June 26, 2011 is a milestone for the Barrie Cricket League. Residents of Barrie have worked hard to receive permission from the City for their first Cricket grounds and the pitch has been gifted by the former CEO of Cricket Canada Mr. Atul Ahuja. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled for June 26, 2011 at 2:00 pm at Maitland Park (5.5 acre park located on Johnson St. just north of Grove St. in Barrie). The Chief Guests at the ceremony are former
Cricket Canada CEO Mr. Atul Ahuja, multiple award-winning Bollywood music composer Mr. Loy Mendonsa (from the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) invited to Toronto to attend the IIFA and Patrick Brown, Barrie’s Member of Parliament, among many notable guests.
It took several years for the world’s second most popular sport to find a spot on public grounds in Barrie.
The demand for Cricket has been on the rise in the Barrie-area, due to the increasing number of international students coming from Asia to study at Georgian College. It is difficult for International students to adapt to ice hockey or snowboarding whereas Cricket is second nature to them, having been raised playing the sport. The love for cricket made it happen and a team of enthusiasts went to the City Council with a proposal to secure the grounds for Cricket. A petition was signed by upwards of 500 residents of Barrie and strong support letters from MP Patrick Brown, Secondary school principals, Georgian College – SAC Athletics Vice President and other dignitaries from Barrie helped make this dream become a reality. Councillor
Bonnie Ainsworth got the cricket enthusiasts a spot in the open delegation with the City’s Mayor, City Councillors and other City officials.
The meeting worked for Cricket fans in Barrie as the City agreed to
allocate some public grounds for Cricket play. MP Patrick Brown tweeted (on Twitter) to raise support for local Cricket and more than 100 km south of Barrie it got the attention of former Cricket Canada CEO Mr. Atul Ahuja, a strong supporter of Cricket. After reading the tweet, Mr. Ahuja contacted Mr. Brown and showed his interest in making a personal donation for a Cricket pitch in Barrie.
Things are definitely working in the favour of Cricket fans in Barrie as the City approved the Cricket grounds and Mr. Ahuja donated the pitch.
After all this hard work, the Barrie Cricket League will play its inaugural game on June 26 and a strong presence by supporters would mark this occasion as a victory in the history of Barrie Cricket