Section wins for Metro News and KPMG
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) won the 2012 CIMA Mayor’s Trophy staged at Sunnybrook Park on June 23rd. Metro News won the Media section trophy and KPMG took the Accountants section trophy. Reports of this years event, several with a photo or two, appear in several of the weekly ethnic media newspapers that are available in the Greater Toronto Area. Some of these newspapers publish in other major Canadian cities, and most have a website on which the event reports can be seen.
A review of some newspapers gathered from a quick trip to the major intersection of Hurontario and Dundas Streets in Mississauga last Saturday (June 30) found CIMA Mayor’s Trophy news in: South Asian Voice (June 27, which is inside the Urdu language “Pakeeza” ), South Asian Generation Next (June 28), Asian Connections (June 29), India Journal (June 29), South Asian Weekender (June 29) and The Weekly Voice (June 30). There may well have been more coverage, but some newspapers were no longer available. Most are free.
South Asian Focus (June 28) carried a report about the young cricketers selected for the 2012 CIMA Mayors Cricket Across the Pond trip to the United Kingdom. It includes comments by tour captain Sarvagya Kanha Dixit and vice-captain Mandishkumar Satishkumar. The tour beings on July 13th. RBC continue to sponsor this tour program. CIBC sponsored this year’s CIMA Mayors Schools cricket championships. The UK tour squad was named just ahead of the CIMA Mayor’s Trophy/Spirit of Cricket event.
This year’s Guyanese Independence celebrations in the GTA were held in Markham, rather than at L’Amoreaux Park and centre, and included a softball cricket tournament, according to Caribbean Graphic (June 27). A gala fundraising event was held on the eve of these celebrations to honour six Guyanese and West Indies cricketing heros: Basil Butcher, Lance Gibbs, Clive Lloyd, Stephen Comacho, Joe Soloman, and the late Roy Fredericks. Butcher and Gibbs attended this gala, which was honoured by the presence of Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar.
A wide range of cricket news from far and near appears in a wide range of ethnic newspapers, many of which publish weekly, but others are issued every two weeks or monthly. The current issue of South Asian Focus includes an interview with Cricket Canada President Ravin Moorthy about the survey of stakeholders, players and supporters of Canadian cricket. India Abroad (June 22) carried a preview about the new four team Ontario Premier League that was due to start at Malton Cricket Club, Mississauga. Fifteen players had been selected for each team at the draft. If one looks at the new league’s website, the start has been delayed, and the list of players in each team is promised at some stage. Better to put on a happy face and look at the photos of winning teams, presentations and the First Nations dancers at the 2012 CIMA Spirit of Cricket event. But an issue or two still exist on media relations, spectator relations, and promoting Canadian cricket.
Footnote/Update: GTA Ethnic Media Cricket Coverage – Somehow after my Saturday mission to pick up and see the latest issues of various newspapers in the “ethnic market”, I ended up without a copy of “Share” when I arrived home. The June 28th issue of Share includes two significant articles on the Canadian cricket scene. One is about July 4th being a poentially big day for Damodar Dasrath as he could be making his debut for Canada on his 31st birthday. His Toronto & District experience with Overseas, Tranzac, Cavaliers, Vikings and current club Brampton Masters is also recounted. Share’s Ron Fanfair compiled a fitting tribute to former Canadian Canadian cricket stalwart Jack Kyle, under the fitting heading “Jack Kyle had a passion for cricket.” It is well worth a read, written by a stalwart who has seen a lot of water go under a lot of bridges, not just on the cricket scene.