Student-athletes awarded $70K in Outaouais

Tashi Farmilo

Twenty-six student-athletes received a total of $70,000 in scholarships and services at the inaugural regional edition of the Fondation Aléo scholarship program, held on April 23 at Château Cartier in Gatineau. The event marked the launch of Aléo’s regional initiative, aimed at supporting emerging athletic talent in their local communities.

The scholarships focused on athletes in the “Espoir” category—primarily high school students identified for their early potential. Organised in collaboration with Excellence sportive Outaouais, the program seeks to connect local talent with sustained support from their home region.

A range of local businesses contributed to the funding of the scholarships, including Nomad Telecom, IG Gestion de patrimoine – Gatineau, Flames de Gatineau, Château Cartier, Bureau Tech, Groupe Mayer, Multivesco, Les Entreprises AMS, Restaurant Houston Gatineau, Olympiques de Gatineau, Nadeau Fournier – Arpenteurs-géomètres, and Groupe Fortin – Golf et immobilier, with additional support from Galeries Aylmer and Cogeco. Fundraising efforts during the event, including a raffle and charity auctions, raised another $4,000 for next year’s edition.

Recipients represented a wide range of disciplines, from weightlifting and BMX to gymnastics, squash, and figure skating. Among them were Marie-Soleil Barrette in weightlifting from Cégep de l’Outaouais, sponsored by IG Gestion de patrimoine – Gatineau; Audrey Bertrand in BMX from Académie les Estacades, sponsored by Fondation Aléo; Inès Bosse-Thompson in cross-country skiing, soon to attend Université Laval, supported by Château Cartier; and Danik Bourgeau in para hockey from École secondaire Hormisdas-Gamelin, sponsored by Olympiques de Gatineau. Kai Samm, a 15-year-old cross-country skier from Wakefield attending Philemon Wright High School, received a $1,500 scholarship sponsored by IG Gestion de patrimoine – Gatineau. Tegan Shaver of Chelsea and Féé Ann Landry of Gatineau, both in figure skating and students at Philemon Wright High School and the University of Ottawa respectively, were awarded $4,000 each by Fondation Aléo. Félix-Antoine Perron, a volleyball player from Cégep de l’Outaouais, received the highest single scholarship of $10,000, also from Fondation Aléo.

“The idea of developing a regional component to our scholarship programs has been growing in our minds for some time,” said Patricia Demers, executive director of Fondation Aléo. “The dual objective of supporting student-athletes at the emergence of their talent, while they are still in their home region, and of partnering with local business communities has been wonderfully achieved with this first project in the Outaouais.”