Leighann Doan Reimer
Basketball Athlete - Inducted 2018
Leighann Doan Reimer was hailed as the greatest University of Calgary women's basketball player to wear a Dino uniform. During her time with the Dinos, she scored a total of 1,958 points making her their all-time leading scorer. She was named the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year in 1997, the CIS Athlete of the Year in 2001, and the CIS Women’s Basketball Player of the Year in 2000 and 2001. Leighann was a four-time First Team All-Canadian and a four-time Academic All-Canadian. She played professional basketball in France from 2001 to 2004 and competed for Team Canada at the 2003 Pan Am Games and the FIBA Zone Olympic Qualification Tournament.
During her time with the U of C Dinos, Leighann averaged 20.8 points a game and won the Canada West Women’s Basketball Championship in 2001. At the CIS National Championships, she won a silver medal in 2000 and a bronze medal in 2001.
Leighann embodied the term 'student athlete' and was as dedicated to her studies as she was to her jump shot. She was respected and admired by her teammates, was always available after games for fans to get a picture or autograph, and made time in her busy schedule to chat with the media. Leighann was a firm believer in giving back to the sport community through mentoring at-risk youth and volunteering her time to help run Dino's clinics in the elementary and junior high schools.
Shawnee Harle, the Dino's Coach stated:
"Leighann was our best player, our Team Captain, our leader, our Academic All-Canadian, the face of our program, our role model… I have been coaching for more than 25 years and to this day, I have yet to find a person that defines character, both on and off the court, in the way Leighann did."
Leighann was named Calgary’s Athlete of the Year in 1999.
Leighann left her mark on basketball at the international level as a member of the Canadian Student National Team and Captain of the Women’s Basketball Universiade Team in Spain in 1999. She was the Torch Bearer at the 2001 World University Games in China. She played professional ball in Clermont-Ferrand, France from 2001 to 2003 and in Mondeville, France from 2003 to 2004. During her time in Europe, she spent many hours developing her perimeter skills in order to become a multi-skilled athlete for the international level of play.
As a youth, Leighann loved to play basketball both at home and in school. She improved her accuracy through hard work, hours of practice, and a basketball net in her backyard that backed onto a coulee. Her strength and speed were developed by playing against her brother and of course, retrieving the wayward basketballs that traveled off-court down the large hill.
In 1993, at 5'10 and starting Grade 10 at William E. Hay High School in Stettler, Leighann already had aspirations to play university basketball. She worked hard that summer to improve her outside shooting so that she could achieve her goals. In High School, she rarely missed the first shot of the game. Her defensive rebounding led the team to fast breaks and her offensive rebounding led to easy hoops. She and her team were unstoppable. Leighann led her team all three years to the 3A ASSA Provincial Basketball Championships. In 1996, she was named the 3A Basketball Player of the Year and received the Miss Alberta Basketball Award. She also excelled at ASSA Track and Field, winning Gold in Shot Put her senior year.
Leighann remained involved with the basketball community after her playing days. She was instrumental in helping set up Camp Teckla, named for a former Jr. High & High School teammate of hers who passed away in a car accident during their run at ASAA Provincials. The camp has been held for more than 20 years with more than 3000 athletes in grades 1 to 12 participating.
Leighann held basketball clinics throughout Central Alberta and improved coach and player development in rural Alberta. She was a guest speaker at sport banquets, church retreats, youth, and school conventions, and at school-based professional development days. She was also a significant part of the host committee for the CIS Women's Basketball National Championships when they were at the U of C in 2012.
