, was present during ceremony. Sponsored by Cascades for the past 12 years, Harvey met the 2017 bursary recipients and spoke about his achievements.
“Cascades is proud to be associated with the foundation and to have supported the development of young athletes for the past 13 years,” said Mario Plourde, president and CEO of Cascades. “Close to 250 bursaries, totalling more than $900,000, have been awarded during this period. I would like to applaud the talent, discipline, and determination of each of our bursary recipients. They are fine role models.”
Three types of bursaries were awarded: 10 Academic Excellence bursaries to recognize outstanding scholastic achievements; 12 Academic and Athletic Support bursaries to promote the balancing of academic and athletic pursuits; and one Perseverance bursary to reward a recipient who has provided inspiration by overcoming a number of obstacles with determination and grace.
The 2017 recipients include Amelie Kretz, Olympic triathlete; Laurent Dumais, rising star in freestyle moguls skiing; Frederique Turgeon, 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Games para-alpine hopeful; and Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh, student-athlete in freestyle moguls skiing who was awarded this year’s Perseverance bursary.
A number of former Cascades Bursary Program recipients have gone on to make names for themselves in their athletic, academic, and post-athletic careers. They include freestyle skiers and Olympic medalists Alexandre Bilodeau and Mikael Kingsbury; former World Junior Snowboarding Champion Christelle Doyon, who is now a medical resident in ophthalmology; and Canadian tennis stars Eugenie Bouchard and Francoise Abanda.
In 2017, the Foundation for Athletic Excellence will award $1,350,000 in bursaries to over 475 student athletes and encourage the conciliation of school and high-performance sports.
Founded in 1964, Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products that are composed mainly of recycled fibres. The Company employs 11,000 women and men, who work in close to 90 production units in North America and Europe.
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