Hilltops bottle drive shifts to form with less contact

Janice Kozun stands by items collected for the Hilltops bottle drive.

    The Saskatoon Hilltops had to make a slight audible on their fundraising bottle drive to make it a better fit for these coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic times.

    The Hilltops plan to donate a portion of the funds they raise through the bottle drive to the Saskatoon Food Bank and the Friendship Inn, and the remainder of the funds raised will go to the football club as it navigates its way through the pandemic.

    Originally, the Hilltops planned to have their players out canvassing Saskatoon neighbourhoods on Saturday for bottles while wearing gloves and masks.

    After having continuing discussions with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Hilltops have changed how their bottle drive will be conducted so it involves the least amount of contact as possible. They outlined the procedures they would follow on a post they made on their Facebook page early Thursday morning.
    The bottle began on Thursday, where the public dropped off bottles in the parking lot next to the Hilltops clubhouse patio. Team directors were on hand to accept the recyclables from donors.

All sorts of bottles were collected at the Hilltops bottle drive.

    The drive continues on Friday. Those looking to donate to the Hilltops bottle drive can drop items off at the OK Tire location on 610 Circle Drive from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    Bagged cans and bottles can be dropped off at Door #8, and Hilltops former punting great and president elect Rod Janzen will be on site to accept and store donations.

    On Saturday, bagged cans and bottles can be dropped off at ABC Canada from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1802 Quebec Avenue. Those looking to participate in the Saturday drop off are asked to enter the ABC Canada parking lot on the east side of the building using the 40^th Street and 1^st Avenue access.

    For those who are unable to drop off recyclables, the Hilltops will be able to pick them up from your home. Those looking to get their recyclables picked up are asked to contact someone they know from the team or to send the Hilltops a direct message through their Facebook page, which can be found by clicking right here.

    The Hilltops will collect recyclables from the curb or walkways of people’s homes to ensure proper social distancing guidelines are followed.

The items collected Thursday for the Hilltops bottle drive.

    All volunteers will be wearing masks and gloves through this process. All donations will be sorted after a mandatory quarantine period.

    The Hilltops are looking to keep adding to their storied tradition.

    In 2019, the Hilltops posted a 12-0 overall record and went undefeated for a second straight season. The undefeated campaign was particularly impressive as the Hilltops dealt with a high turnover in starters from their 2018 CJFL championship team.

    The Hilltops claimed their sixth straight CJFL title downing the host Langley Rams in an 11-6 defensive slugfest in Langley, B.C., to retain possession of the Canadian Bowl trophy.

    The Hilltops have captured the Canadian Bowl in nine out of the last 10 seasons to become CJFL champions.

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame calls Jones Konihowski

Three #TeamCanada Olympians are a part of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020/21 ✨🙌

🏀 Steve Nash
🏇 Eric Lamaze (and 🐴 Hickstead!)
🏃‍♀️ Diane Jones Konihowski

Details 👉https://t.co/8Hf97SYa3q pic.twitter.com/qwfSUxpwlR

— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) May 27, 2020

    Diane Jones Konihowski is a University of Saskatchewan Huskies legend, and she is going to be given her place in Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

    On Wednesday, Jones Konihowski was announced as an inductee for the 2020-21 class for Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the induction ceremony is expected to take place at some point in 2021.

    After graduating from Aden Bowman Collegiate in 1969, Jones Konihowski was a member of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s track and field team for five seasons between 1969 and 1975. She didn’t compete for the Huskies during the 1972-73 campaign due to competing in the Olympics.

    Back when Jones Konihowski was a member of the Huskies, the school’s women’s teams were known as the Huskiettes.

    Jones Konihowski was a member of Canada’s team that took part in Summer Games held Aug. 26 to Sept. 11, 1972 in Munich, Germany.

    During her five campaigns with the Huskies, she helped the U of S women’s track team win three Canada West Conference titles, and captured 12 individual gold medals and set conference records in four events.

    Jones Konihowski claimed the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the female athlete of the year at U of S in 1974 and 1975.

    Internationally, Jones Konihowski is best remembered as a star in the pentathlon. She won gold in the pentathlon at the 1975 Pan-Am Games in Mexico City, the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton and the 1979 Pan-Am Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

    At her peak, Jones Konihowski was ranked #1 in the world in the pentathlon.

    At the 1972 Olympics, Jones Konihowski was 10^th in the pentathlon.

    She competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal finishing sixth in the pentathlon and 11^th in the long jump.

    Jones Konihowski was named to Canada’s team for the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow in the former Soviet Union, and she was a favourite to win gold in the pentathlon at those games.

    Due to Canada joining the international boycott of those games due to Soviet military action in Afghanistan, she was denied the chance to partake in that event. In a meet held three weeks after those games, Jones Konihowski defeated all the Olympic medalists.

    She was a co-winner of Canada’s female athlete of the year in 1975 and won the award again in 1978.

    While still a competitive athlete in her prime, Jones Konihowski was named a member of the Order of Canada in 1978. She was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.

    Jones Konihowski was a Chef de Mission of the Canadian team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

    She is married to John Konihowski, who is an alumnus of the Huskies football team and the Huskies men’s track and field team. He played nine seasons in the CFL from 1974 to 1982 with the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

    The two are members of the University of Saskatchewan Athletic Wall of Fame.

Jones Konihowski, who is now 69-years-old, enters Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame with a very impressive class.

    Entering the Hall along with Jones Konihowski in the athlete category are basketball star Steve Nash, Sonja Gaudet in wheelchair curling, Jackie Barrett in Special Olympics weightlifting, show jumper Eric Lamaze and his horse named Hickstead and golfer Lorie Kane.

    Going into the Hall as builders are Sheldon Kennedy and Willie O’Ree in hockey, Duncan Campbell in wheelchair rugby, Judy Kent in sport administration and Ross Powless in lacrosse.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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