The University of Winnipeg Wesmen is pleased to announce the 57th edition of the city’s longest-running holiday sports tradition.
The Wesmen Classic will return to the Duckworth Centre Dec. 28-30. This year’s showdown features an eight-team tournament bracket in women’s basketball. Each day will feature four games, with the tournament culminating in the championship game at 8 p.m. on December 30.
In addition to the Wesmen women’s team serving as host, the tournament welcomes teams from five provinces, spanning nearly 4,000 kilometers of Canadian basketball. Coming to the Duckworth Centre are the Brandon Bobcats, Fraser Valley Cascades, Guelph Gryphons, Manitoba Bisons, Mount Royal Cougars, Regina Cougars, and Thompson Rivers Wolfpack
You can view the tournament schedule and purchase tickets on the Wesmen website. UWinnipeg students, as with all Wesmen events at the Duckworth Centre, can attend for free.
New this year, the Wesmen Athletics and Wesmen Basketball are excited to announce the high school three-on-three tournament that will run throughout the tournament during the halftimes of the Classic Games.
Wesmen to add four new names to the Ring of Honour
Every year since 2018, Wesmen Athletics has inducted esteemed alumni into its Wesmen Ring of Honour. This year, four Wesmen women’s basketball legends will have their names elevated into the Ring. Angie Johnson, Deb Steele, Beth Cochrane, and Michelle (Chambers) Foreman will be honoured for their contributions to the basketball program and the department.
Angie Johnson, 1971-1977
The Wesmen’s first superstar, Johnson played five seasons with the Wesmen and led the team to two national medals. A national tournament all-star in 1974, Johnson was named one of U Sports top 100 players in 2020. She also had an illustrious international career, suiting up for Canada in the World University Games, World Championship for Women, the Pan-Am Games, and the 1976 Olympics.
Deb Steele, 1977-1980
A transfer from the Saint Mary’s Huskies, the 6-foot-6 Steele became an instant impact player and spent three seasons setting records for the Wesmen. She helped Winnipeg to three national tournaments and three GPAC titles, with the Wesmen winning silver at the CWIAU championship in 1978. She averaged 15.8 rebounds per game in 1979-80, which still stands as the Wesmen program record, and her 29 rebounds against Regina on Nov. 24, 1979 remain the most in program history for a single game.
Beth Cochran, 1982-1987
A five-time all-Canadian, Cochran was named one of U Sports top 100 players of all time in 2020 after a career in which she led the Wesmen to four national tournaments and a CIAU silver in 1984. A prolific scorer, she averaged more than 20 points per game for her career and remains No. 2 on the Wesmen all-time scoring list. A 6-foot-1 one post, she also put up remarkable rebounding numbers, averaging 14.4 a game in 1982-83, which ranks second all-time in Wesmen program history.
Michelle (Chambers) Foreman, 1988-1993
A foundational member of the signature Wesmen dynasty, Chambers joins her teammate Sandra Carroll and former coach Tom Kendall (Class of 2018) in the Ring of Honour.
Chambers helped the Wesmen to four CIAU tournaments and two GPAC championships. In 1992, when she was a GPAC all-star, the Wesmen were CIAU silver-medalists, and the team finally broke through for the program’s first national title in 1993, when Chambers was named tournament MVP.
Throughout the tournament, Wesmen Athletics will be accepting donations of non-perishable food items for Manitoba Harvest. Bins will be placed near the admissions desk on the second floor of the Duckworth Centre.
