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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Since its humble beginning in 1980, the Hollidaysburg Area YMCA Women's Summer Basketball League has flourished over the past four decades.
The league that began with just a handful of high school teams has since expanded to 20 teams -- 10 in both a High School Division and Alumni Division in what is now known as the Blair Regional YMCA -- and, with 40 years in operation, the league is the longest running women's basketball league in the state of Pennsylvania.
On Tuesday evening at the Blair Regional YMCA, Pennsylvania State Senator Judy Ward (R) presented a proclamation certificate to Sue Kovensky, Blair Regional YMCA Women's Summer Basketball League Officials Liaison, to recognize and honor the league's 40 years and the immense contributions that it has made toward high school girls and women's basketball for players from this area over that period of time.
"We're in business for 40 years, we've got the longest consecutive women's summer basketball league in the state of Pennsylvania, and that says something,'' Kovensky said. "The first couple of years, there were only five or six teams, but the league has grown from there.
"The league has morphed into High School and Alumni Divisions, has maintained its growth over all these years and has expanded to 20 teams,'' added Kovensky, who has been involved in the league for 30 years as a player, coach and official, and who is also a long-time PIAA official. She also credited Bill Pfeffer, a long-time official for the league.
Sparked by the national acclaim that the Altoona Area High School girls basketball program achieved under former longtime coach Art Taneyhill during its fabulous run in the 1980s and 1990s, the Hollidaysburg Area YMCA League has annually attracted players with NCAA Division I pedigrees.
Among the league's more prominent players in the early years were Bishop Carroll Catholic High School's Sue Panek (who went on to play at the University of Maryland and in the Women's National Basketball Association), Altoona's Jenny (Shingler) Hansberry (University of Pittsburgh) and Hollidaysburg's Pam (Webber) Mitchell and Claysburg-Kimmel's Jill Brumbaugh (both University of Connecticut).
"This has been a very competitive area, with a lot of great players,'' Kovensky said. "I think that the success of the Altoona High School teams under the coaching of Art Taneyhill really helped our league, and he would tell you today how important playing in our league was to his basketball program.''
Ward was happy to offer the well-deserved recognition to the league and to Kovensky.
"There has been a lot of girls and women's basketball talent in this area, and this league has provided a wonderful springboard and a wonderful opportunity for those young women,'' Ward said. "Sue Kovensky is a great person, she's terrific, and she has been a motivator herself and a driving force for the people connected with this league.''
The league began in 1980 under the direction of former YMCA Executive Director Tom Kopriva and former Hollidaysburg Area High School girls basketball coach Joe Hurd, and a new gym for league games was built courtesy of the Reliance Savings Bank back in 2008.
Kovensky expressed her appreciation for Ward's recognition of the league, which started its regular season this summer on June 3 and will wrap up with the High School and Alumni Division championship games on Aug. 12.
A full schedule is played on Tuesday and Thursday nights, with a handful of games played on a few Sunday evenings.
"We have to give credit where credit is due,'' Kovensky said. "Judy Ward is a very passionate person, the people who are involved with the Blair Regional YMCA are among her constituents, and I think that she is looking at this as the least that she can do for them.
"I think it's very nice that she has taken time out from her busy schedule to do this.''