Latest news with #Celenza
CBC
03-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
10 years in, All Canadian Games thriving as a high school basketball showcase
The All-Canadian Basketball Games were first conceived at a California Sandwiches in Richmond Hill, Ont. Presumably hovering over veal sandwiches, Tony McIntyre, the CEO of the premier boys basketball program Bounce Elite and father of ex-NBAer Tyler Ennis, handed John Celenza a mission: make a healthier Gatorade alternative. Soon after, Biosteel – the pink sports drink — was created. A short time later, McIntyre and Celenza were joined by Jesse Tipping — the CEO of Athlete Institute, which is home to the storied Orangeville Prep team in Unionville, Ont. — on a snowy walk somewhere in Ontario. It was on that journey where McIntyre, Celenza and Tipping set out to create an answer to the McDonald's All-American Game, a showcase of the top high-school basketball talent in the U.S. And so what is now known as the Cwench All Canadian Games was born in 2015, with Jamal Murray named the event's first MVP. Ten years later, the Games are still thriving. "There's a higher meaning to this," said Celenza, who has since left Biosteel to start Cwench, a rival hydration drink. "Let's get kids off the iPads and into the gyms and onto the fields. And let's show them that there's something that they can aspire to because at end of the day, how cool is that?" Indeed, the proof is in the alumni: the likes of NBA, WNBA and NCAA stars Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Thon Maker, Toby Fournier and Aaliyah Edwards have all participated in the game over the past decade. The next iteration takes place Friday and Saturday at Humber Polytechnic in Toronto. "The best thing about the game is it's always had the best players, right? And that's kind of what hasn't been able to be done prior to this is, how do we get all the best players to just be showcased at one time?" Tipping said. Recently, Celenza sat with Andy O'Brien at the renowned restaurant The Bicycle Thief in Halifax. O'Brien is a hockey trainer by trade, overseeing the likes of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. But he has also served as the main formulator for Cwench. Celenza and O'Brien were chatting about the All Canadian Games when someone tapped them on the shoulder. "Someone overheard us and said, 'I just want you to know that that All Canadian Games meant a lot to us out here in Nova Scotia. We had Nate Darling playing that game and we'd all get together to watch it on TV,'" Celenza recalled. A launchpad for success Darling, of Bedford, N.S., went on to play in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets, but he is far from the only success story. While players like Murray and Gilgeous-Alexander were on the radar, headed to blueblood NCAA schools and destined for the first round of the draft, someone like Dort used the Games as a launchpad for success. "OKC really first saw Lu here right in this game. They see him practise and they start following him," Tipping said. Tipping estimated that up to 90 per cent of NBA teams send staff for the Games, which are sanctioned by the league. He added that NBAers also Shaedon Sharpe and Dalano Banton also took off following the Games. Even still, the vibe is more all-star game than NBA Finals. Situated at the end of the season, with many athletes already locked into scholarships, it provides one last chance to share the court with peers that players have competed with or against throughout high school. Tristan Beckford of Fort Erie Academy is committed to South Florida for next season, but still sounded giddy when talking about his upcoming appearance in the game. "Just being able to connect with a few old friends and just being able to hoop with them one last time. A lot of my teammates around Fort Erie, I don't know when I'll be able to see them again," said Beckford, who backed out of an original commitment to Arkansas State in order to follow coach Bryan Hodgson to South Florida. Beckford, whose played in the game previously, said the main idea is to have a good time, and maybe make a few connections along the way. "It's an all-star game because everyone there probably has fun playing basketball. So I feel like it's definitely firstly to just have fun and just connect with a few people, but also just to help people get out there and help the recruiting a little bit," he said. The Games can also provide a path to the national team as a selection of age-group coaches are typically mixed among the high-school ranks. By the time players are ready for the senior team, the likes of Dort and Murray or Fournier and Cassandre Prosper may have already played together and built a foundation of success. "I think now being in 10 years, people who have been following the game are able to see all these guys and girls now playing in the WNBA and the NBA and doing so well," Tipping said. "It just validates the process of what they came through." Tipping said he seeks out the top coaches, referees and support staff to be part of the Games as a reward for their efforts throughout the year, too. And in addition to the usual proceedings, the 2025 event will also feature a camp for Indigenous players and a skills challenge.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cizzle Brands Corporation Graduates to the OTCQB® Venture Market and Confirms DTC Eligibility
