A fortuitous turn of events allowed a girls club basketball team in Airdrie a chance of lifetime, and an opportunity to meet and learn from some of the best players in their sport.
On May 4, the Airdrie U17 Girls club basketball team, comprising players from the four Airdrie high schools and from Beiseker, were surprised by an Air Canada representative who came to their practice to announce that the team had been selected for the Air Canada Fan Flight Contest.
The nation-wide contest selected the Airdrie team to travel to Edmonton for a weekend stay in a hotel provided by Air Canada, as well as a private practice led by WNBA coaches, and tickets to the WNBA Canada Game.
A parent of one of the nine players secretly entered the team into the Air Canada contest, and when the team was chosen, Air Canada sent a production and film crew to surprise the team and capture their reactions.
Shane Hansen, the girls team coach and teacher at the Beiseker School, said that the whole weekend was an incredible opportunity. Hansen estimates that the contest–which includes plane tickets, game tickets, and hotel rooms–all covered by Air Canada, cost about $35,000.
"It was crazy,” said Hansen. “For many of these girls, traveling and leaving Beiseker and Airdrie is kind of a special opportunity for them, they don't get to travel a whole bunch so for us to be treated like Rockstars up there, we were transported via a big party bus. We were treated like royalty. It was awesome."
The club team that Hansen and assistant coach Levi Self run began formal operations just two years ago The club program itself is meant be a low-cost, affordable alternative to some of the more pricey club teams in Calgary. Hansen said that the opportunity to see pros play and to learn from professional coaches is something that can’t really be measured.
"I think the biggest thing is that…for [these] ladies to just be independent and to have those role models and give them, not necessarily a sense of self worth, but so that they are confident and they can do anything that they set out to do,” said Hansen.
The entire team flew to Edmonton on May 3 and spent the weekend learning and watching from pros. They returned home with memories and knowledge they will never forget, from a weekend that proves that women’s basketball has reached a new level of importance in Canada.
“For the girls to see some of their mentors that they've watched on the court and see them live, it was a memory that they will never forget,” he said.
