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A member of the Winnipeg Sea Bears executive staff receives an honour in back-to-back seasons.
Jason Smith, President of the Winnipeg Sea Bears, has been named the 2024 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) Executive of the Year. Smith becomes the second executive to win the award in back-to-back years after Vancouver's Dylan Kular did so in 2021 and 2022.
Since the Sea Bears' inaugural season in 2023, under Smith's leadership, the team has set the standard for attendance in the CEBL. This summer they set a single-season record as 86,275 fans walked into the Canada Life Centre. The total broke the previous record, held by the Sea Bears of 65,609 set in 2023.
Contributing to the highly attended games, are four of the top five attended single games in CEBL history. On August 4, 2023, Winnipeg hosted Edmonton in the playoffs which brought in a playoff record of 10,580 fans. On July 23, 2024, Calgary came to Winnipeg in front of 11,051 fans which is the second-highest attended game of any sort in league history.
Smith said in a news release, "I am truly honoured to receive this award. Once again, our fans showed up all season long, bringing incredible energy and community to every game. We are deeply grateful for their unwavering support, and we can’t wait to carry this momentum into 2025!"
The CEBL's marquee event and Canada's largest annual basketball celebration is set to come to Winnipeg next summer, a move that Smith is excited for and had a large part to play in securing the event.
"We are so excited to bring Canada's largest basketball festival to Winnipeg next summer. This gives us a chance to celebrate Sea Bears Nation and the incredible basketball community in this city and province," he said in a news release.
Two seasons into the league, the Sea Bears have become a staple in the Winnipeg community. The club hosted 15 free youth basketball camps in 2024, some of which were open to the public while others were for children in underserved areas of the city. The club also partnered with Buckets & Borders to complete two court refurbishments in areas of need in the city.