News Releases

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - June 22, 2011) -

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

BMO Financial Group announced today that the Cordova Bay Impact, an under-12 girls team from Victoria, has been selected this week's BMO Team of the Week. The team is now eligible to be the BMO Team of the Week 2011 Champion and win $125,000 to upgrade their local soccer field.

"Most of the girls have been together as a team since they were six years old, refining their skills and style of play. Through soccer, the girls also seek to gain life skills and new experiences," said Jamie Doug Noel, team coach of the Cordova Bay Impact.

"They will realize one of their dreams this summer by participating in the 2011 Gothia Cup in Sweden as the only U12 Canadian girls team. Not only will they be playing soccer at a high level, they will see a new country and meet youth from 71 nations. To make this happen, for months the team has organized various fundraising events in the Victoria community. To me, this shows remarkable dedication and spirit at a very young age," added Mr. Noel.

When they're not on the field, the girls volunteer as a team in the community. They recently participated in a walk to raise money for Diabetes research. They were also the clean-up crew at Victoria's first Tour De Victoria bike race.

"The Cordova Impact is a very impressive team. They set goals for themselves and give their all to achieve them, whether it's perfecting their game, volunteering in the community or raising funds to travel overseas for a tournament. Congratulations to the girls on their BMO Team of the Week win," said Shelly Jensen, District Vice-President, Vancouver Island, BMO Bank of Montreal.

The Cordova Bay Impact are the tenth of 15 youth soccer teams (age 7-12) across Canada that will be selected between April 1 and June 30 as weekly BMO Team of the Week winners based on team pride, spirit, community commitment and passion for the game. The winners will then vie for the title of BMO Team of the Week 2011 Champion, to be selected by the Canadian public through online voting as of August 1.

BMO Team of the Week Game Plan

From April 1 to June 30, Canadian soccer coaches and parents can nominate their favourite soccer team by logging on to www.BMOsoccer.com.

A panel of judges will select a weekly winner and each BMO Team of the Week will receive $500, track suits and a gift to a charity of their choice.

Canadians can vote for their favourite BMO Team of the Week beginning in August. The Champion will receive $125,000 toward a field refurbishment, a trip to see a Toronto FC or Vancouver Whitecaps FC home game, and $5,000 to a charity of their choice.

About BMO and Soccer

BMO supports soccer across Canada, from youth players in local neighbourhoods and communities, to the professional level. Our deep commitment to "The Beautiful Game" is evident with our grassroots sponsorship of more than 900 youth teams nationally. The relationship continues with support of Canada's men's and women's national teams, professional teams (Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC) and our soccer venue title sponsorship (BMO Field).

To view the photo associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20110621-bmo0622cordova800.jpg.