At the 2022 Heinbuch Classic, we were happy to announce the renaming of the 4 divisions in recognition of the 4 men that started this incredible tournament and helped make it what we believe is the premier Senior Boys basketball tournament in Ontario.
As most will know, our tournament is named after Court Heinuch who was the long-time coach at Cameron Heights where he led the Golden Gaels to an undefeated AAA OFSAA Championship in 1982-83. Sadly, Court died suddenly of a heart attack in 1985.
The Senior Boys basketball tournament that Court at Cameron Heights and Bill Hadley at Preston High School had started in 1984 was re-named in honour of Court Heinbuch and this core group of 4 men set out to create a tournament with two main purposes:
- To bring together the best teams in Ontario for a tournament to be held annually on the last weekend of November
- That all proceeds from the tournament, instead of benefitting just one program, would be used to send deserving athletes to basketball camps. Over the 37 years of the tournament, more than 125 athletes have received bursaries to attend basketball camps totalling over $52,000!
We re-named our Consolation Division in memory of the late Al Haehn. Al was a good friend of Roy Dahl and Brian Henry and was a titan of the local basketball community including playing a key role in the founding of the KW Lightning Girls Basketball organization. Al was a long-time member of the Heinbuch Classic committee and was instrumental in securing financial sponsorships that allowed us to send more kids to basketball camps. Sadly, Al succumbed to cancer in May 2021.
We re-named our Bronze Division in honour of Brian Henry. Brian was a young teacher at Cameron Heights with Roy & Court. Brian has played numerous roles on our committee over the years including production of the tournament programme (now electronic!) and as our Treasurer. Like Al, Brian has also made massive contributions to our local basketball community as a founding member of the KW Lightning organization, OFSAA organizing committee and major leadership positions in WCSSAA and CWOSSA athletic associations.
We re-named our Silver Division in honour of Roy Dahl. Roy was Court Heinbuch’s assistant coach on that undefeated OFSAA Championship team. Roy would go on to win his own championships at Cameron Heights, WCI and Bluevale. He also was the owner of Naismith Basketball Camp in the Muskokas for the past 34 years, co-founder of the KW Lightning organization, and co-chair of the OFSAA organizing committee. Roy was also one of the key driving forces behind this tournament for many years, all of which he did to honour the memory of his good friend Court Heinbuch.
Finally, we re-named our Gold Division in honour of Bill Hadley. It is impossible to overstate Bill’s contributions to this tournament. 2022 marked the 37th edition of the Heinbuch Classic and this is the first year that Bill has not led our committee. For the first 36 editions of the Heinbuch, Bill was literally the driving force behind every aspect of the event. His attention to detail and passion for making this the premier tournament in the province is simply unparalleled. As proud as we are of the younger committee members who have stepped up to fill the leadership roles left behind by Bill, we know that we all feel a deep debt of gratitude to Bill for his rich legacy of leadership and contribution.