Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

Time for a mid-Spring update. 

As mentioned in my previous newsletter, we are very excited to be having Veronika Lavergne  join us for next season.  Here is the link to her press release:



We are busy preparing to host the JUEL & JUEL-Prep Championships on the May 13-15 weekend where 52 games will be played over the 3 days.  The JUnior ELite of Ontario is comprised of 14 teams (Gr. 11 & 12s) from across the province, with the same number of teams for the Prep division (Gr.9 & 10s).  We are still in need of scorers, timers or shot clock operators if anyone is interested in helping out – the calibre of basketball will by very high.

The OUA All-Star game is being played in conjunction with the JUEL Championships again this year.  The game will feature 3 Queen’s players:  Jenny Wright, Robyn Pearson and Myriam Fontaine and will be played on the Main court at Queen’s, with a 7:30pm tip off on Saturday, May 14.  Admission is free!

The Alumni Weekend is shaping up nicely – October 14-16 (also the University’s Homecoming Weekend).  We will be hosting our Alumni Game on the Saturday, followed by our Reception & Silent Auction, honouring team members from the 2000-01 to 2004-05 teams.  The Tindall tournament will feature teams that were all in the Top 10 this past season: Alberta, Laval, Acadia and, of course, Queen’s!

Lastly, the first of our Basketball Camps gets underway in late May – the Elite Training & Scrimmage Camp for female players entering Gr. 9 and those entering Grs. 10-12 (two divisions).  Both camps are near full.  Girls and Boys entering Grs.2-5 are well serviced with our Half Basketball/Half Volleyball Camps in July (2 camps) and our Basketball Camp in mid-August.  The Basketball Academy (girls & boys divisions) follows the Basketball Camp in August.  Lastly, our Jr. Girls Team Camp is slated for the 10th of September (coaches can contact me directly about the Team camp).  Please see the Sport Specific Camps section:


That’s it for now.

Cheers,

Dave.


Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

Spring has sprung (and sputtered again) in this neck of the woods, with lots of things on which to report. 

Thanks to the generosity of Robyn Pearson’s parents, our team was treated to another Toronto Raptor game (against Charlotte) at the Air Canada centre.  The team enjoyed the comfort (and luxury) of a Corporate Suite, with full food and beverage service, as the Raptors pulled out a late win over the Hornets.

Speaking of Robyn Pearson, I am very pleased to report that the graduating Commerce student has signed on to return to Queen’s for next season.  The OUA 1st team All-Star and Canada’s leading rebounder did not want to pass up the opportunity to return for her fifth and final season and would like to take a few extra courses to further her gifted talents in the videography world.  She returns with high expectations and goals: to help lead our team to the National title!

Our athletic banquet (Colour Awards) was held last Wednesday with a very nice dinner affair.  Our team awards were handed out, including: Myriam Fontaine was named Rookie of the Year after her season which saw tremendous growth from the fall through the winter season.  Emily Hazlett received the Coach’s Award for her all around leadership and play.  She was really the spark plug to our team, both offensively and defensively.  Jenny Wright captured the MVP award for her stellar play and leadership.  The 4-time All-Star finished her career as the 2nd all-time leading scorer in Queen’s history.

As I alluded to in my last newsletter, we were in the midst of something big, very big, that we needed to get some paperwork completed, before going public.  The paperwork is now in order and I am thrilled to announce that Veronika Lavergne will be joining our team starting with the 2016-17 season.  You may recall, Vee, a 6’4” post player, was a highly sought after recruit out of St. Peter’s High School in Orleans, graduating in 2015.  She was part of our pre-season ID/training camp the summer prior to her graduation (along with current players, Kat Holt & Myriam Fontaine), but was lured away by a Division I scholarship to the States.  After experiencing some good success as a rookie, Vee found the camaraderie she experienced at Queen’s was significant enough to reconsider her university choice --  a decision we were more than happy to accommodate!  A press release will be issued in the coming weeks – stay tuned to www.queensbasketball.net for the release.

That’s it for now, but there are lots of things in the works.  I’ll be back in touch in the not-too-distant future.

All the best.

Dave.