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Laval athletes of all ages recognized for achievements
CAROLE ZABBAL
On Tuesday November 23, Laval recognized
individuals involved in sports, at the 32 nd
Laval Sports Awards (32e soirée du Mérite
sportif lavallois) held at the Maison des
Arts,. The City rewarded athletes, trainers
and officials for significant achievements
and performances in provincial, national
and international level sports.
For almost 15 years, twice a year in
June and in November, an evening is
dedicated to honouring athletes, trainers
and officials who have distinguished
themselves with their performances over
the year. Bronze medals were awarded to
those who performed well at a provincial
level; silver for the national level; and gold
for the international level.
Over 158 Lavallers of all ages were
presented with awards during the evening
presided over by Laval Mayor Gilles
Vaillancourt, who greeted each recipient
as he distributed the medals. Olympic
athlete Achraf Tadidli and badminton
trainer Paul Girard also participated in
the awards ceremony, presenting the
recipients with their decorations.
Twenty-five athletes and trainers received
silver medals and 132 were awarded
bronze medals. “Trainers are less visible,
but it’s partly thanks to them that athletes
win,” Vaillancourt stated, speaking also of
the merits that parents have in creating
the athletes of today.
Among the many other athletes honoured
were Joëlle Numainville, who received
a gold medal for her participation in
the world cycling championships, and
Alexandre Déspatie, Olympic silver
medallist for 3m springboard, whose
performance was highlighted in a video
clip shown after the awards were given
out. Young people involved in sports and
sports teams were also recognized during
the evening, receiving awards from the
Mayor as they stepped up to the stage.
Sports Laval also awarded 28 grants
for a total of $17,500 to Laval athletes
and organizations. “Laval is a winning
city because its citizens are winners,”
Vaillancourt said, addressing the
recipients. “You are part of Laval’s success;
we’re very proud of the way you represent
us abroad.” The City of Laval and Sports
Laval also introduced Josée Chouinard
(figure skating), Camille Brind’amour (ice
hockey), Carl Schwende (fencing), and
Roland Gladu (baseball) to the Hall of
Fame.
“The great success of Laval comes from
its citizens and top performers, whether
it’s in their professional life, their social
life, their family life or their sports life,”
Vaillancourt told TCN. “We have more
champions now than we ever had. That
means that all the work that we have been
doing over the years to promote that sport
is good physically, and spiritually. We’re
getting the results now. It’s so interesting to
see that we’re producing more champions.”
Vaillancourt told TCN that he was very
proud of the achievements of Laval’s
youth, who were honoured in the awards
as well. “We have all kinds of programs
supporting all sporting activities, whether
it’s kickboxing, baseball, or any other sport.
Any youngster who wants to participate in
a sport, even if they could do it 24 hours
a day, 365 days a year, wouldn’t be able to
do everything that we offer. We have one
of the most generous offerings of sports
and all kinds of activities, whether it’s a
solitary or collective activity, everyone
gets the support they need,” he added,
indicating that the official opening of the
soccer centre in February in Laval would
be a tremendous opportunity for young
people to get involved in sports.
Four Laval community organizations receive grants
(TCN) The five Laval Liberal MPs were proud
to announce on Wednesday, November 24,
government funding of $349,454 for four
of the region’s community organizations
as part of the Ministry of Education’s
Programme d’action communautaire sur le
terrain de l’éducation (PACTE).
Fabre MP Michelle Courchesne, Laval-des-
Rapides MP Alain Paquet, Chomedey MP
Thomas J. Mulcair, Vimont MP Vincent
Auclair and Mille-Îles MP Maurice
Clermont, were proud to present the
organizations with the funding on behalf of
Minister of Education Pierre Reid. Au jardin
de la famille de Fabreville were granted
$7,500, Groupe Alpha Laval, $144,454,
Diapason-Jeunesse $50,000; and The
Learning Exchange $80,000.
“I’m particularly pleased that the
government is supporting these community
organizations so that they may continue
their services to people in the region,
fighting poverty and illiteracy,” said the
Minister responsible for the Laval region,
Michelle Courchesne.
PACTE supports organizations that work
in areas other than those already offered
through the education network and that
correspond to specific needs. PACTE is a
programme that promotes independent
community action groups working in fields
under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of
Education, and provides financial support
for work on literacy training, the prevention
of illiteracy, reintegration of school dropouts
and continuing education and development
for community action groups.
The Minister of Education Pierre Reid
recently announced that 161 community
groups would share in the $12,640,600
offered as part of the PACTE programme,
which falls under the criteria and
recommendations of the Community
Action Plan and the government policy
for continuing education. According to
Reid, “this announcement testifies to the
importance of these community action
groups in the eyes of the Quebec government.
Through their intervention at a social and
educational level, they have become an
essential asset for the development of all the
regions of Quebec.”
The Chomedey News • www.chomedeynews.ca • December 2, 2004 • 19