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CBC
41 minutes ago
- CBC
Cricket is growing in popularity in Waterloo region, especially among women
Cricket has been growing throughout Canada in recent years, and in Waterloo region, this growth is quite tangible – especially among women and children. "You can take Indians out of India, but not cricket out [of] them," said Priyadharshini Anandhan, captain of the Tamil Cultural Association's women's cricket club. "Wherever you see a group [from the] Indian community, you can see cricket there." Anandhan, who loves the sport for instilling discipline in her, is one of many female cricket players in Waterloo region who is seeing the sport's growth as a win. Cricket's growth Cricket in general has been growing over the years. In Toronto for example, cricket has grown so much that in 2024, the city's executive committee had to push forward plans to develop a formal cricket strategy. In Calgary, the demand for cricket fields has grown so much that cricket groups started setting caps on registration to ensure as many players as possible get field time. Khrisna Bhure, captain of the Golden Triangle Marathi Mandal's men's cricket team in Waterloo region, said he's excited to see the growth of the sport he grew up playing. "Coming to men's cricket [around 2017-2018], I would say there were about 15 to 20 season ball clubs," he said. "Now I see more than 70 to 80 full-time teams." Rajanikanth Ruthiran, captain of the Tamil Cultural Association men's cricket club, said he's watched cricket in Canada grow significantly since moving to the country in his 20s. Now in his 40s, it still excites him to see more people showing interest in the sport. Ruthiran said cricket has become like a "religion" in a lot of South Asian countries. "It's not only in India," he said. "Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh – anywhere in the South Asian countries, cricket [has become] a very dominant sport." More women, children picking up the bat Bhure sees all this growth as good news, but it's the recent boost in popularity for women and children that excites him even more. Anandhan said she's seeing so many women – even those without previous sports experience – picking up the bat. "I have two players on my team who are new moms," she said. "They never played any sport, but they wanted to play, so we told them to come and practice and we are practicing. We are participating in two tournaments right now and they play extremely well." Krishna also noted how cricket is attracting younger players. He said his 11-year-old daughter has started playing cricket after watching her mom play, and Bhure describes it as being part of their culture. "It's a transition in culture," he said. Pallavi Bhure, Krishna's wife and the captain of Team Marathi's women's cricket team, shares her husband's insight on the growing interest among younger people. "We come with that cricket culture, and we want to make it, you know, take it forward to our next generation." The Golden Triangle Marathi Mandal and the Tamil Cultural Association's cricket clubs are among the many sports teams who will be playing at the South Asian Family Sports day later this month. "We wait for it every year," said Khrisna, "Eight communities come together with their families and kids, and it's like a mini South Asia on the Waterloo [Park] grounds." The event will take place on July 26 and 27 at Waterloo Park. Attendees will also have the chance to play other sports including volleyball, soccer and throwball. There will be activities for kids, as well as yoga and zumba.


CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Join CBC K-W at South Asian Family Sports Day in Waterloo Park
Get ready to cheer and celebrate community at the Kitchener-Waterloo South Asian Family Sports Day. Watch cricket, volleyball, soccer and throwball as teams from several local organizations play at Waterloo Park on Saturday, July 26 and Sunday July 27. Join the CBC K-W team on Sunday, July 27 for this family-friendly event open to all spectators. Stop by our booth from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and take your shot on goal against a CBC personality for a chance to win some fun prizes! About the event This event brings together members several local organizations, including: The Tamil Cultural Association. Grand River Malayalee Association. India Canada Association. Grand River Kannada Association. Bengali Sports Group. KWC Rajasthani Association. The Golden Triangle Marathi Association. The event focuses on playing friendly, yet competitive games including cricket, football, volleyball and throwball. There will be kids activities and yoga and zumba as well.


CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
‘Really exciting': Regina baton twirlers set to represent Canada at competition in Italy
WATCH: Thirteen baton twirlers from Regina will represent Canada at the World Baton Twirling Championships in Italy. Jacob Carr has the story. Thirteen baton twirlers from the ages of 12 through 18 and over are gearing up to face off against the best in Torino, Italy. The athletes are a combination of twirlers from the Sundown Optimist Baton Group and Phoenix Baton Club. They will compete in both the Nations Cup and World Baton Twirling Championship in Italy, which will get underway on Aug. 2. Former twirler and Team Canada coach Nancy Lightheart says the athletes representing Saskatchewan make up around 25 per cent of the Canadian representatives. 'That's really exciting for Saskatchewan, and for a province our size to have such a large contingent. We're obviously very proud of our athletes. They work tremendously long hours and it's hard to get to this level of training,' she said. For some on the team like Gabriella Buchko, this won't be their first time representing Team Canada at Baton Twirling. Buchko recently took part in a Pan Pacific competition. At just twelve years of age, she is now somewhat of a veteran, but that doesn't make the mental aspect of a twirling routine any easier. 'When you're tossing the baton, you just have to keep doing repetition over and over to have muscle memory where your brain can finally be like, 'Okay I need to think of the corrections now, but I know how to do this trick,'' she explained. For Malia Briere, also twelve years of age, Italy will be her first time donning the Maple Leaf. It's an experience she says will be an incredible learning opportunity. 'I feel like it will kind of be like, 'Oh wow, they can do this trick, and I might want to try this trick next year or in a couple years,'' she said. Briere also said she is looking forward to visiting some historical buildings in Italy and touring Rome with her family. Both Briere and Buchko agree that a bonus to competing in Torino will be experiencing the Italian cuisine. For Buchko, it's also an opportunity to form new friendships. 'It'll be so exciting to meet many new people since everyone is so kind and so tight together. I know that I'm really good friends with a lot of people from across Canada, so it will be good to make new friendships internationally too,' she said. When asked who the fiercest competition should be in the field, Lightheart mentioned Team Japan as the gold standard in the sport. 'The Japanese are always the highlight. Anytime we go to international events they are sort of the pinnacle,' she said. They're the team that people aspire to twirl like. So, yeah, it's always exciting to go watch them for sure.'