July 3, 2014
Mayor Rob Ford, Councillor Anthony Perruzza (Ward 8 York West), Chair of the Community Development and Recreation Committee, and City of Toronto staff today joined Jonathan Dart, British Consul General, and corporate partners the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Tom's Place to announce and congratulate the 12 youth selected for the seventh annual Cricket Across the Pond program.
The 2014 CIMA Toronto Mayor’s Cricket Team members are:
Christopher Persaud of Sinclair Secondary School Armaan Kapoor, Brampton Centennial Secondary School Shivang Kantawala, North Albion Collegiate Institute Malhar Patel, North Albion Collegiate Institute Dhruv Patel, North Albion Collegiate Institute Rohit Malhotra, Stephen Lewis Secondary School Shahryar Iqbal, St. Roch Catholic Secondary School Muhammad Shahzad, Bill Crothers Secondary School Pushinder Sandhu, Lincoln M. Alexander Secondary School Zaeem Sagri, Louise Arbour Secondary School Shan Anantharajah, Fletcher's Meadow Secondary School Sabes Rasanayagam, Sheridan College
Participants in today's event also included Martin Buckle, Chair, Member Services Committee, CIMA Canada; Martin Saxton, Chair of CIMA Canada; Zanita DiSalle, Regional Vice-President, RBC; and Tom Mihalik, owner of Tom's Place.
"Congratulations to all those selected to represent the CIMA Toronto Mayor's Cricket Team in England," said Mayor Ford. "You have earned these spots because of your hard work and sportsmanship. I know that you will represent Toronto well in London."
"Cricket is becoming increasingly popular in Toronto and provides youth with great opportunities to be active and build new skills," said Councillor Perruzza. "I want to congratulate those selected for the team and wish them the best of luck in England."
The City of Toronto is CIMA's partner in promoting the Cricket Across the Pond (CAP) scholarship program. CAP uses cricket as a vehicle to reach out to youth from diverse neighbourhoods across Toronto and give them a sense of hope, increased self-esteem and opportunities to become positive role models in their communities.
"We at CIMA are thrilled to be organizing the Cricket Across the Pond scholarships for the seventh year," said Saxton, Chair of CIMA Canada. "This program is a wonderful opportunity for young cricketers from the GTA, and we greatly appreciate the participation of our sponsors, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Tom's Place and the City of Toronto, who make this possible."
“This trip isn’t just about cricket,” said DiSalle, Regional Vice President, RBC. “It’s an opportunity to develop confidence and other skills that they can translate into the rest of their lives.”
"Tom's Place is proud to say we have been supporters of the CIMA Mayor's Cricket Team since its inception in 2008. It is indeed my honour to have dressed all the young men of these Toronto cricket teams," said Mihalik, owner of Tom's Place. "Tom's Place wishes to thank all the 2014 sponsors for their support, but particularly Gord Nixon, Jennifer Tory and Zanita DiSalle of RBC."
Working in partnership with the British Consulate General in Toronto and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom, CAP provides young Toronto cricketers with the opportunity to travel to the United Kingdom, represent Toronto and learn leadership skills as ambassadors. The aim of the annual U.K. tour of the CIMA Mayor's Team is to develop these young Toronto ambassadors into role models in their communities.
"In my five years in Toronto, I have seen the CAP program grow in scope and profile. As a huge cricket fan myself, it has been a particular pleasure for me to witness the growing popularity of cricket in the Toronto area and I salute CIMA and all of the other sponsors who have made this possible," said Consul General Dart. "Cricket is more than just a game – it is the embodiment of the values of the whole Commonwealth: teamwork, fair competition and playing with the right spirit. I look forward to the day when Canada can take its rightful place as a Test cricket playing nation."
The manager of the 2014 CIMA Mayor’s Team is Arumugam Ahilesan, who is a board member with CIMA Canada. Mahendra Ram of the Toronto District School Board is the coach.
The 2014 tour itinerary includes the Toronto Mayor’s Team versus the London Mayor’s Team cricket match, scheduled to take place in London, England on July 18.
CIMA was recognized by the International Cricket Council of the Americas for the 2013 CAP program, with a Development Programme Award for Best Cricket Promotion and Marketing Programme.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is Canada’s largest bank, and one of the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis. We employ approximately 79,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the United States and 42 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.
RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2013, we contributed more than $104 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community investments of more than $69 million and $35 million in sponsorships. Learn more at www.rbc.com/community-sustainability.
About CIMA
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, founded in 1919, is the world’s leading and largest professional body of Management Accountants, with over 218,000 members and students operating in 177 countries, working at the heart of business. CIMA members and students work in industry, commerce, the public sector and not-for-profit organizations. CIMA has formed a joint venture with the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to establish the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation. CGMA is the global quality standard that further elevates the profession of management accounting. For more information about CIMA, please visit
http://www.cimaglobal.com. Follow us on Twitter at
http://www.twitter.com/CIMA_News.
Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit
http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.
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