02/02/2010

CIS Athletic Scholarshps

OTTAWA (CIS) - Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced on Monday the findings of its data collection on athletic scholarships provided by Canadian universities during the course of the 2008-09 academic year.
 
The data reveals that in ‘08-09 Canadian universities together provided $9,997,758 in athletic scholarship money to CIS student-athletes. 
 
“A common and outdated misconception is that athletic scholarships are only available south of the border. In fact one in two CIS student-athletes receives athletic scholarships,” says CIS Chief Executive Officer, Marg McGregor.
 
“Above and beyond the athletic scholarships provided by universities, there is substantial additional financial support available from universities to recognize academic success, financial need, and leadership. In addition many other organizations such as Sport Canada, Swimming Canada, and the Canadian Hockey League provide additional financial assistance to CIS student-athletes.”
 
“Athletic scholarships are a vital component in providing an outstanding educational and athletic experience for our student-athletes and are critical in the decision for our students to pursue their dreams in Canada,” adds CIS President Clint Hamilton.
 
The average undergraduate tuition in Canada (including compulsory fees) is $4,917, a fraction of the cost of tuition south of the border.
 
Last year over 2,200 CIS student-athletes (22%) achieved an academic average of 80 percent or higher while competing for their universities, demonstrating the Canadian commitment to success in the classroom as well as the playing field.
 
“Canadians have a tendency to be self-deprecating by nature, we are naturally humble and tend to underestimate how great we are,” says McGregor. “It’s time we stopped apologizing. The quality of Canadian universities is world class, significant financial support is available, playing time opportunities and exposure to Team Canada coaches is often better in Canada, and CIS coaches are top-notch.”
 
“When one considers all the factors CIS should be the destination of choice for top student-athletes.”
 
From the perspective of a gender comparison, in 2008-09, 58% of athletic scholarship dollars went to male student-athletes, who represent 54% of all CIS student-athletes. 
 
Although athletic awards are provided in every CIS sport, the largest average value of an athletic scholarship to men was provided in basketball, hockey and football. For women, the largest average athletic scholarships were provided in basketball, volleyball and hockey.
 
The athletic scholarship data can be found at:
http://english.cis-sic.ca/information/members_info/research_stats 
 
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca.
 
-CIS-

For more information contact:
 
Marg McGregor
Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Ph: (613) 562-5670 ext. 26
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www.cis-sic.ca

Michel Bélanger       
Manager, Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Ph: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: (613) 447-6334
Fax: (613) 562-5669
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www.cis-sic.ca

The Rep Team Banquet will be held on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at David and Mary Thomson CI. Please reserve this date on your calendar.

Volunteers

The SBA is constantly looking for adults and high school students to volunteer to help the Club to fulfill its commitment to the community via club activities. Please go to the web page (Volunteers) to read about the importance of having people step up and offer their assistance to the SBA. An application form may be completed at the web page (Volunteers - Application).

Articles Regarding Outstanding SBA Teams and Players

March 3, 2010

As a coach, there may be certain important experiences or accomplishments such as a great play, basket or assist that remain integral to you. For some coaches, it could be a specific victory, tournament trophy or game. For others, it could even be an entire season. These significant recollections are ones that coaches constantly refer to throughout their coaching career. As a first year teacher and coach with the Toronto Catholic District School Board, I was not expecting to establish such memories so early in my career.  

St. Joseph’s College School is a single gender school with a population of almost 700 students and is located in downtown Toronto. “The school has not been known to producing dominant sport teams” (Grossman, Toronto Star, 2009), but demonstrates exceptional academic achievements. However, something rewarding emerged within the gymnasium of this long standing institution of education revolving around a Senior Girls Basketball team. With no gymnasium in the school to practice, this group of young female athletes demonstrated excellent levels of determination and hard work as they began to train daily for several hours and sometimes twice a day. I still can recall their moans at 7:00 am practice when some of our students had to wake up at 5:00am in order to travel and be on time for practice. They worked collectively sharing each other’s energy in order to defy all odds and place themselves on the basketball map. As a first year educator, I did not know what to expect and called an old coach, teacher and role model Mr. Di Nicolantonio for assistance. He responded by explaining the importance of hard work and that anything is possible in sports as he referred to the pennant that our school’s softball team won last year. It was a first year team, and the first year the school offered softball as a varsity sport in over 15 years. He stated that basketball and soccer have the same offensive and defensive principles, and to use it to my advantage. It was these words of wisdom that the coaching staff followed throughout the season.

