CIS womenÕs basketball fights breast cancer
Courtesy Canadian Interuniversity Sport
OTTAWA (CIS) – The CIS Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) proudly announced Friday its fundraising initiative to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - and other related cancer charities - is up and running for a fourth straight season.
The Shoot For The Cure campaign has proven an overwhelming success in its first three years with just under a quarter of a million dollars in donations.
At the 2010 CIS championship last March in Hamilton, the WBCA presented a cheque for $94,650 to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, surpassing the $81,512 collected in 2008-09 and $50,320 in the initiative’s inaugural season in 2007-08.
In addition to these impressive totals, $21,064 was amassed over the past two years by schools that elected to donate their fundraised money to local cancer organizations.
Once again this year, CIS women’s basketball programs will raise money through regular season games, non-conference matches, tournaments and special events.
The University of Western Ontario Mustangs kicked off the 2010-11 activities Wednesday night when they hosted the York Lions in non-conference action in London.
The fundraising resumes this weekend in Winnipeg and St. John’s as the Manitoba Bisons host the Garbonzo’s Invitational Tournament while the Memorial Sea-Hawks hold their annual Think Pink Weekend.
“Our Shoot For The Cure initiative is back for a fourth year and we are excited to try to reach our goal of raising $100,000 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation,” stated UNB head coach and Shoot for the Cure project manager, Jeff Speedy. “We are also going to work very hard to get every single CIS women’s basketball team to participate. We believe we can make a difference in the fight against breast cancer and are excited to get back to work.”
The fundraising initiative was the brainchild of Rod Gilpin, the long-time bench boss of the Bishop’s women’s program now in his third season as head coach of the Gaiters’ men’s team.
The 2010-11 Shoot For The Cure schedule is currently comprised of 33 events, with more dates to be announced over the next few weeks.
2010-11 WBCA SHOOT FOR THE CURE EVENTS:
Date - School - Event
Oct. 13 Western Ontario Non-conference vs. York
Oct. 14-17 Manitoba Garbonzo’s Invitational Tournament
Oct. 15-17 Memorial Sea-Hawks Think Pink Weekend vs. Queen’s
Oct. 23 UBC Regular season vs. Saskatchewan
Oct. 29 Thompson Rivers Regular season vs. Alberta
Nov. 5-6 Winnipeg Buzz Off Cancer Event
Nov. 12-14 Waterloo Warriors Shoot For The Cure Weekend
Nov. 20 Saskatchewan Regular season vs. Winnipeg
Nov. 20 Trinity Western Regular season vs. Alberta
Nov. 26 Queen’s Regular season vs. Windsor
Nov. 26-27 Alberta Regular season vs. Victoria
Nov. 27 Wilfrid Laurier Regular season vs. Toronto
Dec. 29-31 Concordia Concordia Reebok Invitational Tournament
Jan. 14 York Regular season vs. Toronto
Jan. 15 McMaster Regular season vs. Brock
Jan. 18 Saint Mary’s Regular season vs. Dalhousie
Jan. 19 Brock Regular season vs. Waterloo
Jan. 22 Toronto Varsity Blues Think Pink Weekend vs. Queen’s
Jan. 22 Ottawa Regular season vs. Laurentian
Jan. 22 StFX Regular season vs. UNB
Jan. 22 UQAM Regular season vs. McGill
Jan. 27 Bishop’s Regular season vs. Concordia
Jan. 28 Lakehead Regular season vs. Windsor
Jan. 29 Fraser Valley Regular season vs. Regina
Feb. 4-5 Calgary Regular season vs. Manitoba (2)
Feb. 5 Regina Regular season vs. UBC
Feb. 5 Laurentian Regular season vs. Ottawa
Feb. 5 UPEI Regular season vs. Memorial
Feb. 5 Laval Regular season vs. Bishop’s
Feb. 5 Windsor Regular season vs. Wilfrid Laurier
Feb. 11 Ryerson Regular season vs. Ottawa
Feb.11-13 UNB Varsity Reds Shoot For The Cure Weekend
Feb. 12 Guelph Regular season vs. McMaster