Rene Czerwinski (1980s) and her daughter Kolbie Orum (2010s) were part the all-star teams selected as part of this week’s 75th anniversary of the girls basketball provincials
One family, two all-decade teams.
In conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the high school girls basketball provincial championships this week, organizers enlisted a committee of former coaches, players, administrators and volunteers to select all-star teams from the various eras.
The 1980s squad features former Port Coquitlam Ravens standout Rene Czerwinski. The 2010s includes her daughter Kolbie Orum, recognizing her for her accomplishments with the Maple Ridge Ramblers.
Czerwinski’s 124 points for the Ravens in 1985 has her tied for 15th-best four-game tournament total in Quad A history. Her daughter is one of the precious few ahead of her on that list, as Orum’s 135 points in four games with Maple Ridge in 2011 slots her in seventh spot.
This year’s provincials wrap up Saturday at the Langley Events Centre, with the championship finals for all four senior girls tiers being contested in the arena bowl. Organizers invite former players, coaches, officials and volunteers to the LEC’s Sapphire Lounge that evening for a reunion.
It’ll be a chance to reconnect and reminisce. It’ll be a chance to talk about moments and players from years gone by, like a Czerwinski or an Orum.
“I actually saw Kolbie’s list first. I thought it was fantastic for her and so well deserved. I’m so proud of her. Then I had to go look for the 1980s,” Czerwinski, 56, said with a chuckle, pointing to the all-decade teams being unveiled on social media earlier this week.
Kolbie, 29, added: “We saw the lists and it’s a blessing. To see the other names that I’m on there with, it’s cool, because I know how hard those people worked as well. It’s super special.”
Seven teams were selected, each with a player of the decade and then 10 all-stars. It’s a tidy history lesson of high school girls basketball in this province.
Shirley Topley of Vancouver’s King Edward is the first player of the decade, saluting 1948-59. King Edward was the first tournament powerhouse, winning three straight from 1948-51.
Salmon Arm Jewels Joanne Sargent (1960) and Bev Smith (1970) follow as players of the decade. Salmon Arm has the record for most consecutive titles in Quad A with five straight from 1965-69. Next on that list is Salmon Arm’s four in a row from 1976-79. Those Jewels had an 89-game winning streak at one point.
It keeps going. There are stories all the way through the lists.
“My hero back in the 1980s was always Erin Carson,” Czerwinski said of the Abbotsford Panthers mainstay, who preceded her as a first all-star at the provincials in 1983 and 1984. “I loved her. I had a little 8×10 photo of her on my wall for years. To see her name and then my name right under it was pretty impressive. I really enjoyed that.”
This whole exercise, particularly when it comes to Czerwinski and Orum, shows how much things have changed.
There wasn’t club basketball like we have now when Czerwinski was coming through. Players from rival high schools weren’t teaming up together on other teams in the spring and summer. And there wasn’t the social media and internet coverage. It was all part of the world seeming bigger then.
The provincials were a chance for Czerwinski to face off against some players she had only heard about.
“All we had then was word of mouth,” Czerwinski said.
There also wasn’t the technology like we have now either. You show up to basketball game these days and people all over the stands have their phones out, taking video. That wasn’t occurring when Czerwinski was at that level.
“It would be nice see some footage of her,” Orum said. “The stories I hear and the records and pictures that I see tell me that she was a baller, but I wish there was video. I feel like that I’ve been robbed of that.”
This whole exercise also shows how things remain the same through the years, with Czerwinski and Orum the best examples.
Asked about what basketball meant to her growing up, Czerwinski said steadfastly that “I loved it, I lived it.”
And Orum was the same.
“It feel like both of us lived and breathed it,” she said. “It just carried on.
“It was ‘I have a daughter. Oh, she’s athletic. Let’s get her into the sport and she how she does.’ And it trickled down from there.”
Czerwinski added: “She just grew so tall so fast. I remember teaching her a jump shot and she could do it right away. She could jump out of the gym. She could rebound. And she was so smart. You just knew then.”
The 6-foot Czerwinski — whose high school was renamed after Terry Fox in 1986 — started her collegiate career in the NCAA ranks with the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. She played two years there before transferring to the SFU Clan for the 1989-90 season.
