INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY
Contact:
Leigh A. Poirier or Janet Hetherington
613-228-3155
HIGH-TECH, LOW-TECH TOYS AMONG 2001 AWARD WINNERS
CANADIAN TOY TESTING COUNCIL JOINS FORCES WITH ENERGIZER CANADA
TO ANNOUNCE TOP BATTERY-OPERATED TOY OF THE YEAR
OTTAWA, OCTOBER 30, 2000 The Canadian Toy Testing Council (CTTC), the leading authority on toys in Canada, has announced the top toys for this year, just in time for the holiday season. Parents will find both high-tech and low-tech (or traditional play) toys among the award winners, and for the first time, the Council has joined forces with Energizer Canada to announce the top battery-operated toy of the year.
The Canadian Toy Testing Council, a non-profit organization that has been testing toys and providing the results to Canadian families for nearly 50 years, has seen more and more electronic and battery-operated toys come onto the marketplace. The Council tests and rates toys for durability, safety, design, function, ease of assembly, battery consumption and overall play value.
Energizer Canada, like the Canadian Toy Testing Council, wants to see parents well informed about battery-operated toys for their children,said Henry Neil, Director of Marketing, Energizer Canada. Along with the Council, we have developed a special seal denoting quality battery-operated toys.
Energizer Canada’s participation is helping to ensure that the Council’s important work of testing toys keeps going and going,” commented Leigh Poirier, CTTC Executive Director. Parents want to know how well toys perform, and the Canadian Toy Testing Council does the leg-work for the consumer. The hundreds of toys we test each year are evaluated and played with by Canadian children in actual home environments, said Ms. Poirier. Over 1,000 kids, ages three months to sixteen years, test toys for the Council on an ongoing basis.
The Council announced the CTTC/ENERGIZER TOY OF THE YEAR as well as the CHILDREN’S CHOICE AWARD winning toys, and presented the BEST BET AWARD winning toys at its annual press conference, held in the Adam Room of the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa. The complete 2001 toy testing results have again been made available to Canadian consumers via the Internet on the Canadian Toy Testing Council’s web site (www.toy-testing.org).
Out of hundreds of toys available and tested, the 2001 CTTC/ENERGIZER TOY OF THE YEAR award goes to MATH & MAGIC (#66586.10) by Chicco, an educational battery-operated toy distributed nationally in Canada by Pierre Belvedere.
The 2001 CTTC review for the truly innovative MATH & MAGIC states:
“This combo electronic math quiz toy and pinball machine, contained in its own carrying case, was a huge hit with kids. The toy offered five math functions (number recognition, counting addition, subtraction and equation), four levels of difficulty, plus math calculations up to 20 or over 20. Every time kids answered a question correctly, they got a chance to play the pinball side of the toy. This was such a popular incentive that players wanted to go again and again. This toy not only had kids learning math and having fun, it could be easily transported and played anywhere. NOTE: Three "AA" batteries required.”
The other award-winning toys are:
2001 CHILDREN’S CHOICE AWARD WINNERS (honouring toys on the market that have been proven to be fun, innovative, and the absolute best in their area of play):
Active Play
Arts & Crafts
Computer Software & Games
Construction Toys
Development Toys
Educational Toys
Imaginative Play
2001 BEST BET AWARD WINNERS (honouring toys on the market that surpass all of the Council’s demanding testing criteria):
Active Play
Arts & Crafts
Computer Software & Games
Construction Toys
Development Toys
Educational Toys
Imaginative Play
Toy experts will be available for interviews by telephone to discuss this year’s honorees, how they were judged, and what kids will want this year.