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.

IN WITH THE NEW...

We are excited to announce a fantastic new website for our community members.

Our board has been working on a fresh new look so you can enjoy the best possible user experience.  Some of the changes include seamless registration, frequent news updates, and information about local and international events. This new site launched in June 2024.

If you have any questions about our previous website, please be sure to reach out to our board members on our Contact Us page.
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ŠALFASS/LAUNA ​​​​​​​2024 - BASKETBALL

The final count is in for the 2024 ŠALFASS/LAUNA Basketball tournament...The Aušra Sports Club took home - 5 GOLD, 7 SILVER, and 4 BRONZE medals in this year's games.

Here are the winners of the basketball tournament:

From the Molecules (Co-Ed)...
Detroit Kovas won gold, taking home the shiny medal as the little ones played for a full game. Toronto Aušra received a Silver medal this weekend.

From Junior D...
Čikagos Lituanica returned to Chicago with GOLD  with a 53-14 result in the final. The consolation silver medal went to Toronto Aušra.

From Junior C...
Detroit Kovas came first against Toronto Aušra and won the gold medal.
From Junior B...
Cleveland Zaibas came first against Mississauga Anapilis Jr. B and won the gold medal.

From the Womens...
Toronto Aušra Womens team won Gold against the Toronto Aušra Jr B. Toronto Aušra Jr A. received a Bronze medal for their efforts.

From the Mens...
The Men's B Champion was Mississauga Anapilis (Green) in a 65-58 smoke out.

Čikagos Salta Balta triumphed in the consolation game vs. Detroit Kovas and won 77-66.

BIG GAME: Men's A Championship was a nail biter, but ultimately, Čikagos Lituanica ultimately sweeped the floor with a 57-45 win against Toronto Ausra (A).

ŠALFASS/LAUNA 2024 - TABLE TENNIS

We are excited to announce that the Toronto Aušra Sports Club will assist in hosting ŠALFASS 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from Friday May 17th - Sunday May 19th.

ŠALFASS is an annual sporting event for North American athletes of Lithuanian descent. It includes a weekend of games followed by a social activity for both parents and kids. The location address, game schedule and lodge accommodations are still to be announced. At this time, we want to give athletes and parents as much time as needed to prepare for this annual event. 

Mieli bendruomenes nariai/Dearest community members,

The Board of Directors of the Aušra Sports Club has been diligently working over the past months to prepare a diverse and inclusive 2023/2024 sporting year for all. We are continuing to refine our schedule based upon the needs of the club, based upon registrations, and so we encourage you to register for one of our enticing programs.

We anticipate our season to start for youth on the week of September 25th, and for adults the week of September 12th.

Please note our AGM is scheduled for Tuesday, September 19th at 8pm via Zoom. Please email us for a link if you wish to attend and did not receive a link. Note that there will be elections for vacant positions, as well as a proposal for an increase to club fees.

We encourage you to check out the Aušra Facebook page and website for any updates over the next few weeks and throughout our sports season. 

Please note that Aušra Sports Club is using Canada's Long Term Athlete Development program (https://sportforlife.ca/).

If you have any questions or concerns, please email info@ausra.net.

Best regards,
Aušra Sports Club

Cleveland hosted our very own, 2023 SALFASS JR., an annual friendly basketball competition depicting Lithuanian organizations from across North America. Lithuanian sport clubs: Cleveland Zaibas, Toronto Ausra, Detroit Kovas and Lituanica excitedly dribbled their basketballs into the NEO Sports plant with high spirits bringing the Lithuanian community together for a fun-filled weekend. 

Thank you to the Girls B/C team that traveled from Toronto, Ontario to play for Toronto Ausra, with tight scoring all around. Girls B/C Cleveland Zaibas took on the gold medal with a 34:31 score vs. Toronto Ausra. Special recognitions go to Girls D Toronto Ausra’s, Elizabeth Sablinskas (#5) for putting up 8 points in Game 1 vs. Cleveland Zaibas on Saturday. Bravo to the entire Girls D Cleveland Zaibas team, with Avery (#3), Abbey (#24), Elle (#23), Lily (#13) each scoring 6 points across the  game. Girls D Cleveland Zaibas won 33:16  vs. Toronto Ausra and went on to wear the Gold medal around their necks on Sunday.

The Boys E consolation game was a real nail biter, as Detroit Kovas won Bronze in double overtime against Toronto Ausra with a 2 point banger. The score was Detroit Kovas 16:14. Valio to Boys E players: Trent (#21), Lukas (#20) from Toronto Ausra, and Danielius (#12) from Detroit Kovas for leading their teams in points throughout the tournament.
Valio to Boys E Lituanica for scoring 68 points during Game 1 on Saturday and 72 points during Game 3 on Sunday versus other Lithuanian basketball teams. In the end, Boys C/D Detroit Kovas won the championship final,  taking home a shiny SALFASS Jr. 2023 Gold medal. Toronto Ausra returned home with 4 silver medals! 3 Silvers for Toronto Ausra! 

Ausra SC took home four silver medals - of which we are very proud of.  We highlight Rob Galikowski and his efforts with the award wining high school girls team.  We highlight four grade eight students who persevered in athleticism this year: Elijus, Evan, Gabriele, Sigita.  We also are grateful to teams working together as one North American Lithuanian team.