Aušra Sports Club

Happy Canada Day, everyone! This year has been exceptional for the Toronto AUSRA Sports Club, and we’re thrilled to share some great news with you!

We’ve seen a record number of registrations in our sports programs, the highest in nearly a decade. Our basketball and table tennis programs for youth and men continue to thrive. Additionally, we’ve successfully relaunched women’s basketball, thanks to a dedicated group of athletes, and introduced coed volleyball. We’re also exploring more options for the 2024/2025 season, so stay tuned for updates!

A big thank you to all the volunteer coaches and parents who dedicated their time to our programs this year. Your efforts have strengthened our community, and we are always welcoming more volunteers. As a reflection of the community’s generosity, we have been able to donate over $7,500 to the church.

We had a fantastic year at SALFASS, hosted in Toronto, winning 5 gold, 7 silver, and 4 bronze medals in the SALFASS 2024 games—our best performance in many years. We’re immensely proud of our athletes and coaches. Special thanks to Aras Ruslys, Ona Stanevicius, Eugene Kriksciunas, and Dainius Saudys for coordinating our basketball and table tennis athletes and Ausra’s participation at SALFASS, as well as to Stasys Kuliavas, Matt Akelaitis, and everyone who organized this memorable tournament. We look forward to traveling to Detroit for next year’s SALFASS on the May long weekend.

We’re excited to announce the redesign of our website, ausra.net, featuring a streamlined registration process. This was made possible by the hard work of our treasurer Larissa Stoncius and her team. We’re grateful for their efforts in bringing this new website to life.

Our AGM will be held in September as a hybrid event, both in person at the church and online. Join us on Wednesday, September 4th at 7:00 PM for this important meeting, with more details to come closer to the event. We look forward to seeing you there.

For the 24/25 season, one of our major focuses will be preparing for the Lithuanian World Games in July 2025 in Palanga. We aim to assemble a team of athletes and collaborate with our community for fundraising and sponsorship opportunities to represent Canadian Lithuanian sporting achievements.

Thank you all once again for your support. We look forward to a productive new season.

Aušra Sports Club was formed in 1955 as the sporting arm of the Resurrection Parish in Toronto. The Club was organized to bring the Lithuanian community together by providing a quality sport activity experience for children and adults. Athletes who have learned and played with Aušra have gone to university and college basketball and several have gone to play professionally in the NBA and Europe.

Based in Toronto's west end, Aušra competes in local house leagues and international tournaments hosted by similar organizations in the US and Europe.

The club also holds weekly training and recreational practices in basketball, table tennis and volleyball. Additional sports are considered upon demand. New members are always welcome to join the club - kids ages 5 to 17, adults, and veterans too!