Westshore Basketball is pleased to announce our exciting new partnership with South Vancouver Island Basketball Association.Since its inception in 1986, the SVIBA has grown to include spring leagues, all-star games, spring camps, coaches clinics and summer select traveling teams.
Westshore Director and Belmont High School coach Brad Lidstone has worked with the SVI girls summer program for the last 3 years. Players from the Westshore program are invited to attend SVI girls programs. In addition, coaches from SVI will attend Westshore Basketball Events and Camp.
Below is a copy of a letter outlining the program SVI Girls basketball offers as well as the 114 players who have played SVI and gone on to play basketball at the Post-Secondary Level.
Stay tuned for more exciting announcements about Girls and Boys basketball on the Westshore!
The Rise of Summer Basketball in Victoria
When former UCLA All-American and Denver Nugget star forward Kiki Vandeweghe was asked one year why he did not have a dark tan after spending the summer back at his California home he replied, “There is no sunlight in the gym.”
That answer may explain why many basketball players in the Victoria area go back to school each September looking extremely pale. For the keen players who want to focus on developing their basketball skills, they can find year-round basketball opportunities through the South Vancouver Island Basketball Association’s programs.
Working in a partnership with the Vancouver Island Basketball Association, the SVIBA offers more diverse opportunities for more players than any other regional club program in the province. Since its inception in 1986, the SVIBA has grown to include spring leagues, all-star games, spring camps, coaches clinics and summer select travelling teams. During the 2013 spring and summer months, over 400 players and coaches participated in these programs.
The original goal of the SVIBA program was to provide local players with the opportunity to stay in shape and to keep their skills sharp prior to attending provincial team camps. The backbone of the SVIBA program has become the Run and Gun Spring League which includes divisions for boys and girls in grades six to university graduates. Participants play once each week on teams composed of players from different schools with the goal of allowing kids to play without many restrictions. This past spring 150 girls played on 12 teams in three divisions with more players expected to play this year…
For our local graduating players, SVIBA offers the annual Vancouver Island Seniors Classic which matches the top Victoria area grade 12 players against those from the North Island in boys and girls all-star games. This series has become the province’s premier high-school seniors showcase every year and includes two boys’ games and one girls game each year with the 27th edition to be played Saturday, March 28, 2015, at the Spectrum School Old Gym.
Perhaps the highest profile program under the SVIBA banner has become the FAB 50 Select Camp held every April. Coaches nominate players to be invited to attend this camp which features instruction from local coaches, competitions and guest presentations from B. C.’s top university coaches, including Scott Reeves of Thompson Rivers University, Bruce Langford of Simon Fraser University and Deb Huband of University of B. C. At the conclusion of this camp, touring select teams are chosen to represent the South Island area in various tournaments throughout the summer. The SVIBA offers as many as six girls’ summer select teams – Youth for grades 6-7, Development for grades 7-8, Junior for grades 8-9, Midget for girls in grade 8, Senior for grades 9-11 and Juvenile for grades 9-11.
This past summer the SVIBA Junior and Development Girls Selects travelled to Burnaby and Nanaimo for tournaments. The SVIBA Youth and Development teams both made their annual trip to a tournament also held in Burnaby. The SVIBA Juvenile Girls Selects made their annual trip to tournaments in Vancouver, Oregon City and Seattle. This coming summer the Juvenile team will again travel down the West Coast to play in tournaments held in Vancouver, Oregon City and Seattle.
The SVIBA girls teams also combine to host the annual Island Summer Shootout Tournament in late May which has become one of the province’s most competitive club tournaments with 20 girls club and university women’s teams from B. C. taking part last spring and the Canadian Summer Tipoff Tournament in late June which last year included 10 teams from B. C.
The rise of these basketball opportunities for players in the Victoria area has coincided with the increase of success during the subsequent school season. Last season once again saw Victoria high-school girls teams qualify for the senior girls AAA, AA, A and junior girls provincial championship tournaments.
