Sheffield Hatters win Super League finals and remember icon Betty Codona during heritage game
Sheffield Hatters were the country's first women's basketball team and are still grabbing silverware as one of the most successful English sports teams ever - but they never forget their past.
A game honouring their predecessors and a victory photo that is a blend of new and old, the Sheffield Hatters have won the final of the women’s basketball super league against the Leicester Riders with a score of 106 to 67.
The team was founded by the late Betty Codona in 1961 and was then then only women’s basketball team in England.
Basketball has changed drastically since then, becoming more commercialised and even more physical but the Hatters remain on top.
At the beginning of his career chairman of SLB Women Jim Saker wanted to give women in basketball a voice - then his daughter corrected him.
He said: “She told me to stop being patronising, that my job was to elevate women’s voice in basketball as they already have a voice.
“So that’s what I’ve been trying to do, elevate their voices.”
Mr Saker added: “The Hatters are one of the strongest teams in the league at the moment, they have got a great heritage and a great history.”
In a stadium filled with fans, their cheers echoing “We are the champions”, it is clear they do have that voice.
Anne Burdett is an ex-Sheffield Hatter, who played during the 60s, came to the final to cheer her team on and support them. She said: “I have to say, it’s much more physical. I was a physical player, but I wouldn’t compete with these girls now.”
Burdett first joined the team after trying to join a baking class at night school, only to find out the course was full. She ended up heading down to the gym and joining the basketball team as a complete beginner.
She said: “Betty, who was in charge, was wonderful. I learned as I went along. I played for so many years and I’ve always tried to stay with the group because we were so close. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Anne is one of the many ex-Sheffield Hatters that were honoured during halftime, as player from the 1960s-2000s were called onto the court to stand where they had once competed.
Yuri Matischen, who commentated on the match as it unfolded, said: “Current players, tonight is a reminder you’re a part of something much bigger than yourself.
“You stand on the shoulders of women in this arena and those who came before you, this is what allows you to wear that jersey today.”
Among the ex-hatters on the court was Betty's daughter and Hatters coach Vanessa Ellis.
Optimistic about her team’s chances, she said: “’We’ve had a good week’s preparation, which is always nice, with the added extra of winning the league title tonight at home in front of our home crowd.”
The celebration ended with awards being handed out, and a video of the current players thanking the hatters that came before them.
Burdett talked about the sense of community she felt on the team, and that they are all still close friends even years after they all left Hatters.
This sentiment is echoed by Shauna Harrison, a current Hatter who felt “ecstatic” after her win.
She said: We knew it was going to be a tough game with Leicester, they always put up a fight, but having all the previous players here supporting us really pushed us to perform for them today.”
Shauna’s interest in basketball started in primary school when the Hatters came to her school and held a six-week programme - at the end they asked her to join their junior team.
Her love runs deep for both the game and the team. She added that what mattered most to her was “having a team that’s there for you no matter what, on and off court, people who have your back.”
Next for the Hatters is a game away from the Canon arena against the Oaklands Wolves.