Ontario – Canada Basketball announced today the appointments of Tom Anselmi, Bryan Colangelo, Ron
Foxcroft and Jim Hunter to its Board of
Directors.
“This is
a very exciting day for the organization,” said Therese Quigley, President of
Canada Basketball, in making the announcement. “We are extremely proud to be
able to attract directors with the combination of business and basketball acumen
that Tom, Bryan, Ron and Jim all bring to the
table.”
Colangelo, the
President and General Manager of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball
Association since February 2006, is a two-time recipient of the NBA’s Executive
of the Year award, once with the Raptors and on an earlier occasion with the
Phoenix Suns, with which he served 11 years as general manager and seven as
president.
The
Raptors’ executive is a strong believer in the potential for
Canada’s only
NBA team and Canada Basketball to work closely in order to fuel the growth and
development of basketball across the country. “Our two organizations are aligned
in our vision and commitment of developing the sport in all corners of
Canada,
especially among young players. Teaming with Canada Basketball will certainly
enhance our efforts to grow this great game” said Colangelo.
Anselmi is
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Raptors’ owner,
Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment. An accomplished sports and entertainment
business leader, he has been with MLSE since 1996 and is responsible for the
business operations of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC and
Toronto Marlies. A
Toronto native,
he formerly headed up Arena Operations for Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment in
Vancouver.
Hunter
is Chief Executive Officer of NexGen Financial Limited
Partnership, one of Canada’s
fastest-growing fund companies. Formerly CEO of Mackenzie Financial Corporation,
he played four years of intercollegiate basketball at the
University of
Victoria,
captaining the Vikings in 1974. In addition to his director position, Hunter
will assume the role of Director of Finance for Canada Basketball and will join
Quigley and director and Vice President Jacques Miqueu
on the Executive Committee.
Foxcroft is
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fluke Transportation Group and founder
and CEO of Fox 40 International, the globe’s largest maker of whistles. Invented
by Foxcroft, the Fox 40 “pea-less” whistle is
sanctioned for referees and officials in the NBA, NFL, NHL, FIFA and NCAA, and
is also used by police, fire and rescue professionals in 130 countries. A
long-time referee in international and NCAA basketball – he refereed the gold
medal game at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and was
a Sweet 16 fixture – and an Evaluator of Officials for the NBA, Foxcroft was recently named by Referee Magazine as one of
the 52 most influential persons in North American Officiating History. He was
inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.
The four
new directors will join existing board members Quigley, Miqueu, John Mills of Vancouver, David Pecaut and Brian Cooper of
Toronto, Joe
Ralko of Regina and
Caroline Bouchard of San
Francisco.
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Canada
Basketball (www.basketball.ca)
is a private, not-for-profit corporation that is committed to the growth of the
sport in Canada. Just as important,
Canada
Basketball is focused on the development and preparation of
Canada’s
national teams for the Olympic; Pan American and FISU Games as well as the World
Championships. The aspiration of
Canada
Basketball is to instill the pride, commitment, passion and respect that
Canadians personify into the development of basketball across the country and
internationally.
The
schedule for 2008 Canadian Senior Men’s National team is as follows: Jack Donohue International Classic vs.
New Zealand and Lebanon,
Hamilton & Toronto (CAN) June 30-July5: International Exhibition vs. Germany,
Manheim (GER) July 9-11: FIBA Olympic
Qualifying Tournament for Men Athens (GER) July 14-20: 2008 State Farm USA
Basketball Challenge Las Vegas (USA) July 25: Olympic Games Men’s Tournament
Beijing (CHN) August 10-24 2008 (upon qualification). The schedule
for 2008 Canadian Junior Men’s National team is as follows: Jack Donohue International Classic vs. University All-Stars,
Toronto
(CAN), June 4-5: FIBA Americas World
Championships Qualifying Tournament
Formosa,
(ARG) July 14-18. The
schedule for 2008 Canadian Development Men’s National team is as follows:
International Exhibition vs. Italian All-Stars, June 24-25, Toronto
(CAN)
The
schedule for 2008 Canadian Senior Women’s National team is as follows: International Exhibition vs. Mali, Strasbourg (FRA) July 19-23:
France Basketball Federation Tournament
vs. France, Belarus, Poland, Geispolsheim
(FRA) July 25-27: 2008 Grand Prix Slovakia
vs. Slovak Republic, Italy, Germany, Kosice, (SVK). The schedule for 2008 Canadian Junior
Women’s National team is as follows: FIBA
Americas World Championships Qualifying Tournament
Buenos
Aires,
(ARG) July 20-29. The
schedule for 2008 Canadian Development Women’s National team is as follows:
International Tournament vs.
China,
Shanghai
(CHN), July 15-23.
For more information
please contact:
Tanya
Phillipps
Rajani J. Kamath
Manager,
Marketing & Events
Director, Corporate Communications
Canada
Basketball
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Tel: 416.614.8037 x 219
Tel: (416) 815-5790
Cell :
(416) 276-9329
e-mail: rkamath@mapleleafsports.com
e-mail:
tphillipps@basketball.ca
Website:
www.raptors.com
Website:
www.basketball.ca
Website:
www.theaircanadacentre.com