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Dalhousie’s Emily Lerette will represent Nova Scotia at the end of the month in Calgary, Alberta.

A Timberlea, Nova Scotia native, Emily spent four years at Lakehead University and represented the Thunderwolves on the basketball court for one season before joining their staff as their front desk and event supervisor. She returned to Nova Scotia in 2021 to join the Dalhousie department of athletics and recreation as a facility operations supervisor.

Now the operations supervisor, Emily is responsible for the execution of over 100 home games per year for the Tigers. In her spare time, she also coaches with the Thunder Selects Basketball and officiates basketball, which is the reason for the trip to the University of Calgary this week.

Last spring, Emily was selected as the only Nova Scotian to officiate at the 15U Women’s National Championship in Calgary. Fellow Bluenosers Shauna Porier, Dean Pan, Joe Harvey and Nathan Dunn were selected for other age categories.

“I am extremely honoured to have been selected as one of 15 officials from all of Canada to officiate at the U15 Women’s National Championships,” says Emily. “I have been working towards officiating basketball at the next level, and the opportunity to be exposed to basketball on the west coast and work with officials with similar goals from all over Canada is invaluable.” 

In the two short years that she has been back in Nova Scotia, Lerette has quickly moved up the officiating ranks, calling her first Maritime Women’s Basketball Association game this summer and officiating the division one girl’s final in the School Sport Nova Scotia provincial championship this past spring. Her goal is to get the U SPORTS level first, then the international level, is something she balances with working off-court at Tigers games.

“Emily is a very good basketball official,” says Tigers women’s basketball head coach Tanya McKay. “She has moved quickly through the ranks and has demonstrated strong and consistent performances on the court. The Nova Scotia basketball community is very excited to see a high-quality female official in Emily be given high-level opportunities for experience and exposure.”

Her trip out west comes in advance of what will be a busy Tigers season that is starting even earlier this year. It was announced earlier this month that the men’s basketball team will be hosting the University of Indianapolis on August 14 in a pre-season exhibition game. She has already started preparing for this season, ordering product for the canteen, setting up the ticket sales in the point-of-sale system, hiring staff, and working on facility projects to enhance the Tigers fan experience at games this fall.

“Emily has been a great addition to our athletics and recreation staff,” says associate director, Cindy Tye. “She is heavily involved in the basketball community through officiating and coaching, recently serving as head coach with the U13 Thunder Selects team. We are proud of the work Emily is doing in the community and here at Dal!”

“The department has been extremely supportive in my journey to advance my officiating career,” says Emily. “They have been flexible in allowing me to adjust my work schedule, and take time off to referee some big games that have helped me get where I am now. I want to give a big thanks to the amazing team here at Dal for the support in my journey, and I am excited to represent not only Dal, but all of Nova Scotia next week at nationals!”

The 15U tournament kicks off on July 31 in Calgary. The department of athletics and recreation is looking forward to cheering Emily on at her first national championship next week.