Victoria teams can expect continued success during the high-profile school season as long as their players continue to develop and to work on their skills rather than their tans during the warm summer months.
The following list includes girls who have played in the SVIBA Summer Select program and gone on to play university or college basketball:
Marnie Dangerfield – St. Margaret’s – Brandon University
Jenna McMath – Belmont – Camosun College
Rachel Sexton – Lambrick Park – University of Victoria
Jenny Mann – Lambrick Park – University of B. C.
Andrea Tomcyzk – Lambrick Park – University of B. C.
Lisa Craig – Cowichan – University of Alberta
Georgina Newell – Oak Bay – University of Calgary
Ann Meijer – Belmont – Camosun College
Tricia Booth – Mount Douglas – Camosun College
Kate Green – Saint Michael’s – Fraser Valley College
Stephanie Hart – Mount Douglas – Camosun College
Kim Oslund – Spectrum – University of Victoria
Christine Rigby – Spectrum – University of Connecticut
Lindsay Brooke – Spectrum – University of Victoria
Joanna Holdsworth – Saint Michael’s – University of Victoria
Krista Hall – Oak Bay – Saint Mary’s-California
Karen Edgell – Saint Michael’s – Simon Fraser University
Carli Halpenny – Lambrick Park – University of Washington
Ella Kinloch – Mount Douglas – University of Calgary
Deanna Age – Saint Michael’s – University of Alaska-Fairbanks
Kerrie Johnson – Spectrum – Camosun College
Lindsay McDonald – Oak Bay – University of Victoria
Emily Vucic – Spectrum – Camosun College
Janelle Turner – Lambrick Park – Camosun College
Erin Smith – Lambrick Park – Camosun College
Carla Delisle – Stelly’s – Camosun College
Angela Kendall – Mount Douglas – Camosun College
Chantal Fabre – Spectrum – Camosun College
Kim Lobb – Saint Michael’s – University of Victoria
Lindsay Anderson – Mount Douglas – University of Victoria
Courtenay Parks – Port Alberni – Camosun College
Jen Diana – Mount Douglas – University of Victoria
Crystal O’Byrne – Saint Michael’s – University of Victoria
Lindsay Cox – Cowichan – University of B. C.
Ursula Andiel – Mount Douglas – Fraser Valley College
Lindsay Strickland – Belmont – Fraser Valley College
Allison Moore – Mount Douglas – Malaspina College
Melissa Chancey – Claremont – Capilano College
Melissa Edwards – Lambrick Park – University of Victoria
Melissa Seymour – Mount Douglas – Camosun College
Cara Allan – Dover Bay – Malaspina College
Jen Loraas-Pletsch – Oak Bay – University of Lethbridge
Janet Collier – Oak Bay – Camosun College
Jen Wiertz – Mount Douglas – Camosun College
Kellee Brown – Spectrum – Camosun College
Tina Pulez – Claremont – Camosun College
Kate Young – Mount Douglas – McGill University
Lindsay Hewson – Mount Douglas – University of Victoria
Aimee Faulk – Esquimalt – University of Victoria
Tina Lum – Lake Cowichan – University of B. C.
Letah Beck – Cowichan – University of B. C.
Glenyss Weeks – Pac. Christian – Trinity Western University
Brianna Payne – Belmont – Fraser Valley College
Kathleen Wirtanen – Mount Douglas – Douglas College
Kathryn Watson – Saint Michael’s – University of Lethbridge
Beckie MacDonald – Saint Michael’s – University of Victoria
Stephanie Brown – Mount Douglas – Camosun College
Kealy Thomson – Oak Bay – Camosun College
Rhianna Haley – Esquimalt – Camosun College
Darlana Withers – Reynolds – St. Francis Xavier University
Alicia Rose – Belmont – Camosun College
Cait Haggarty – Mount Douglas – University of B. C.