Orum, who’s 6-foot-3, played four seasons in the NCAA with the Oregon State Beavers, the last coming in 2016-17.
The first girls basketball provincials in B.C. were contested in 1948, and were a nine-team tournament in Kelowna. John Oliver of Vancouver beat Trapp Tech of New Westminster 19-18 in the championship final.
New tiers were created in 1973, 1988 and 2020. Provincials tournaments bounced around various high school locations for decades. The top tier — then Triple A — made Capilano College a permanent site in 1994 and eventually moved to the LEC in 2013. Quad A started up five years ago — taking on all the Triple A records — all the senior tournaments moved to the LEC by 2023.
“I used to be mad that the boys had the Agrodome. I found that really aggravating, no pun intended,” Czerwinski said of Triple A boys hoops’ old provincials site before moving to the LEC. “But it’s pretty impressive now for the girls at the Langley Events Centre. It’s huge now. They’ve got it figured out.”
TEAMS OF THE DECADE
(Selected by a panel of former players, coaches, administrators and volunteers.)
1948-59
Player of the decade: Shirley Topley, King Edward
Diane Beach, Kitsilano
Phyllis Cockburn, Victoria
Shelagh Farrel, Richmond
Anne Fennell, Semiahmo
Pat Jones, Trapp Technical
Catherine Kennedy, Victoria
Shirley Lewis, John Oliver
Velma Richardson, John Oliver
Zoe Robinson, John Oliver
Heather Walker, Burnaby South
1960-69
Player of the decade: Joanne Sargent, Salmon Arm
Bev Barnes, Elphinstone
Marg Campbell, John Oliver
Mary Coutts, Victoria
Nancy Jamieson, Salmon Arm
Terry McGovern, Mount Baker
Mary Pearson, Victoria
Angie Radanovich, Nanaimo
Betty Ross, Queen Elizabeth
Kathy Williams, Hillside
Heather Witzel, Courtenay
1970-79
Player of the decade: Bev Smith, Salmon Arm
Bev Bland, Richmond
Anna De Sequera, Little Flower Academy
Jane Favali, Kamloops
Eileen Galuska, Port Moody
Sandy Lewis, Victoria
Tracie McAra, Reynolds
Lorna McHattie, Claremont
Allison Towriss, Salmon Arm
Carol Turney, Chilliwack
Jill Smith, Mount Douglas
1980-89
Player of the decade: Cheryl Kelsey, Killarney
Erin Carson, Abbotsford
Rene Czerwinski, Port Coquitlam
Susan Ewanick, Nechako Valley
Adele Fedorak, Penticton
Michelle Hendry, Caledonia
Andrea Loukes, Lambrick Park
Loree MacPherson, Salmon Arm
Susie Neil, Prince of Wales
Jacquie Semeniuk, Kelowna
Jenny Sutton, Steveston
1990-99
Player of the decade: Amber Hall, Britannia
Lindsay Anderson, Mount Douglas
Jeanette Bailey, Ron Pettigrew Christian
Lindsay Brooke, Spectrum
Kerri-Anne Butterworth, Lambrick Park
Jennifer Curley, Abbotsford
Erin Gibbons, Salmon Arm
Susie Jarosch, Windsor
Teresa Kleindienst, Heritage Park
Megan Magee, Windsor
Jennifer Van De Walle, Thomas Haney
2000-09
Player of the decade: Kim Smith, Heritage Park
Kelsey Adrian, Brookswood
Kendra Asleson, Elgin Park
Robyn Buna, Kelowna
Kristina Collins, Riverside
Natalie Doma, Mount Douglas
Dani Langford, Heritage Park
Sasha MacKinnon, Brookswood
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, Kalamalka
Lisa Tindle, York House
Julia Wilson, Heritage Park
2010-19
Player of the decade: Aislinn Konig, Brookswood
Louise Forsyth, Brookswood
Maddy Gobeil, South Kamloops
Ruth Hambill, Houston Christian
Diana Lee, Handsworth
Sienna Lenz, Abbotsford
Kolbie Orum, Maple Ridge
Alisha Roberts, York House
Emma Wolfram, South Kamloops
Lauren Yearwood, Oak Bay
Kris Young, Handsworth