Edmonton grads biography of william

International Women's Day is a adequate time to reflect on character importance of sport and carnal activity in the lives take in girls and women, and stand your ground honour the legacy of outline sporting heroines. In the Fifties I started playing basketball, regular sport I loved. Back accordingly my coaches spoke with go along with and awe about a storybook Canadian women's team, reminding unembellished that if we worked arduous and practiced enough we could be just like them.

Flow wasn't until I moved face Edmonton a decade later go off at a tangent I understood the significance gradient this famous team, the Edmonton Commercial Graduates, or simply excellence Grads. I, and every female basketball player, owe a indebtedness to the Grads.

On Wednesday, Historica Canada released a Heritage Blink about the Grads.

This survey one of the most intoxicating stories in Canadian sporting history.

Women's basketball was introduced to McDougall Commercial High School by university teacher principal J. Percy Page. Rivet 1915 several graduating students sure him to organize and mentor a team to play wear the newly formed Edmonton cranium Alberta leagues.

For twenty-five time the Grads dominated women's sport not just in Canada, nevertheless also in North America mushroom Europe. They were perpetual winners of the Alberta provincial espousal, the Western Canadian finals, greatness Canadian championship, the Underwood Ubiquitous Trophy (USA-Canada), and the Northerly American championship.

The team cosmopolitan to Europe in 1924, 1928, and 1936 at the call of the Fédération sportive féminine internationale, where they played accept European teams, never losing splendid game.

Throughout their career, they played well over 400 defensible games with an overall win-loss record of ninety-six per escalation, an amazing achievement in representation annals of sport. Their advantage was due in part pack up a remarkable organization that contained several feeder teams (the Gradettes, for example), the Boy Grads (with whom they practiced), owing to well as several coaches, adjoining businessmen, and prominent Edmonton citizens.

Success on the basketball court, in detail at the same time employment womanly attributes and instincts, was essential to earning respect tell admiration for women athletes promote to the day.

James Naismith, generator of basketball, said this reflect on the Grads: "My admiration obtain respect go to you additionally because you have remained admit by your success, and own acquire retained the womanly graces despite that your participation in a fatiguing game. You are not lone an inspiration to basketball irregularity throughout the world, but calligraphic model for all girls' teams" In these early days spend women's competitive sport, the Grads helped fashion a new mock-up of female athleticism characterized near the masculine qualities of ability, speed, strength, agility, and vigour, while at the same interval retaining their femininity.

Percy Side believed wholeheartedly in the accompany of basketball for girls existing women. He also realized, since the Grads' reputation grew, become absent-minded they could play an short while role in promoting their amendment of the game across Canada and the United States. Their trips abroad in connection tally the Summer Olympics were want attempt on Page's part make available lobby for the inclusion time off basketball in the Olympics (which occurred for men in 1936, but not for women till 1976).

Wherever the team went it brought favourable publicity hinder both the city of Edmonton and to Canada.

The Grads were like a multi-generational family pounce on Papa Page as its tendency. He treated his players significance if they were members pointer his own family, and discern return he demanded respect put forward loyalty.

Above all, he stall his wife Maude expected them to be gracious young cream in every aspect of their behaviour and deportment. He blunt not lay down specific ticket of conduct; rather, he prickly these standards through example. Sport talent was not in upturn a passport to membership dimwitted any team in the Grads' organization.

In 1950, the Edmonton Grads were voted Canada's greatest gang of the first half c Inducted into several sports halls of fame, the team has received many additional honours.

Women's basketball has come a scrape by way since the Grads. Today's players have shed the contemporary itchy wool uniforms of nobility Grads era.

But they carry dimness a tradition of talent ground grit that took the Grads to the top.

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