ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts are moving a practice to Scarborough to celebrate the third year of a multi-faceted mentorship and funding program entitled Level The Playing Field, presented by Tim Hortons. Level the Playing Field, a partnership between The Argos Foundation, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, will see football teams return to three Toronto-area high schools and the revitalization of six other football programs. Through a $10,000 donation to each school, Winston Churchill/Bendale B.T.I., SATEC at W.A. Porter C.I. and George Harvey Collegiate will each field a football team this fall, after many years of not having teams.
Since inception in 2009, the Level the Playing Field program helped return football teams to a total of ten TDSB high schools. In the past two years, North Albion Collegiate Institute, C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute, Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute, Lester B. Pearson Collegiate Institute, Downsview Secondary School, Sir Robert L. Borden B.T.I. and Thistletown Collegiate Institute have had football teams returned to their schools. More than funding, Level The Playing Field features mentorship, education and events including Argos player ambassadors, cheerleader ambassadors, pep rallies and an Argos Game Day to honour each high school football team.
Chris Spence, TDSB Director of Education, said, “As a former football player, I can truly say from personal experience that nothing builds esteem, a sense of accomplishment and fosters teamwork like being a member of an athletic squad. I am so proud that our continued relationship with the Toronto Argonauts, The Argos Foundation and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success is allowing us to bring football teams back to these schools. Our students benefit – they become active and engaged in their after-school hours, while achieving positive self-development. Everyone wins!”
Bob Nicholson, Toronto Argonauts President and CEO, remarked, “Community involvement is at the heart of everything we do at the Toronto Argonauts. The Level The Playing Field program allows our team and our players to connect directly with youth as mentors and helps grow the sport of football at the same time. Witnessing the development of these football programs and seeing the student athletes grow in areas ranging from teamwork to responsibility has been so rewarding. We at the Argos would like to thank Tim Hortons and the Toronto District School Board for partnering with us for a third year, bringing our total of resurrected football programs to ten. We look forward to seeing these new teams compete and to honouring their efforts at our home games this season.”
“For the third year in a row, the Tim Hortons Toronto Restaurant Owners are excited to be sponsoring the Level the Playing Field program,” said Jason St. Croix, Tim Hortons Restaurant Owner. “We strive to be active members in the Toronto community and are proud to support Level the Playing Field in an effort to encourage team sports in our local school system. We believe that team sports contribute positively to the development of our children and youth, and we are committed to giving back to the communities where we live, work and play.”
Anthony Vandyke, Principal, George Harvey Collegiate, commented, “Desire, patience, and persistence more than anything are often the keys to a person’s success. Football is one of those wonderful avenues that proves this belief. It is not about the biggest or fastest who succeed, but the collective strength, unity, and desire of the whole team that allows people to achieve individual and collective success. Football coming to George Harvey will provide our youth another opportunity to put this belief into action, to learn from it, and to practice what football teaches into their daily life. It will be a springboard for many to learn, struggle, and succeed in a manner which respects rules, order, humanity, and community. Nothing does that better than football!”
Here are the details for the special practice on Tuesday:
EVENT: Argonauts Practice in celebration of the 2011 Level the Playing Field program
DATE: Tuesday, September 13
TIME: 11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.
WHO: Toronto Argonauts full team, coaches, executives and cheerleaders, TDSB representatives, entire Winston Churchill/Bendale B.T.I. student body, SATEC at W.A. Porter C.I. and George Harvey Collegiate football teams, Tim Hortons representatives, Mayor Rob Ford
LOCATION: Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute | 2239 Lawrence Ave. E. (between Kennedy and Birchmount)
As part of the program, the Toronto Argonauts granted funds to revitalize existing football programs. Through an application process, the following TDSB schools will receive Level The Playing Field grants: Thistletown Collegiate Institute, Richview Collegiate Institute, Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute, Central Technical Institute, Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute and Western Technical Institute.
The Toronto Argonauts continued its subsidy of athletic therapists at all TDSB football games for a fourth year, thereby ensuring the health and safety of all high school football players, and continued its helmet certification program for high school football players on all teams in the Board for a second year. New for 2011 is a concussion awareness program in conjunction with the CFL, the CFLPA, the CIS, the CFLAA and Football Canada. At the centre of the program is the distribution simple-to-follow concussion flyers and posters to hundreds of thousands of athletes and coaches across the country. The flyers and posters spell out how to recognize the symptoms of a concussion and stress the importance of not rushing an athlete with any symptoms back into action.