NEWS: Gee-Gees Alumna named to BlackJacks coaching staff 

Graphic with photos of Fabienne Blizzard, text on right reads Assistant Coach Fabienne Blizzard
February 10, 2021

The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Wednesday that Fabienne Perrin-Blizzard has been named an assistant coach for the team's second season. Perrin-Blizzard is a Gee-Gees women's basketball alumna with international experience as a coach following her excellent career in Garnet and Grey. 

Perrin-Blizzard serves as the assistant coach for the Cadette Women's National team and spent several years coaching Ontario's provincial teams to championships.

She co-founded Capital Courts Academy, a one-stop training environment giving athletes the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive high-level program that support both academic and basketball goals. She is responsible for the management and direction of the academy and coaches the girls' program. 

In 2018, she joined the staff of the Cadette Women's National U15-16 team as an assistant, winning silver at the FIBA Americas tournament. As a head coach for Ontario U15 and U17 provincial teams, she brought her teams to three national titles, in 2015, 2017 and 2018.  

Fabienne Perrin as a player with the Gee-Gees With a desire of making an impact in the growth and development of young athletes, Perrin-Blizzard has been an active member of the basketball community, from coaching at the club level to promoting technical and soft skills at various speaking events, including the Women Symposiums, the Women's Forum Network and the SEED Hoop Forum Senegal. In May 2019, she flew to Senegal, where she served as guest coach for the Girls' NBA Academy Africa kick-off.

Perrin-Blizzard starred with the Gee-Gees before starting her coaching career. A 3-time OUA East All-Star during her playing career from 1989-1994, Perrin stayed on with the Gee-Gees as an assistant coach from 1994-1998 and became the team's head coach for the 1998-1999 season. With over 700 career points, Perrin ranked 8th in league history at the end of her playing career and was second in all-time Gee-Gees scoring. 

She was a two-time winner of the uOttawa Female Athlete of the Year award and graduated with a Bachelor of Computer Science in 1995 in addition to a Bachelor of Social Science in 1992. Her daughter, Tyra, played for the Gee-Gees in 2019-20.

(with files from Ottawa BlackJacks)