​ Lietuva Trip 2025 - Aušra Sports Club

Aušra SC is celebrating its 70th anniversary by sending athletes of all ages to the World Lithuanian Games in Palanga, July 3-6, 2025! ​​ This team will represent Canada under ŠALFASS and compete against Lithuanian athletes from around the world.

Who Can Join?

​ Junior Ausra Athletes born 2009-2014

​ All Adult Ausra Athletes in Ausra supported sports (basketball, tennis, volleyball, table tennis)

​ Up to ⅓ of the team can be non-Lithuanian

​ No registration fee – funded by the Lithuanian government

(travel/accomodation fees extra, see below)

Key Details:

​ Registration Deadline: February 14, 2025

​ Flights: Arrive by July 2, depart July 7 (individual bookings, shared info)

​ Accommodation: Book your own OR team housing available at All Seasons Palanga (optional)

​ Subsidies: €30/day per athlete + meal coverage from July 2-7

​ Swag: Uniforms provided by Canadian Lithuanian Delegation & Parama

​ Practices: Start in February in Etobicoke + May pre-trip SALFASS Tournament weekend in Chicago

Interested/Next Steps?

For each athlete, 3 registrations are REQUIRED by Feb 14, 2025

1) Ausra Sports Club https://app.teamlinkt.com/register/find/ausrasportsclub - Aušra

2) North American Governing Body ŠALFASS (free). https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSf7YzaB6upi3e.../viewform

3) Lithuanian Games itself (free). https://www.sportozaidynes.lt/registracija/

Please use the Google Translate function to translate from Lithuanian to English. Coaches can assist when filling out this form.

​ Questions or missed the deadline? Contact ausra.krepsinis@gmail.com ASAP!

​More info: https://www.ausra.net/ausrasportsclub/WORLDLITHUANIANGAMES

​Even more info: www.sportozaidynes.lt

THANK YOU FOR CELEBRATING OUR 70TH ANNIVERSARY WITH US

Dear Aušra Sports Club Members & Athletes,

We wanted to take a moment to extend our deepest thanks to each of you for attending our 70th Anniversary event on Sunday. Your presence at such an important milestone for our club means the world to us, especially considering that you took the time out of your busy schedules on Super Bowl Sunday. We are incredibly grateful for your support and participation during our commemorative mass, and afternoon kids activities as well as the friendly basketball and table tennis games led by our amazing coaches Melinda Stončius, Eugenijus Krikščiūnas, Jonas Stončius, Edis Obeliūnas, Dainius Šaudys, Aleks Gylys, and Vytas Stončius.

Your generosity, both in terms of attendance and donations, has truly made a significant impact.

Thanks to your contributions, this funding will support our athletes' trip to Lithuania in July 2025 to participate in the World Lithuanian Games, and it will go a long way toward covering some of the costs of their travel and participation.

Mass was celebrated by Father Jonas, Father Raimundas, Father Augustinas, and Deacon Kazimieras. Children choir led by Daina Babeckaitė included Aušra SC athletes. Readings were done by Gabija, Eugenijus, Edis, Dominykas, and Greta. Gifts were brought up by Jonas, Larissa, Dana, and several of our junior athletes. The mass can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80g39C-Pg9U.

There were many volunteers and contributors, but we wanted to highlight a few: Lana Luksevičius, Jonas Stončius, Vytas Gataveckas, Danielius Duz, Audra Mills, Ilona Stanaitis, Gražina Pacevičius, Vida Stanevičius, Krista Liačias, Gailė ir Aliukas Gylys, Rūta Skusevičius, Vytas Stončius, Irena Vaišnoris, Barry Wilkinson, and our amazing cook for the day, Ona Rekus.

And to our silent auction donors: Martynas Drungilas, Linda Rugienis, Janet Joseph, Loreta Stanulis-Duz, Jalima Simancas, Violeta Prasauskas, Exactus Energy, Raymond Siauciulis, Stasys Kuliavas, the Stončius Family, Graeme Dymond, Ona Stanevičius, Viktorija Tatarsky, and Larissa Stončius.

Once again, thank you for being a part of this special event. Your dedication to our club and our athletes is what makes Aušra Sports Club such a remarkable community.

Warm regards,

The Aušra 70th Anniversary Committee

Ona Stanevičius, Larissa Stončius, Viktorija Tatarsky, Melinda Stončius, & Graeme Dymond

The 12th World Lithuanian Sports Games will be held this summer (July 3-6) in Palanga, Lithuania, and we look forward to sending a sizeable Team Canada ​ delegation once again. Currently, 29 sports disciplines are being offered, so there is something for everyone!

Discussions with the organizing committee in Lithuania are ongoing, and the Canadian delegation organizing committee (led by Kanados Sporto Apygarda) is working earnestly to coordinate Canadian participation. We want to gather information from those considering participating in the Games.

If you are interested and would like more information, please see our World Lithuanian Games page.

• Holy Mass at 11am
• Coffee, lunch, cake, & light refreshments
• Friendly table tennis, volleyball, & basketball games
• Chess, board games, & colouring
• 50/50 raffle & silent auction

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The Toronto Aušra Sports Club 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 2024/25 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.

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.