Toronto Mayor Rob Ford with the Toronto district 2013 CIBC Trophy Boys High School winners North Albion C.I.
The shackles of a cold winter began to be removed as the sun shone on Thursday (April 10) and the temperature in Toronto was to reach +10C for the second day in a row. It was fitting weather for the launch of the 2014 CIBC Trophy for the Mayor’s School Cricket tournament in Toronto at the Cabbagetown Youth Centre. This tournament is presented by the Canadian arm of CIMA, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and enters a fourth year in 2014.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was on hand to help launch the 2014 tournament and to present the trophies to the 2013 Toronto High School boys competition winners (North Albion Collegiate Institute) and the runner-up (Woburn Collegiate Institute). Mayor Ford told of discussions in 2011 about introducing a cricket competition into Toronto schools. He was delighted with the success of this program and congratulated all the participants, including the players, coaches, sponsors, organizers and volunteers.
The 2014 tournament, as in 2013, will include divisional championships in Toronto, Brampton, Markham and Mississagua to be played between May 12 and May 28. The Greater Toronto Area finals are scheduled for May 31at the Dixie-Sandalwood grounds in Brampton. The Brampton Soccer Centre is the prominent building within the park grounds.
Dwight Drummond of CBC News Toronto acted as master of ceremonies. Representatives of various companies and bodies involved in the organization, sponsorship and support of the CIBC Trophy schools cricket tournament spoke in support of this cricketing initiative and helped to present some of the trophies.
Those making the presentation of the 2013 trophies alongside Toronto Mayor Rob Ford included Martin Saxton (Chair of CIMA Canada), Raza Hasan (Senior Vice-President, CIBC), Chris Bolton (Chair, Toronto District School Board), Nick Biagni (Program Coordinator for Health and Physical Education and the Arts, Toronto Catholic District School Board) and Jonathan Dart (British Consul General in Toronto).
CIMA’s Martin Saxton told of how there had been 50 school teams from Toronto participating in 2011 which grew to 60 in 2013 and he has hopes of more than 70 schools and teams in 2014. He thanked the Mayor, the sponsors, especially lead sponsors CIBC, and those in the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation Department who work to prepare the grounds and pitches for use in the tournament.
The following team awards were formally presented for the 2013 Toronto CIBC Trophy schools competitions:
Boys High School Winner – North Albion Collegiate Institute.
Boys High School Runner-up – Woburn Collegiate Institute.
Girls High School Winner – York Memorial College.
Girls High School Runner-up – West Humber Collegiate Institute.
Boys Middle School Winner -Valley Park Middle School.
Boys Middle School Runner-up – Smithfield Middle School.
The following individual awards were presented in association with the 2013 Toronto CIBC Trophy schools cricket competitions:
Boys High School Best Batsman – Chevaughn Smith (CW Jeffreys C.I.).
Boys High School Best Bowler – Darshil Patel (Woburn C.I.).
Boys High School Best M.V.P. – Malhar Patel (North Albion C.I.).
Girls High School Best Batsman – Priyanka Suramala (West Humber C.I.).
Girls High School Best Bowler – Saabiqua Chowdhury (York Memorial C.I.).
Girls High School Best M.V.P. – Farida Babur (York Memorial C.I.).
Boys Middle School Best Batsman – Hamza Talal (Valley Park Middle School).
Boys Middle School Best Bowler – Ahmer Ayaz (Smithfield Middle School).
Boys Middle School MVP – Hamza Talal (Valley Park Middle School).
CBC News Toronto made the following “Spirit of Cricket Awards”:
Middle School – Lambton-Kingsway Middle School.
High School – Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School.
The baseball coach of Lambton-Kingsway Middle School took an interest in the CIMA School Cricket competition and introduced some of his players to what was a new sport for them, namely cricket. This venture has had the support of the school’s Principal and helps broaden perspectives. This venture by Lambton-Kingsway into the world of cricket was said to have attracted some other schools where cricket has had little or no previous history to take a look at the sport.
There had not been much opportunity for Toronto’s Roman Catholic schools to participate in cricket events but Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School broke the old mould and entered the CIMA Schools Cricket event. A spirit of cricket award was presented to the school.
An award was also made to the cricket coach of Woburn Collegiate Institute.
The 2013 Greater Toronto Championships saw wins for Brampton’s North Park Secondary School in the CIBC Trophy Boys High School competition and for Mississauga’s Father Michael Goetz in the CIBC Trophy Girls High School competition.
It was good to see one of the newly elected members of the Cricket Canada board attend this launch event for the 2014 CIBC Trophy School Cricket championship. There is usually a wide range of media attending such events as this launch, as well as potential to develop or enhance sponsorship contacts. At minimum there was TV news presence by CBC, CTV, City TV, CP24 and ATN (Asian Television Network) and Mayor Ford disappeared behind a wide collection of cameras at end of the formalities. (EN)