Starting today, Cizzle Brands' U.S. ticker symbol CZZLF will begin trading on the OTCQB® Venture Market. The graduation to the OTCQB will enhance the Company's visibility and presence among retail and institutional investors in the United States. DTC eligibility for CZZLF will also simplify the process of trading Cizzle Brands' common shares for U.S. investors. TORONTO, February 25, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cizzle Brands Corporation (Cboe Canada: CZZL) (OTCQB: CZZLF) (Frankfurt: 8YF) (the "Company" or "Cizzle Brands"), is pleased to announce that its U.S. ticker symbol CZZLF has graduated to trading on the OTCQB® Venture Market ("OTCQB"). The Company anticipates that this graduation will provide greater liquidity for its common shares, and offer greater visibility and a more seamless trading experience for investors in the United States. The OTCQB is for entrepreneurial and development-stage companies both in the U.S. and internationally. The graduation to CZZLF trading on the OTCQB occurred following Cizzle Brands having successfully met all of OTCQB's Eligibility Requirements. More information about OTCQB can be found at: In addition to the graduation to OTCQB, the Company is pleased to announce that the Depository Trust Company ("DTC") has made Cizzle Brands' common shares eligible for electronic deposit at DTC. DTC eligibility streamlines the trading process, making it more efficient for investors and brokers. As a subsidiary of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), DTC handles electronic clearing and settlement for publicly traded companies. With DTC eligibility, the Company's shares can now be traded across a wider network of brokerage firms, accelerating the settlement process and improving access for a broader range of investors. The graduation to the OTCQB and DTC eligibility occurred only eight weeks after Cizzle Brands' common shares began trading on the Cboe Canada Inc. stock exchange ("Cboe Canada") in Canada under the ticker symbol CZZL, and just three weeks after the Company obtained its first European listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 8YF. The Company's public listing on Cboe Canada has generated a significant amount of media and investor interest, with Cizzle Brands' Founder, Chairman and CEO, John Celenza, being interviewed on BNN Bloomberg, Trader TV, and amongst others. With respect to the graduation to OTCQB and DTC eligibility, Mr. Celenza commented "These are very exciting times for Cizzle Brands, as we continue to gain momentum both in the capital markets, and in the consumer packaged goods space. We have worked hard to generate measurable value for our shareholders, hitting key milestones and driving growth that can be leveraged to further scale our business. Graduating to a higher tier on the OTC Markets and DTC eligibility are important steps for reaching American investors, as we look forward to providing more investors around the world with the opportunity to take part in elevating the game in health and wellness by investing in Cizzle Brands." Cizzle Brands' Head of Corporate Development Setti Coscarella commented, "In less than two months since our market debut, Cizzle Brands' common shares are now traded in three different countries, and we are pleased to have had our U.S. ticker CZZLF graduated to the OTCQB market along with DTC eligibility. This development is meaningful because our investor base is now positioned to benefit from improved liquidity, and reduced barriers for U.S. investors to buy Cizzle Brands' common shares through their preferred broker-dealer. The year of 2025 continues to bring about many great achievements for Cizzle Brands, and we are truly just getting started." About Cizzle Brands Corporation Cizzle Brands Corporation is a sports nutrition company that is elevating the game in health and wellness. Through extensive collaboration and testing with leading athletes and trainers across several elite sports, Cizzle Brands has launched two leading product lines in the sports nutrition category: (i) CWENCH Hydration™, a better-for-you sports drink that is now carried in over 1,200 stores in Canada, the United States, and Europe; and (ii) Spoken Nutrition, a premium brand of athlete-grade nutraceuticals that carry the prestigious NSF Certified for Sport® qualification. All Cizzle Brands products are designed to help people achieve their best in both competitive sports and in living a healthy, vibrant, active lifestyle. For more information about Cizzle Brands, please visit: For more information about CWENCH Hydration™, please visit: Notice Regarding Images and Links: This press release may contain images and/or links to outside web pages, which could play an important role in providing the full context of the news update being conveyed through this press release. Some news aggregation services may remove these images and/or links at their discretion. Therefore, readers are encouraged to access SEDAR+ or the News section of the Cizzle Brands Corporation website to view this press release containing all images and/or links as originally published. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company, CIZZLE BRANDS CORPORATION "John Celenza" John Celenza, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains "forward-looking information" which may include, but is not limited to, information with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, such as, but not limited to: new products of the Company and potential sales and distribution opportunities. Such forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words and phrases such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other risk factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks include risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks, regulatory risks, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law, to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change. View source version on Contacts For further information, please contact: Setti CoscarellaHead of Corporate Developmentinvestors@ 1-844-588-2088 Sign in to access your portfolio
