We are proud to honour Don with the annual Don Grant Classic basketball tournament.
Don started officiating in 1950, and over the next 55 years Don served as the Zone Representative to the NBAABO Board, Zone Assigner of games within the region, Zone Evaluator and Chief Clinician. Perhaps Don’s greatest legacy has been his interest in working with younger officials at the introductory level, ensuring future competent officials to service the sport in the Moncton region and throughout the Province.
During his refereeing career, Don worked a total of 14 National championships between 1966 and 1995, including the CIAU Finals in Halifax in both 1986 and 1987.
His awards and accomplishments are many, including the J.A. Willox Award of Merit given to him by the Canadian Association of Basketball Officials for his dedication to the growth of basketball officiating; his induction into the Moncton Wall of Fame and the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, as a builder; and the Royal Canadian Legion 75th Anniversary Medal for his outstanding dedication to the growth of youth.
Tournament History
The past two years of the Don Grant Classic have seen us really start to build a national profile for the event. In 2010 we saw the Windsor Lancers, eventual CIS Champions, along with perennial Ontario West powerhouses Western Mustangs and McMaster Marauders come east to participate. This year, CIS Silver medalist Saskatchewan Huskies from 2010 will join us as the first Canada West team, along with Quebec leagues champs Laval Rouge et Or.
The first annual Don Grant Classic was held in 2005, with a goal to provide a high-quality, pre-season tournament for CIS women’s basketball teams in the region. Our first year featured four Maritime-based teams, - University of New Brunswick (Fredericton, NB), St. Francis Xavier (Antigonish, NS), Saint Mary’s University (Halifax NS), and Acadia University (Wolfville, NS).
In 2006, the tournament format was expanded to its current format of six teams. UNB, Saint Mary’s and Acadia were joined by Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS) and two Ontario schools, - Lakehead University (Thunder Bay, Ont) and Brock University (St. Catherine’s, Ont).
The tournament lineup for 2007 featured four Atlantic Teams (UNB, St FX, UPEI and Saint Mary’s) and two non-conference teams, the University of Ottawa and the National Elite Development Academy (NEDA) based in Hamilton, Ontario. NEDA proved to be the class of the field in 2007, going 3-0 in the tournament. Check out some past articles about the 2007 tournament: DGC1 DGC2 DGC3.