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Kweens inducted into Hall of Fame

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

Flin Flon MLA Clarence Pettersen is commending members of past Hapnot Collegiate Kopper Kweens basketball teams on a provincial honour. Kweens teams were inducted into the Manitoba High School Sports Hall of Fame this past weekend, with Pettersen proudly present. Pettersen delivered the following member's statement in the legislature on Tuesday: Mr. Speaker, as a resident of Flin Flon and former coach of school athletics, I was proud to attend the Manitoba High School Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, April 21, put on by the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Many great Manitoba athletes and builders were honoured for their skill and their contributions to sport. I wish I could speak all about the inductees, Mr. Speaker, but I would like to use my time to praise the Hapnot Collegiate Kopper Kweens basketball team, who were inducted in the team category. The Kopper Kweens are legendary in Flin Flon and throughout the province for their basketball prowess in the early days of organized Manitoba high school sports. From 1949 through to the 1954-55 season, the Kopper Kweens won the provincial girls high school basketball championship an astonishing seven straight times. In fact, no basketball team in Manitoba has come close to matching this remarkable achievement since. After a short layoff, the Hapnot Kopper Kweens won the championship again in '57-58, '59-60 seasons. Mr. Speaker, I dare say that nine championships in 12 years is a feat that is near impossible to match anywhere in sport. Winnipeg Free Press reporter Nick Martin has said the Kopper Kweens of the 1950s rivalled the Montr_al Canadiens in terms of dominating their sport. The induction of this basketball dynasty into the Manitoba High School Sports Hall of Fame holds a special place in my heart, as my daughters, Michelle, Hilary and Mary, were all Kopper Kweens themselves while they attended Hapnot Collegiate. I was proud to attend the induction reception and be part of the celebration of Flin Flon sports royalty and of high school sport in Manitoba. I urge all members to join me in applauding the 50 years of organized high school sport in our province, and the unprecedented string of championships won by the Hapnot Collegiate Kopper Kweens. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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