The cheers and hollers of thousands of students accompanied the Calgary Surge’s 2025 on-court debut during the Be Well School Day Game.
The match was the second-annual Be Well Day Game, a private event geared toward teaching students the value of teamwork and the importance of mental well-being.
CBE students from 24 schools across the city were able to come to the game, with a Surge shirt given to each student attending.
The intra-squad exhibition match was the team’s first of the year. It was also the Surge debut for off-season acquisitions like Khyri Thomas, Greg Brown III and Jameer Nelson Jr.
The game was between Team War and Team Peace, the two rosters filled with Surge players, battled back and forth until Team War hit the game’s target score, 100, on two made free throws by Brown III.
After the game, Surge players stuck around to take photos and sign memorabilia for lucky students in attendance.
Be Well game supports ideas presented in classrooms
Melissa Malcolm, the Partnerships Manager for the Calgary Board of Education, said that it is great for the CBE to partner with organizations like the Surge to “support student learning and well-being
“It gives students an opportunity to have experiences outside their classroom that can connect learning to authentic experiences in the community,” she said.
Malcolm said that events, such as the Be Well Game, are important for students to have regularly. She said that these experiences can help create friendships and camaraderie between students who may never have spoken before.
“It gives students an opportunity to see other organizations and how they create teamwork. So there’s many aspects to well-being,” she said.
“Connecting some of those aspects that they’re working on in their schools, such as school connectedness, diversity and inclusion, teamwork, when we’re working with an extra organization like the Surge, they see those in the role models that the players are and in working with them together.”
Scott Murray, a spokesperson from Robertson College, one of the event’s title sponsors, said that focusing on youth mental health is critical.
“It’s becoming ever more important daily for us to get involved in the community. It’s something that we’re focusing on here and to be engaged in an event like this that includes junior high students, is super exciting,” he said.
Murray noted that the school wants to engage with community and show up, rather than “slapping our name on something.”
Surge Head Coach Kaleb Canales said that the energetic crowd will help the team as they prepare for the season opener.
“We’re grateful for the fans and the kids that showed up today,” he said
“The energy, the vibe, you can just feel it, and it helps you on the floor. It helps you play. It helps you not take possessions off. It gives you the energy and the juice that you need to get that extra stop, that extra box out. We’re gonna use our home court to our advantage.”
Canales said the team has done an unbelievable job of giving back to the community and being intentional with messaging, including prioritizing mental health and wellness.
“Everything that we teach our players on and off the court is to inspire the kids.”
