SWNT Player from 1969 to 1976 Joyce Slipp shares her #BBall125 memory.

"My favorite all time basketball memory would have to be the Opening Ceremonies at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. This was the first time for women's basketball in the Olympics. We were the last country to enter the Olympic Stadium as we were the host nation, so we were lined up quite far from the venue. The Opening Ceremonies were sold out so there were thousands of people lined up on the side of the road to see the marching athletes.

As we started our march, the people started clapping louder and louder. It seemed like we were about 2 miles from the stadium and all those thousands of people were clapping for us as we slowly moved closer to the venue. When we went through the tunnel and onto the track, the Olympic Stadium crowd erupted!  And it kept up for our entire walk around the track until we got to our assigned location. We waved to the Queen and all the dignitaries as we passed the official podium.

My heart was in my throat the entire time. To this day, I still get choked up when I hear our National Anthem. I felt so honored and proud to be a Canadian and an Olympic athlete that day. I realized how fortunate I was to be a Canadian basketball player at that time of my life."

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