By the end of the 2009 regular season play, the team recorded 9 wins, some against dominant schools, and finished third in the East division. Their success grasped attention from coaches and media around the league, at the college and club level. As a result, they were featured on Roger TV High School Rush, interviewed on the Fan 590 and began to be considered a competitor in the league. At the end of games some coaches from the opposite team would ask where our athletes played their club ball. The looks on their faces were filled with astonishment when we would respond that only one player, a grade 9, had ever played organized basketball. These achievements were only made possible with the constant support and cheer of the school staff and student body.

However, something more than the wins column became important. The students came to the understanding that nothing in life is impossible and hard work is the main factor that can help them to achieving their goals. Grade 9 Kimberly Taylor and team captain Natasha Tyzler, both explained that through basketball they learned that hard work and determination are necessary in order to achieve their goals, on and off the court. These were lessons that were taught in an educational institution, but in the realms of a gymnasium with two basketball hoops and a basketball. 

The team had won their quarter final playoff game and confronted a great opponent in the next round. They played extremely well and took an early 10 point lead. However, experience played a major role in the game, and our players had never been involved in such an intense playoff game in their career. By the end of the fourth quarter, they came a mere 6 points short of a victory, ending this truly memorable year. The girls were proud of their accomplishments but disappointed with the loss. They constantly refer to the loss as a building block for them and an experience they can learn from.

Research shows that athletics and sports have a significant effect on various aspects of the lives of teenagers. They have the ability to instill qualities such as determination, good work ethic, discipline and increased levels of self-esteem. Furthermore, I posit that athletics keep individuals focusing and working on something positive, as opposed to spending endless hours on the computer, or in shopping malls or on the streets.

The idea of having the team join a rep program stemmed from various factors. It was first introduced at a coaching clinic at York University by Bob Bain and Tom Oliveri. Coaches and past athletes understand the positive effects of sports on the lives of adolescents and as Tom Oliveri put it, for some kids, basketball is all they have. I can still envision Tom’s reference to some of the success stories of his Championship Boy’s Basketball team at Mother Teresa, and their on-and-off the court accomplishments through school and rep basketball. It was clear that providing these young gentlemen with the opportunity to play rep basketball had a significant impact on their lives, academics and how they developed as individuals. As an athlete at the provincial, college and University levels, such stories made me reflect on the opportunities and positive influences that sports had on my life.

As the school season ended, students began to explain how basketball was a positive motivator for them, it gave them a reason to look forward to school on a daily basis, encouraged them to attend classes and perform well academically as they had goals to receive a scholarships.”Instead of wasting time going to malls and doing unproductive things, playing basketball helps us build self-esteem, courage and team-work skills” (Mereil and Miole). More so, they wanted to find a way in which they could improve their skills and play to prepare for the following year. Parents also communicated the positive impact basketball had on their child and how it assisted them in developing everyday qualities and characteristics. Some parents even inquired how many more months needed to pass until basketball started again, as it was the only after school activity their child engaged in. These comments immediately brought me to recollect on Tom Oliveri’s stories and I pondered on ways in which the girls could continue to play basketball.

When asked, many of the girls communicated that they did not play club basketball because it was either too expensive to join an OBA team, gyms/facilities were too far, they had no means of communication, there were no downtown leagues/clubs and there part time job got in the way. With Tom Oliveri’s advice and guidance I began to call several basketball clubs in Toronto explaining our story and asking if they would allow us to create a sanctioned OBA team that would consist of simply the players on our school team. Originally, I received several initiatives to bring our team for a try out and they would select the players they wanted. I extended the invitation to our athletes, but they refused and wanted to create a team composed of our athletes. They did not want to be separated from one another and felt they would not grow as a team. It was then that I began to receive a great deal of feedback from basketball coaches and players regarding the work of the SBA.  I was informed that the club was determined to increase female basketball in Ontario and player development.

