John Taylor Collegiate to Celebrate 40th Annual Piper Classic

John Taylor Collegiate is pleased to announce that the 40th annual Piper Classic Basketball Tournament is being hosted at John Taylor Collegiate (470 Hamilton Avenue) from Tuesday, January 11th through Saturday, January 15th. Being the 40th year, we are looking to celebrate not only the tournament’s longevity, but also its reputation for excellence over the years. This tournament is, and has always been, one where some of the best teams in Manitoba and Saskatchewan have come to compete. As one of the longest running annual tournaments in Manitoba, we have had approximately 7,800 athletes compete in the Piper Classic in the past 40 years.

PIPER PRIDE – RAISING ALL STUDENTS TOWARDS DISTINCTION



The Piper Classic has seen some of the province and country’s great players and coaches come and go over the years. Numerous players that have played in the Piper Classic, as Pipers or on other teams, have moved on to University and national levels of play including Olympians, like Angela Johnston.



The Piper Classic has a wonderful history of having great competition, outstanding volunteers, and respectful participants on both the men’s and women’s side of the draw. This year, we look back and celebrate those that have participated and run the tournament at such a high standard. We will recognize the Classics’ rich past and bright future with former coaches and players being in attendance and presenting awards to this year’s players. This year will also see the inaugural Nick Laping Award being given out to a male and female player nominated by their team and chosen for their contribution to their team, school, and community. It takes great people to run an outstanding event and the hard working staff and students at John Taylor look to honor and celebrate those people who have been so dedicated to the tournament during its 40 year history.

In addition to bringing together some of the best teams, it brings together the school itself. Approximately 100 students and numerous staff volunteer their time during the week of the tournament. This helps make the Piper Classic one of the best tournaments offered in the province each and every year. John Taylor students and staff are devoted to their school and community.



Wayne Ruff, co-founder of the tournament, had this to say about its creation:

I along with Paul Granofsky were the co-founders of the Piper Classic. I had arrived at John Taylor to teach History after leaving Glenlawn Collegiate. I wanted to discover whether I could build a program on my own in a relatively new high school and so I chose John Taylor. Paul was teaching P.E and I was the Dept. Head in History and we decided that a tournament which provided both boys and girls an opportunity to compete would be advantageous to our building a strong foundation of basketball at JT. The tournament is the LONGEST RUNNING BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT in Manitoba. Previously it was the Fort Garry Invitational but that tournament stopped running in the early 90's and the Wesmen Classic (formerly the Golden Boy Classic) began after the Piper Classic. I am pleased to hear that you and others have continued the tradition of excellence and the tradition of the PIPER CLASSIC.  Wayne Ruff

 

2011 Piper Classic Boys Draw

2011 Piper Classic Girls Draw

 

For more information on the Piper Classic Basketball Tournament, please contact Kendall Campbell by phone at 888-8930 (school) or via e-mail at kencampbell@sjsd.net.