There's an old sports cliche: It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.
The Swift Current Comprehensive High School Ardens senior volleyball team embodied that saying this season, winning the 2024 5A Provincials and being awarded the SHSAA Sportsmanship Banner.
"It means a lot," said Ardens Head Coach Gerod Wiens. "It's a prestigious award that recognizes the outstanding conduct of our team on and off the court. I think it's a recognition of who our team was this year and continues to strive every day."
Nominated by the officials, host committee, and SHSAA board members at provincials, the winning team must display true sportsmanship throughout the competition.
"It's something we have high expectations of that we carry ourselves and have a high standard," Wiens said. "We had a great group of girls who displayed great sportsmanship on and off the court. Whether we won or lost, they carried themselves in a good place."
The Ardens earned the sportsmanship award even while having substantial success on the court.
"You have to learn how to win and learn how to lose," Wiens said. "Our girls knew how to do both. They carry themselves well winning and losing. Teams gravitated towards them. It was on display at the provincial championship when we had other teams cheering for us to win."
Wiens reflected on a very talented club that has moved several players on to post-secondary opportunities in the sport.
"It's a dedicated group of girls," he said. "They set individual goals for themselves. They work hard on and off the court. They want to be the best, and they bring that to practice every single day.
"It's always special to watch those athletes get that ability to play at the next level," Wiens said. "It's something they should be really proud of. It shows their hard work and dedication has paid off."
Wiens expects the Comp to continue having strong volleyball teams.
"We have a really strong Sundogs volleyball program on the girls' side," he said. "We have lots of teams that are playing and lots of girls that are interested. It makes it difficult to pick a team, but it also makes the team strong and competitive."
The Ardens finished second at 5A provincials in the 2023 season before winning this season.