It was evident from the beginning that the leaders of the organization, Sam Moncada and Peter Jones, were deriving efforts to increase the game of basketball for females. There was never any discussion regarding funding and expenses, but solely problem solving on how they could work with us to create this unique team and provide these female athletes with experience, opportunity and exposure. Over the course of a month, ongoing phone conversations through Christmas break, explanations and discussions that this project was completed took place. Having never coached in the OBA there was a great deal of information that needed to be transferred to me and the organizers of the SBA guided me through the entire process. When introduced to the club, I received a great deal of positive feedback and coaching assistance which made me and the team feel welcomed. A meeting was scheduled for the parents of our athletes and the coaches to explain this idea. In all honesty, the coaching staff was expecting maybe fifty percent of the parents/guardians of the players to attend this meeting. However, our cafeteria was filled to the point where we did not set up enough seating for all the guests who attended. All of our athletes and their parents/guardians were present at the meeting and we immediately knew that this was something extremely important to the parents/guardians and the players themselves. 

This opportunity has allowed us to provide young female athletes with an experience that they may never have had prior to this. These athletes must perform well academically, attend all classes, and have a positive learning attitude in order to be able to play basketball. At this point, the effects of creating this team have been extremely beneficial. For example, the school day ends at 2:40 pm and evening practices begin at 6:00 pm. Last week, I entered the school at 5:30pm to prepare for practice and could not believe what I saw. The athletes were sitting on the gymnasium stage either reading a book, completing math homework, getting the science notes they missed and juggling a basketball while studying for chemistry. They explained to me that it was much too time consuming to travel home and back, so they studied in the school carols from 3:30 pm until 5:30 pm. You could imagine my response to the 14, 15 and 16 year- olds.  The team is initiating various fundraisers in order to attend sanctioned tournaments, continue to grow collaboratively and possibly encounter scholarship opportunities. Our hope is that basketball motivates them to perform well academically supporting them in preparing for college and university. 

Francesco Malifitano, Coach

St. Joseph’s College School        

February 22, 2010

Chelayne Bailey - 12 year old finalist wins trip to Dallas 2010 NBA ALL STAR weekend to compete in national finals.
 
Contestants compete in 5 events and the top 2 scores in USA/CDA make it to All Star weekend where the national finals are held.  Events are wall pass, behind back revolutions, defensive shuffle, skipping, and line sprints (not done in national finals).  The total top score advanced through their area finals, held at Pope John Paul hosted by the SBA in early November, 2009; and then the regional finals which were held at the ACC in Toronto.  The top 2 scorers in each age group (girl/boys) in the nation won a trip to the 2010 All-Star Weekend where they competed in the national finals. 
 
Chelayne Bailey who plays for SBA Bantam girls U13 (coached by Sam Hill), was the only Canadian to make it this year, where she competed against another 12 year old finalist and won the national title. 
 
by Christine Pointer

Chelayne Bailey & Trophy-Chelayne, other participants and David Stern (NBA, Commissioner)-Chelayne with Lisa Leslie (former WNBA player with the L.A. Sparks)                                                                          

About the Competition  

As part of the 2010 NBA All-Star weekend experience, the FIT Challenge finalists travelled to Dallas, Friday, February 12, to compete in the national finals, attend an awards lunch hosted by NBA Legend Bob Lanier and WNBA Legend Jennifer Azzi and a special meet and greet with NBA Commissioner David Stern.  They also received in-arena recognition during NBA All-Star Saturday Night.The free, nationwide NBA FIT/WNBA FIT Challenge tipped off in late September.  FIT Challenge participants demonstrate their physical fitness and agility through a series of time-based fitness stations and were encouraged to maintain active, healthy lifestyles. In addition, NBA FIT/WNBA FIT Days sponsored by SINGULAIR which feature fit and fun activities for the whole family, were held for NBA FIT members in each city, in conjunction with the regional competitions