Player profile: Simran Bir

Prolific sharpshooter for the women’s basketball team

By Davie Wong, Sports Reporter

Simran Bir is a third year member of the women’s basketball team and plays a key role at the number five position. Standing at 5’9”, Bir is not the tallest player on the court but definitely not the shortest. What she lacks in height, she makes up for in skill. Her shooting ability has been integral to the team’s ability to score offensively. When the team struggles to get into the paint to score, they know they can rely on Bir to score from the outside.

Her ability to shoot well under intense pressure comes from her history as a competitive swimmer. Unlike other players who have been playing basketball since their infancy, Bir only started playing competitive basketball near the beginning of high school.

Originally, she believed that she would be pursuing competitive swimming going into college, but due to her mother’s insistence on her branching out and playing other sports, Bir discovered basketball. Over time, she developed a deep passion for the game, favouring the team aspects of the sport compared to the individualistic aspects of swimming. Her ability to cope with large amounts of pressure was a huge beneficiary to her when she made the decision to transition to basketball more seriously.

This year, Bir hopes to win gold at Provincials to earn a berth at Nationals. The team has come second in the last two years, losing in the finals to the same team both years.

Outside of basketball, Bir is a third year student at Douglas enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing program. While unsure about her future, she hopes that basketball will be a part of her life, one way or another, long after she leaves Douglas.