Two universities are tied in the standings in the city’s inaugural BIA Cup tournament. Supported by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA), the Cup is a men’s and women’s varsity-level basketball tournament between the University of Toronto and Ryerson University.

The U of T women prevailed 74 to 71 over Ryerson, while the Varsity Blues lost 92 to 68 to the men of Ryerson in the first games of the series held Jan. 7 at U of T’s newly-built Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

The BIA Cup runs until Feb. 11, when the final games will be held at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre. The women’s game will be held at 6 p.m., while the men’s will play at 8 p.m.

The TABIA initiative, which was championed by Neil Wright and the Harbord Street BIA, is not only aimed at supporting varsity sports, but also intended to introduce Toronto’s youth to the high-performance sports facilities and athletic programs available at these post-secondary institutions.

“Sports is an extremely powerful tool for building healthy communities, teams, and personal growth,” noted a TABIA news release. “For several years TABIA has promoted partnerships between BIAs and Toronto youth in the area of sport and physical activity. This initiative encourages senior high school students to aspire to higher education as well as varsity-level sport.”

Members of many youth organizations from across the city were invited to the games, which also featured half-time under-12s exhibition play, with the young athletes from East York playing in the impressive Goldring facility for the first time.

—Brian Burchell/Gleaner News