Hazel Miner

Hazel Miner, a long-time Nepean resident, was pivotal in the development of teenage and women’s basketball throughout Ottawa and Ontario from 1970 to 1990.

She co-founded the Nepean Amateur Basketball Association in 1970 and served as President from 1971 to 1983. In 2010, it merged with two others to form the Nepean Blue Devils Basketball Association.

In 1973, Miner created the Ottawa Rookies, the first competitive program for teenaged girls in Eastern Ontario. The club, which ran until 1989, won 15 provincial medals (including 10 gold) and placed fifth at the 1979 and 1980 senior Canadian championships.

A total of 180 girls participated in the Rookies program, including 95 on the Junior team. Of those, 31 advanced to the Ontario squad, eight captured Canadian university titles, six played for the national junior team, and two went on to represent Canada at the Olympics.

Miner was also the founding member and president of the National Capital Basketball Foundation from 1979 to 1989 and an Ontario Basketball Board Member from 1972 to1989.

Miner was named to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Hazel Miner Award is annually given to Under 15 and Under 17 players who uphold the “finest qualities of sport, in their pursuit of athletic excellence.”