Rachel Griffin – Mount Douglas – University of Victoria
Tory McGroarty – Mount Douglas – University of Victoria
Lindsay DeLeeuw – Stelly’s – University of Winnipeg
Sarah McKay – Stelly’s – University of Indiana
Niki Hodgkinson – Oak Bay – University of Victoria
Claire McEwen – Oak Bay – Camosun College
Alea Beaumont – Spectrum – Columbia Bible College
Hana Holland – Belmont – Camosun College
Heidi Padjen – Lake Cowichan – University of Victoria
Jayne Ducker – St. Margaret’s – Camosun College
Jaclyn Flaten – Saint Michael’s – Malaspina College
Natalie Doma – Mount Douglas – Idaho State University
Kali Ellis – Mount Douglas – Thompson Rivers University
Lane Douglas-Hunt – Lambrick Park – Capilano College
Ashley Mackay – Claremont – University of Manitoba
Sarah Darley – Mount Douglas – Thompson Rivers University
Montanna Dunmore – Claremont – University of B. C.
Ashley Yee – Claremont – University of Victoria
Breanne Fair – Ladysmith – Malaspina College
Amy Burton – Spectrum – Malaspina College
Sarah Adair – Saint Michael’s – St. Francis Xavier
Kendall Allen – Lambrick Park – Camosun College
Felicia Ash – Spectrum – Camosun College
Becky Acheson – Gulf Islands – Camosun College
Jill Proudfoot – Oak Bay – Camosun College
Maggie Williams – Stelly’s – Camosun College
Melissa Irish – Stelly’s – UBC-Okanagan
Chelsea Beaumont – Spectrum – Fraser Valley University
Carmen Lapthorne – Mount Douglas – University of Victoria
Jess Hickey – Oak Bay – Camosun College
Teresa Hartrick – Claremont – Camosun College
Anna Carolsfeld – Esquimalt – Simon Fraser University
Christine Ireland – Stelly’s – Camosun College
Carly Hopp – Oak Bay – Camosun College
Kymber Gale – Lambrick Park – Camosun College
Lauryn Kerr – Saint Michael’s – Camosun College
Kelsey Evans – Spectrum – Camosun College
Amy Tai – Belmont – Camosun College
Niki Lukat – Claremont – Camosun College
Meghan Carr – Spectrum – Briercrest Bible College
Haley Carmichael – Belmont – Camosun College
Rachel Carlson – Spectrum – Camosun College
Ella Goldschmid – Mount Douglas – Camosun College
Brianne Larson – Cowichan – Camosun College
Melissa Van Dyk – Claremont – Camosun College
Marina Low – Spectrum – Camosun College
Julia Murray – Mount Douglas – Camosun College
Emily Frame – Oak Bay – Camosun College
Emma Cunningham – Spectrum – Camosun College
Kate Service – Parkland – Camosun College
Kelly Young – Oak Bay – Camosun College
Kristy Gallagher – Parkland – University of Victoria
– THE SVIBA YEAR 2015 CALENDAR OF EVENTS –
–Run and Gun Spring League – Junior Girls / Senior Girls / Open Women Divisions
-Wednesday, March 25 – registration night
-the league continues the next six Wednesday nights at Spectrum School
–27th Vancouver Island Seniors Classic All-Star Games (graduating grade 12s)
-Saturday, March 28, 2015, at Spectrum School Old Gym
–22nd Annual FAB 50 Selects Girls Invitational Camp
-Saturday – Sunday, April 25-26 at Spectrum School Old and New Gyms
–24th Annual Island Summer Shootout Tournament for Girls
-Saturday, May 23-24 at Spectrum School Old and New Gyms
–19th Annual Can-Am Island Summer Challenge
-Saturday – Sunday, June 27-28 at Spectrum School Old and New Gyms
** For information regarding any of the above listed programs or events, please contact
Brett Westcott (H: 250-388-9807, FAX: 250-388-9507, EMAIL: westcott@shaw.ca)