Australian Expats Pitch Dragons Booming School Program that Empowers Canadian Kids Through Aussie Sports
Aussie X Faces the Dragons Den, more photos below
In a new episode of The Dragons’ Den airing Wednesday November 9, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. EST on CBC Television an Australian gym teacher, an Australian television actress and a Bay Street investment consultant will pitch Aussie X: a booming school program that teaches Canadian youth the life-changing power of sport and community through Australian rules football (“footy”), cricket and netball.
To date, over 110,000 Canadian students have participated in Aussie X’s in-school and camp sports programs, with specialized programs for youth living in at-risk areas.
“Our goal is to use Australia’s unique sports and culture to level the playing field for kids and inspire healthy lifestyles, laughter and confidence. We definitely achieved this with the Dragons during our pitch,” said Kaela Bree, partner, Aussie X.
During the episode taping, the Aussie X team had all of the Dragons, affectionately nicknamed “Robbo” (Robert Herjavec), “Jimbo” (Jim Treliving), “Brucey” (Bruce Croxon), “Big Croc” (Kevin O’Leary) and “Dicko” (Arlene Dickinson) playing footy and cricket. The Dragons quickly discovered the fun – and value – of the program; Aussie X boasts an annual growth of 190 percent.
Since 2008, Aussie X has executed its program in several Canadian cities in Ontario and British Columbia. In 2011, the charitable arm of Aussie X travelled to Kenya, where it ran sport and life skill programs for over 3,200 kids in need. This year, Aussie X has already engaged over 60,000 individual kids in 130 schools and 60 camps.
In addition to its in-school and camp programs, Aussie X runs effective corporate team-building programs across Canada. Through a partnership with RBC, Aussie X runs a cricket program targeting Canada’s new immigrants, which creates a sense of community through a familiar sport.
The Aussie X’s Australian rules football youth-at-risk project is proudly supported by The Ontario Trillium Foundation and The Toronto Police. This year, the Aussie X’s youth-at-risk project has been nominated for a Great Grants award by The Ontario Trillium Foundation.
For more information, please visit: http://www.theaussiex.com and www.facebook.com/theaussiex
Dragons’ Den is the top-rated Canadian entertainment program on television, with more than one and a half million Canadians tuning in each week.
Available for interviews:
Emile Studham, Founder, Aussie X
Kaela Bree, Partner, Aussie X
Marko Sheard, Partner, Aussie X
Diane Buckner, Host, The Dragons’ Den
The Dragons’ Den Dragons
From Auskick to this! Great job in making footy more accessible to the younger generation and for helping kids along the way.