Calgary Surge and students team up for slam dunk on mental health

Ahead of the 2025 season, the Calgary Surge basketball club is making a ‘full court press’ on mental health and wellness initiatives for local students.

The Calgary Surge are just days away from tipping off on the 2025 CEBL season, but the basketball club is already making a full court press on mental health and wellness initiatives for local students.

More than 2,500 Calgary Board of Education students piled in to the WinSport Event Centre Wednesday for the 2nd annual ‘Be Well’ School Day Game featuring a full scrimmage.

The event was designed to go beyond the court—using professional basketball as a platform to promote mental health, resilience, and student well-being.

Organized in alignment with the CBE’s Student Well-Being Framework and in partnership with Roberson College, the game provides a unique blend of athletic excitement and purposeful programming for Calgary’s youth.

Surge vice-chair Jason Ribeiro says several players on the team spent the week visiting local junior high schools leading up to this moment.

“Kids have had a rough few years, right? You talk about the pandemic, you talk about what’s coming across our timelines and our news feeds, and it’s never been almost harder to be a kid these days,” he said.

“So, opportunities that we can take to be a positive force to talk about the four pillars of well being, that ‘resilience, regulation, mental health, and connectedness’ really make a difference when kids are at this age.”

Robertson College vice-president of growth Scott Murray added that this partnership with a professional basketball club allows an entire community to come together through sport and education.

“As a college we believe the ‘foundation to a great life is through education and so this game was so important to engage with our youth,” he said.

“There’s so many opportunities out there and we spend a lot of time with current and prospective students on their path to the future, there’s a lot of choices and we work hard with them to inspire them to make the right choice for their career.”

Surge Guard Rugzy Miller-Moore was amongst the players on the court Wednesday. He says getting involved in his local community and inspiring others is the most rewarding part of his career.

“Hearing the kids cheer, they’re so loud, and when I was younger I wish I had a field trip like this and I’m so happy they get to come out here, enjoy a basketball and see first-hand what it means to be part of a team.”

Grade 9 student, Ziad El-Ghandour attended Wednesday’s game and told CTV News he was ‘extremely excited’ to be attending his first ever professional basketball game.

“This inspires me how al these players kept chasing their dreams and they never stopped, they went through a lot of ups and downs, lots of bumps, but they still kept on going and look where they are now.”

“I hope I can get there too one day.”

Grade 9 student Prachi Sharma is a basketball player herself, adding that she’s motivated by this high level of play, but also grateful for a chance to talk about her own mental well being.

“This is such a nice break, we’ve been prepping for provincial achievement tests coming up and there’s so much going on, so this is a nice way to spend the day with the people I care about.”

The Calgary Surge begin the 2025 season away to the Edmonton Stingers at 4 p.m. on Sunday May 11. The home opener at WinSport Event Centre is scheduled for Sunday May 23 against the Winnipeg Sea Bears.