Wanda
Guenette

With nearly four decades in the game, Wanda Guenette made her mark in both indoor and beach volleyball in Canada. She won a national title at the University of Winnipeg, earned All-Canadian honours, and represented Canada at three Pan American Games and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Some would say Wanda was destined for athletic greatness as she is the daughter of Blue Bomber legend and CFL Hall-of-Famer, Ernie Pitts. Still, Guenette carved out an incredible career for herself and became one of Canada’s best volleyball athletes.

Wanda started playing the game in seventh grade while attending Munroe Junior High School in Winnipeg. She continued her development at Miles Macdonell Collegiate before committing to play for the University of Winnipeg Wesmen. She credits her mom, Camille, with her early start in the sport by encouraging her to select volleyball instead of basketball.

The first major accolade of her career came while she was playing for the Wesmen. She was named an All-Canadian in 1983 and helped the club win their first of six consecutive national championships with a 3-0 win over the Calgary Dinos. Also, in 1980, she was a member of the team that defeated Cuba to win the U21 NORCECA Championship.

Following her collegiate career, Wanda spent five years away from the game to work. In 1988, she was recruited to play professionally in Europe and picked up her dominance right where she left off.

During her distinguished pro career, she played in Germany from 1988 to 1990, France in the 1990-91 season, Italy the following year, Spain from 1996 to 1998, and Belgium in her final pro season, 1999-2000. 

Her talents overseas did not go unnoticed back home. In 1991, she was selected to the Canadian National Team, which began her nine-year stint in the program. Guenette represented the country at three Pan American Games in 1991, 1995, and 1999, two World Cups in 1991 and 1995, and five consecutive NORCECA Championships from 1991 to 1999. Her biggest event came in 1996 when she was named to the Canadian Olympic team, which finished ninth in the Atlanta Games.

While she had achieved impressive success on the indoor court, Guenette took her talents to the sand and started her beach volleyball career in 2001. She and her playing partner, Laura Inward, won three straight World Masters Games gold medals to cap off her career in 2005, 2009, and 2013. One of the highlights of her career was winning the World Masters Gold when she was told it was unlikely she would be able to play because of a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis.

Wanda credits Mike Burchuk as the coach for getting her a tryout to the junior national team and later an invite to the National team after her hiatus to play in Europe. She also credits Michel Gagnon as the coach who taught her the meaning of training hard and respect.

While she was still playing, Wanda took up coaching beach volleyball and was a part of Manitoba’s coaching staff for the 2009 and 2013 Canada Summer Games.

Wanda's impact on the sport was recognized in 2014 when she was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.  Today, we are honoured to induct Wanda Guenette into the Volleyball Canada Hall of Fame as an Athlete in recognition of her outstanding playing career for Canada both indoors and on the beach.