(RDP Athletics)

By RDP Athletics

Homecoming

Red Deer Polytechnic welcomes back the 1991-1992 Queens Basketball team

Oct 25, 2022 | 2:34 PM

Friends. Teammates. Coaches. All were brought back together into one gym at the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings and Queens Basketball home opener this past Friday night.

With the polytechnic hosting Homecoming Weekend, the Athletics program thought it would be pretty neat to welcome and recognize the 1991-1992 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Basketball Champions, the Red Deer College Queens.

This happens to be the last Queens Basketball team to take home the gold at the conference championships. They would follow it up with a bronze medal at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championships hosted by Seneca College in Toronto, ON. This is the only national medal in Queens Basketball history.

Assistant Coach and a player from the 91/92 team, Nadine Cunningham said when she brought up the idea, there was no hesitation from any of her former teammates to come to this event.

“This is a real testament to how close our team was back then because we are always fully committed right away. They just thought it was so cool that we were putting on this event and recognizing the team.”

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Cunningham added they went out for lunch before the event, and it was just so surreal like it felt like no time had passed, but it really has been 30 years since most of them saw each other.

She says her teammates had great team comradery.

“My third year we just seemed to click and got along great on and off the floor. Our team was a ‘we’ team, not a ‘me’ team. Honestly, it was some of the best years of my life, so rewarding and fun. We packed the stands most nights in the old gym. It was just an amazing feeling to play there.”

It wasn’t just about the athletes on Friday night and that’s why the CCAA All-Canadian recipient made sure to give recognition where it was due to her coach Pat Rawlusyk.

“Pat was the best coach I have had in my basketball career. She got the best out of all of us and treated us like her own. But she still pushed us hard and made us better every practice. We wouldn’t have won or had that 13-3 season without her.”

Most of the players from the team were able to show up and caught a glimpse of the future of Queens Basketball when they took on the St. Mary’s University Lightning.

Fourth-year guard and local native, Amy Szymanek says having them in the stands as they kicked off the 2022-2023 ACAC season meant so much to her and her teammates.

“As they were being recognized, the team was looking up to them in how they were champions but also, how much they sacrificed to get to that point in their career. It was nice to see how close they were still and the bond they still have was something special.”

Szymanek adds to have the 91/92 team as a role model means so much to herself but also to the current team. They hope to take the advice to heart that is given and apply it to every game moving forward.

Cunningham concluded that this event caused them to create an annual reunion so they can all get together and reunite with one another.

“Once a Queen, always a Queen.”