BALLERZ MAGAZINE: CANADA'S PREMIER BASKETBALL MAGAZINE

Recently, there has been a noticeable rise in the amount of athletes who play basketball in Canada. Not only do these athletes gain a sense of teamwork and camaraderie from playing the sport, they also gain a sense of hope – hope that one day their dreams will come true by playing at the next level.

But without the proper exposure, many of these athletes would continue to go unnoticed. However, that all changed with the release of Canada’s first national basketball publication – Ballerz Basketball Magazine (BBM).

On March 3rd, 2005, BBM was launched to the public in an event held at St. Patrick’s High School in Ottawa. With family, friends, and members of the basketball community in attendance, the BBM staff unveiled the first issue of the publication. A sense of pride and fulfillment could be felt in the auditorium as months of preparation and hard work finally began to pay off.

Published in Ottawa, BBM is Canada’s first magazine to promote basketball across all levels, including male and female athletes.

The concept of Ballerz began in 1998 as a local 3-on-3 basketball tournament. After receiving so much interest in the tournament, founders Wilfred Magambo and Edilson Silva began to think of other ways they could help promote the sport – that’s where the concept of a national magazine was born.

From the beginning, Wilfred and Edilson hoped for a magazine that would raise awareness about Canada’s role in the sport while also providing an outlet for the country’s basketball community.

Many are optimistic that a magazine such as BBM will help to define Canadian basketball, inspiring young athletes to play for their country and to one day creating a Canadian version to the NBA.

Earlier this month the BBM team began its cross-country tour at the Final 10 Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A national tour will not only display the presence of BBM in Canada, it will demonstrate how much dedication the team has to promoting and showcasing this sport. In the upcoming weeks, the BBM tour will be stopping in Montreal at the 1st Annual Qball Classic being held at Concordia University and in Toronto at the Adidas All-Canadian Basketball Tournament taking place at the Hersey Centre.

Ballerz Basketball Magazine is a bi-monthly publication being printed six times a year.

Yearly subscriptions and the first issue of BBM are available now through the website: www.ballerzmagazine.com. Future issues of the magazine will be found in fitness facilities, high schools, and colleges nationwide, as well as various national distribution channels to cater to the high demand of the publication.

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BBM
Words by: Alayne Crawford

New magazine promotes Canadian ballerz
Ravens coach calls project ‘a step in the right direction’

When asked for his reaction concerning the request to be on the cover of a new basketball magazine, Carleton University men’s basketball head coach Dave Smart admitted that he was slightly shocked.
Smiling, Smart said that he probably wouldn’t have chosen himself, but then again “he looks in the mirror everyday”.
The launch of Ballerz Basketball Magazine on March 3 was an emotional night for many being the accumulation of years of dreams and months of hard work.
With family members, friends, and fellow basketball supporters in the audience, the staff of Canada’s premier basketball magazine unveiled the first issue of the publication.
What made the evening even sweeter for Carleton Ravens fans were the familiar faces of Michael Smart and Osvaldo Jeanty, all-star members of the men’s basketball team, and coach Smart adorning the front cover.
From the beginning, magazine founders Wilfred Magambo, Edilson J. Silva, and Scott Bryan had imagined a magazine which would raise awareness about Canada’s role in the sport while also providing an outlet for the country’s basketball community.
Ballerz was initially a 3-on-3 tournament which originated in 1998 at St.Patrick’s High School, the location of the launch as well as Silva’s former high school.
Silva and Bryan, the editor-in-chief and executive editor of BBM, accept their share of credit with the creation of the magazine, but they credit Magambo, the publisher, for being, as Bryan described, the “steam of the dream”.
“It’s a step in the right direction in terms of separating ourselves from the U.S.” said coach Smart.
Smart was the guest speaker of the evening and had previously coached Silva for a year and a half.
Smart says he is optimistic the magazine will help in define Canadian basketball as its own distinct unit which inspires young athletes to play for their country and hopefully create a Canadian alternative to the NBA.
Smart also contributed to the evening by autographing his #42 Queen’s University jersey and auctioning it off to a very enthusiastic individual.
The first issue of Ballerz Basketball Magazine is advertisement free. Although this trend will not continue, Bryan says the collector’s edition copy thay was just released was designed this way in order to demonstrate the strength of Canadian content.
He says he believes Canadian interest in basketball is so strong that there is no need “to back it by advertisers”.
The magazine can be found in fitness facilities, high schools, and colleges nationwide, and will also be available by subscription.
“[It’ll be available] wherever basketball is being played”, says Bryan.
Dave Smart jokingly questions putting “the three ugliest people involved in basketball” on the front of a magazine. But, he says that if they “thought we were the best people to put on the cover, I’m not going to argue”.

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.: TEAM SPOTLIGHT: ST. GEORGES
.: PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: JACOB DOERKSEN
.: COACHES CORNER: TOM NEWELL
.: PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: H. BRADFORD
.: PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: CHARLIE SPURR
.: PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: BRENT MALISH
.: PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: AYMEN NURHUISEN
.: NEW BALANCE ATHLETE OF THE MONTH
.: COACHES CORNER: BILL DISBROW
.: PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: JERON DILLON
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.: TOP UNDERCLASSMEN: JR | SO | FR
.: 2004-05 PRE-SEASON ALL-BC TEAMS
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