Chanderpaul Affirms Support For The 2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship

On the heels of staging the historic and succesful American College Cricket Spring Break Championship '09, American College Cricket's Lloyd Jodah and Nino DiLoreto are gearing up for the 2010 Championship.

The first order of business was meeting with Chris Thakoorpersad, Manager of the 2008 ICC and Wisden Cricketer of the Year Shiv Chanderpaul. Thakoorpersad affirmed Chanderpaul's longterm commitment to supporting College Cricket in the United States and said.
"With all the honors Shiv is receiving, he wants to give back to the game he loves and boosting youth cricket in America is one way of doing that. One day his son may want to go to college and play cricket and that may very well be in the United States."

Shivnarine Chanderpaul batting against England at Providence Stadium in Guyana. Photo by Shiek Mohamed, March 2009

Chris went on to say that he and Chanderpaul are proud to be associated with American College Cricket and its plans to develop College Cricket in the United States. "Whenever Shiv's cricket schedule permits, he will make appearances at American College Cricket's major events" he added.

"We are ecstatic to have the support of Shiv, one of the Alltime great batsmen and allround good guy," Jodah declared.

Nino DiLoreto, Vice President of American College Cricket, stated that the Championship will return to the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida next year. "We received great support from the City of Lauderhill. Mayor Richard Kaplan, Commissioner Dale Holness and Leslie Tropepe did a great job" stated DiLoreto. "The South Florida Cricket Community supported the Championship especially Brian Edun of Laparkan Shipping, Eddy Edwards, Ravi Etwaroo, Bedessee of Bedessee Sporting Goods, Danny Khan of the Florida Cricket Umpire Association and Hal Batson among others."

The Quality Inn Conference Center at Sawgrass Mills will once again be the Official Hotel of the Championship. "The Hotel staff really did a great job of taking care of the Teams. The Hotel is located near to the Stadium and beaches, provided transportation, and the players enjoyed the amenities" said DiLoreto.

The American College Cricket Spring Break Championship received unprecedented media coverage for cricket in the US. The New York Times was there for the duration of the Championship and provided a two page special report in its national and international editions. The NY Times also produced a Video highlighting the Championship which Sports Illustrated posted as a "Must See Video." DreamCricket.com, CricketWorld.com, NewYorkCricket.com, Caribbean National Weekly, and International Media from India, England, Australia, South Africa and others also reported on the Championship.

Lloyd Jodah, President of American College Cricket, announced that the 2010 Championship will be a four day event. "There will be a minimum of 16 College Teams competing for the Shiv Chanderpaul Trophy" stated Jodah. "In addition CricketWorld.com's Jim White is planning on bringing 2 British Universities Teams and we will invite the University of the West Indies as Guests," added Jodah.

The five pioneering Teams that participated in the 2009 Championship: Montgomery College, Carnegie Mellon University, Boston University, The University of South Florida and the University of Miami have enthusiastically indicated that they will return.

This year's Champions Montgomey College are getting kudos at home, including a Press Conference by the College. Participating Cricketers from the other Colleges are also receiving attention as requests for interviews are coming in from as far away as Australia.

Tangible benefits have already emerged as a result of the Championship. The University of South Florida now has a Coach. Hubert Smythe, an ICC certified Umpire and Coach, will do the honors. Likewise at the University of Miami where Brian Edun will coach the 'Canes. Barry University will field a Team for the first time and has a Match scheduled with UMiami. Students at Hofstra University have taken the first steps in starting a Cricket Club and a Coach has also been found for them.

"The College Cricket Movement is spreading like wildfire. The enthusiasm and passion exibited by the student athletes is tremendous. It motivates Nino and I to work even harder to bring College Cricket to the mainstream of the American Sports landscape," stated Jodah.

The tentative dates for the 2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship are March 18-21, 2010. The Semi Finals and Finals will be played in the Lauderhill Cricket Stadium and will be webcast worldwide. For more information call 954-732-5527 or 718 751 6117.
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