Canada Basketball announced today that it will be teaming up with BlackBerry® to help empower a generation of young Canadian athletes as they confidently pursue their ambitions and love of the game.

The two-year partnership, which begins immediately, will see BlackBerry collaborate with Canada Basketball to grow the game in Canada and help elevate young men and women who love the sport to the podium on the world stage.

“Together, we will help support the hopes and future of Canadian youth. BlackBerry has a vision and a clear focus on the future that reinforces our fundamental mission to develop the character, basketball abilities and life skills of our athletes to the highest level," says Wayne Parrish, CEO and President of Canada Basketball.

“We are a company that champions ambition, and our products are built to keep you moving,” says Andrew MacLeod, BlackBerry managing director for Canada. “We’re proud to stand beside these young Canadian men and women as they work to hone their skills and pursue their dreams, and we’ll look forward to celebrating the victories as they follow the paths they’ve set for themselves to realize their vision.”

As sponsor, and as the official mobile device of Canada Basketball, BlackBerry will work closely with the organization to enhance their program, focusing on development here in Canada and high performance overall. Among some of the initiatives underway, BlackBerry will be working with Canada Basketball to incorporate StoryMaker technology so that players and teams can share their stories and offer behind the scenes glimpses of what it takes to compete at this level. As well, the two organizations will be working in collaboration on the development of a coaching application to bring skills development drills to a wider audience.

BlackBerry will debut as a sponsor at the junior men’s national team Red and White game on June 11 which takes place at Ryerson University in downtown Toronto. This intrasquad scrimmage will feature some of the top under-19 Canadian players as part of their training as they prepare to represent Canada at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Prague, Czech Republic at the end of June.

Red and White Game
Canadian junior men’s national team
7:30 p.m. tip-off
Ryerson University – Kerr Hall Gymnasium

‍