The 1980s are a decade that will always be remembered in RDC/RDP lore.
A decade during which the RDC Queens volleyball team dominated the Alberta College Athletic Conference, winning eight straight gold medals and standing among the elite in the country.
In 1983-84, the Queens became the first team outside of Quebec to win the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championship, an honour no one else outside of Quebec won again for the next 23 years.
The Queens also won five silver and two bronze during their incredible run.
The teams of that decade were justifiably recognized Saturday when they were inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025 Induction Ceremony at the Red Deer Resort and Casino.
“It’s unbelievable, the first thing I thought when I heard it can’t be real,” said Bonny Schlauwitz (nee Dearing), who was captain of the Queens CCAA gold medal-winning team.
“You think about it, that it was 40-some years ago, so how can this be, but it’s a real honour.”
I had the honour of nominating them, but it was the work of Cheryle Bourne (nee Rowland) and Bonny who brought together well over 50 percent of the 57 players who played during that period.
“Bonny really helped me and picked it up and ran with it,” Cheryle said. “In fact, all the teammates we contacted had contacts which helped considerably.
“There were some we couldn’t reach, even some didn’t hear until a week ago, but there was a great turnout.”
Brenda Shavchook, who lives in Victoria, didn’t hear until nine days before the ceremony, but she made the trip with her family.
Georgia Fullerton came in from Toronto.
“Bonny was a huge help,” Cheryle continued. “She was able to contact some of her teammates and Chris (Rowland) helped me a lot as did (ASAHF director) Tracey Kinsella. She was great to work with.”
Cheryle enjoyed the task of contacting the players.
“It was a neat venture,” she said. “There were a lot of women who played we with, who we didn’t stay in contact with and now being here in the same room again brought back all the memories, it was very life-affirming.”
All those women put together a record that will never be broken. During that period, the Queens posted a 178-5 record, achieving three undefeated seasons, won 90 straight sets at one point and recorded a 61-match win streak.
Bonny put together an outstanding speech, constructing a tapestry which covered the eight years.
“When Cor (head coach Ouwerkerk) asked me to do it, I said of course,” she said. “I loved writing the speech, it was part of me and aside from a few details, I couldn’t believe how easy it came to me. I started it in December and thought I could tweak it a bit, but I didn’t have to do much.
“I asked the other captains for their thoughts and they had some details that needed to be put in, but it was a rewarding experience.
“I loved writing it and I was never so prepared and aware to be able to go forward with something so public and important to so many people.”
The general theme of the speech was building a tapestry with the threads of eight different years and 57 players, plus coaches and managers, coming together.
“There were individual threads and having all the team threads together to weave the tapestry,” she said. “There were the key leadership roles of Cor and Rocky Banke, and yourself. Those key threads kept the consistency together.
“It’s a real picture of what we were able to weave together.
“I was more familiar with the girls from ‘84 and prior, but getting to know the girls from ‘85 and beyond was fabulous. These are amazing women.”
Bonny was able to look back at the championship run of ‘84 with good memories.
“We did a lot of team building. We worked hard in the gym but when we went outside we became friends, we developed a relationship with each other.
“We were able to travel a lot during that time, which brought us closer together, to be a more close-knit team and we grew as a team and became better people.”
Winning the championship in Quebec was something that meant a lot for her at the time, and still does.
“I was so focused, it was about me doing my job. I had a very specific skill set which I had to bring.
“I remember missing a bit of the team stuff there and thinking I was there to remain focused. I was a veteran player, in my last year, and people were depending on me. I did feel a responsibility and the weight, but I enjoyed it.”
Bonny was named to the all-star team and drew the praise of Ouwerkerk.
“I was told later, by a friend of mine, that Cor told her that it was one of the best captain leadership games he ever saw me play. When I think of that it warms me all over that Cor saw that.”
The Queens defeated teams from Quebec in the semifinals and final, but Bonny said she didn’t look at them any differently than any other team.
“I think I always had intensity when I played them. We had a history with them and how they treated us and thought of us so the win was special. And you think it was 23 years later before they lost again, so that was a great accomplishment.”
Cheryle was able to sit back and watch the proceedings on Saturday and could only shake her head in wonder.
“When you look at all the other indictees, you kind of wonder why we’re here,” she said. “It’t rewarding and looking back I think what we did back then was what was expected of us, what we worked for. It’s kind of neat to see all the women from 1980-89 coming together. It’s a bond.”
Ouwerkerk also was able to just sit and watch.
“In this case, I put the focus on the teams, on the players, and what they accomplished,” he said. “They did it as a team. Sometimes the coach gets too much credit. In this case, they deserve all the credit.”
Ouwerkerk did admit he played a bit of a role.
“You got to mould the team, have a firm hand and have the people who accept that and understand it and every year was a different team who had to mature as a team and they did the work.
“It was never I, but we.”
Danny Rode is a retired Advocate reporter and member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame who can be reached at dannrode@telus.net
