Canadian Elite Basketball League Announces 2023 Business Award Winners

The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced its CEBL Business Award Winners for the 2023 season Tuesday, consisting of four awards given in recognition of accomplishments at both the team and executive level. The recipients include the Winnipeg Sea Bears, who were selected as Franchise of the Year, and their president, Jason Smith, who took home Team Executive of the Year honours, while the Edmonton Stingers were named the Community Champion and the Calgary Surge received the Digital Excellence Award.

Award winners were voted on by different variations of groups comprised of league and team executives, including but not limited to the CEBL’s Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, and all 10 team presidents.

2023 CEBL BUSINESS AWARD WINNERS:

FRANCHISE OF THE YEAR

Awarded to the franchise that best represents the values of the CEBL through good internal governance, engagement in the community, commitment to innovation, success on the basketball court and with revenue generation, demonstration of a long-term vision for sustainable business growth, and promotion of Canadian basketball.

Winner: Winnipeg Sea Bears

TEAM EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

Awarded to a team executive who best lives the values of the CEBL by leading with integrity and good governance, fosters a positive organizational culture, leads a franchise that has demonstrated success on the basketball court, in the community and with the overall performance and development of their club’s business during the past year, demonstrates a long-term vision to grow their franchise in its market, and contributes to the success of the league beyond their own club while being an inspiration and valued colleague to peers around the CEBL.

Winner: Jason Smith, President, Winnipeg Sea Bears

In the team’s inaugural season in 2023 under the leadership of Owner and Chairman David Asper and President Jason Smith, the Sea Bears set strong roots in Winnipeg setting the franchise up for sustainable long-term growth. The club set multiple CEBL attendance records at Canada Life Centre this summer, including the single-game record of 10,580 fans on August 4 against Edmonton in the Play-In round of the playoffs, the single-game regular season record of 8,230 fans on July 29 against Edmonton, and the full-season attendance record of 65,609 over 11 total games.

The Sea Bears finished the CEBL season with a 12-8 record which tied for second-best in the entire league and earned the right to host a home playoff game. Their roster featured home-grown talent in Winnipeg-born forwards Chad Posthumus and Simon Hildebrandt who became heavily involved on the court and in the community throughout the season. The club also hosted a series of youth summer camps in partnership with Manitoba Blue Cross, welcoming kids of all ages and genders to join sessions free of charge and receive complimentary gear.

COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARD

Awarded to the franchise that has demonstrated a dedication to and understanding of local communities through notable, creative, and sustainable outreach that prioritize the CEBL values of innovation, inclusion, diversity, and meaningful experiences for fans and others.

Winner: Edmonton Stingers

The Stingers ran numerous impactful initiatives in Edmonton in 2023, including replacing over 500 mesh nets around the city, raising $500,000 to refurbish public school courts, and providing 400 new basketball shoes to a local charity for youth athletes. Their more than 1,000 hours spent in the community so far this year also featured programs like their Stingers Showcase high school games, Stingers Hoop Bus, and numerous camps and clinics. The Stingers Foundation, a registered non-profit charitable arm of the club, was officially launched earlier this year and will be running the team’s portfolio of community projects moving forward.

DIGITAL EXCELLENCE AWARD

Awarded to the franchise that best delivers graphic and video content that demonstrates excellence in quality of presentation and appeal, creativity and innovation, and overall consistency, while driving interactive engagement with designated targeted audiences that show a measurable impact for followers, partners, and for the franchise’s business and brand awareness. Voted 40% by quantifiable measures in-season from May 1 to August 31 and 60% by vote.

Winner: Calgary Surge

The Surge sustained monumental growth across their digital platforms in the team’s inaugural season in Calgary, including a 65.9% growth in social media followership during the season and 104% growth in newsletter subscriptions (highest league-wide). The club was also top three in the league in most quantifiable digital metric categories in 2023 and have conveyed a consistent brand voice and visual identity from the team’s inception that stemmed from an online grassroots campaign that generated thousands of responses and led to ‘Surge’ being selected as the team’s name in late 2022.

About the CEBL

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 73 percent of its 2023 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.