Skip to content

Basketball B.C. Hall of Fame calls North Okanagan pair

Enderby’s Marni Abbott-Peter and the late Mel Briggeman of Vernon to be inducted Saturday
web1_170501-a-hoopshall
Enderby’s Marni Abbott-Peter (left) and the late Mel Briggeman of Vernon will be inducted Saturday into the Basketball B.C. Hall of Fame in Richmond. (Morning Star file photos)

Two North Okanagan basketball icons have received the ultimate call.

Enderby’s Marni Abbott-Peter, and the late Mel Briggeman of Vernon, will be inducted into the Basketball B.C. Hall of Fame Saturday in Richmond, along with seven other individuals and one team.

Abbott-Peter, being inducted along with three others in the Athletes category, was named to the Canadian wheelchair basketball team in 1992 and went on to win her first gold medal at the 1992 Paralympics in Barcelona. She was Canada’s flag bearer the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics where Canada repeated as gold medalists. Abbott-Peter won a third Paralympics gold medal in Sydney in 2000.

She also helped Canada win three World Cup titles.

Extra special for Abbott-Peter is she will be joined in the hall in the Athletes category by her husband, Richard, who is also being inducted Saturday.

Richard Peters, from Duncan, was a member of five Canadian Paralympics men’s basketball teams, winning three gold medals and one silver. He finished his career in London in 2012, sinking a pair of free throws for his final baskets with the national team in winning gold.

The Peters now live in Vancouver.

Briggeman, who died in 2014, is being inducted in the Builder category.

The longtime school teacher was known for his prowess as a basketball official, blowing whistles at every major tournament in B.C.

Briggeman was a fixture at the All Native Tournament in Prince Rupert, setting a record for appearances, and also worked the Arctic Games in Whitehorse and Anchorage.

He was a member of the B.C. Basketball Officials’ Association, was instrumental in developing the provincial certification program, and, 1983, Briggeman was named the winner of the Canadian Association of Basketball Officials’ prestigious Wink Willox award for his exemplary contribution to basketball.

The induction ceremony takes place Saturday at the River Rock Casino and Resort in Richmond.



Roger Knox

About the Author: Roger Knox

I am a journalist with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. I started my career in radio and have spent the last 21 years working with Black Press Media.
Read more