The 1954-55 Vancouver Eilers women’s senior A basketball team was a powerhouse dynasty that dominated Canadian women’s basketball for ten years during the 1940s and 1950s.

The Vancouver Eilers played exhibition matches with the Eilers’ Senior B women’s team and the Juvenile Boy’s League because of the lack of Senior A women’s competition. In February of 1955, the team won the BC championship by defeating the Victoria Aces in three straight games.

In March of the same year, they competed at the Pan American Games in Mexico City. The first Canadian women’s team to play internationally since the 1930s, the Eilers played as a ’club’ as opposed to a national team. Unfortunately, the team was ill-prepared for the trip. There was a lack of federal funding, no practice time upon arrival, non-English speaking referees, different equipment and rules, and the high elevation to contend with. However, this experience assisted future Canadian teams that competed internationally.

The Eilers returned from Mexico to host the 1955 Canadian championships in Vancouver. There, they defeated the Saskatoon Aces to win their sixth consecutive Dominion championship.

Team Members:
Zoe (Robinson) Albi, Rita (Panassis) Bell, Joan (Mitchell) Best, Bev (Slater) Gibson, Louise McDermott, Nora McDermott, Edith (Osborne) McDonald, Gordie McDonald (coach), Peggy Milner, Pat (McIntosh) Smith, Noreen Stoddart, Shirley Ann Topley, Heather (Walker) Waddell.