Canadians in Finland: Shawn Swords

Shawn Swords, a member of Team Canada, Canada's national basketball team, has been playing for the Kataja Basket Club from Joensuu since November 2003. After playing in Switzerland and Italy for the last few years, Swords decided to come and play in Finland.

Background

Originally from Ottawa, Shawn started playing basketball at Woodroffe High School. He then went on to play for Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, from 1992 to 1997. His older sister Carolyn also attended Laurentian (three years prior to him), and he says that influenced his decision to play for the Voyageurs—not to mention that Peter Campbell, then coach of the Laurentian Voyageurs men's team, did his best to recruit Shawn to go and play for Laurentian. Campbell succeeded.

Stats

Shawn's university basketball career in the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport), formerly know as the CIAU, spanned five seasons. For four years, Shawn was named an all-star in Ontario University Athletics, and he was voted an all-Canadian in his final year. He received numerous awards and was named Laurentian's Athlete of the Year in 1997.

Life after Laurentian

Basketball didn't end at Laurentian. After graduating in 1997 with a degree in economics, Swords headed over to England, where he played for the Worthing Bears; he later moved to Switzerland, where he played for the Basketball Club Bancourt. He also had stints in France and Italy.

He says that he keeps in contact with some of his old teammates from Laurentian. These include, for example, Ted Donglemans, who played in Switzerland—at that time, Shawn was playing in France, so they saw each other a lot. Incidentally, Donglemans played on the same Swiss team Swords used to play for.

Swords has also had contact with former team mates Jason Hurley, Cory Bailey, Adam Dusome, Joey Turco, Kevin Gordon, Pat Duggan and Brad Hann. He stated, "All of the guys keep in touch, we had a close-knit team and we were friends at the time—and still are."

Shawn's wife Shelley Dewar also played university basketball at Laurentian. Originally from Sudbury, she was highly regarded as a "homegrown" player and was rewarded for her skills. Dewar was named East Division Rookie of the Year in 1994-95, and she was selected to the East Division All-Star team in 1995-96 and 1997-98.

Furthermore, Shelley was honoured with the Joy Bellinger Award of Merit twice. This award is presented to female athletes who have demonstrated outstanding career contributions to sport and the advancement of university athletics—the game of basketball in particular.

Shawn says that Shelley enjoys it over here in Europe. "She always wanted to travel, and these last six years she has travelled around Europe and visited all kinds of places. She did play the first three years we were over here but has since stopped."

On representing Canada

Shawn recalls his experience at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as unbelievable. "I had always dreamed of it and tried to imagine it, but it was better in reality than any dreams! The whole experience—from the opening ceremonies to the games and the Olympic Village—was all great. It still gives me the chills to think about it!"

Unfortunately, Canada's men's basketball team did not qualify for the 2004 Olympics. Swords was part of the team that fell to Puerto Rico in August 2003 during a qualifying tournament.

Shawn indicates that there are many Canadians playing in Europe. He says that most of the national team players, former and present, are playing somewhere in Europe; for example, Keith Vassel plays here in Finland with a team from Porvoo. "Since Canada doesn't have a league, Europe is really the only place to play after university."

Shawn holds the distinction of being a citizen of both Canada and Ireland. He says that holding two passports makes it a lot easier to play in Europe. Depending on the country, teams are only allowed a certain number of imports (which are mostly Canadians or Americans), "but with me holding an Irish passport I am considered a non-import. This is of course because of the European Union laws."

On life in Finland

The Kataja Basket Club contacted Shawn's agent; that is how he ended up coming to Finland. He says that his Finnish is non-existent. He mentioned that his wife has been taking some courses and has learned a bit of the language, "but it is very different from English, French and Italian, which we both understand."

When asked, Shawn mentioned that the weather in Finland is not that much different than in Ottawa or Sudbury. He says that it has been warmer in Finland this winter than it has been back at home. However, he finds the winter darkness a bit of a change—as well as the winter temperatures, having lived in Italy, France and Switzerland for the last few winters.

He sums it up by saying, "Our experience has been great. The people have been very nice and helpful to get us settled in and make sure we have everything we need. Most people speak English, so that has helped, too. Finns don't know much about Canadian basketball; they pretty much ask about the NBA mostly or national team things."

He says that he is not sure if they will be coming back to Finland for the next season. "They are changing the rules for teams again and may not have money to pay Europeans to play here. We will wait until the summer time and then decide where I will play. Finland will definitely be an option."

I ended by telling Shawn that he and Shelley should make a visit to Finland during the summer... Here's hoping they both come back. Shawn has been a welcome addition to the Kataja Basket Club line-up.

By Carmen Boudreau-Kiviaho