After 26 years, longtime exec Denise Dignard hands Canadian women's basketball reins to next generation

The changes came swiftly for the Canadian women's basketball team.

After another Olympic letdown in Paris, captain Natalie Achonwa called it quits and head coach Victor Lapeña mutually parted with the organization.

Meanwhile, more quietly but perhaps just as significantly, general manager and high-performance director Denise Dignard, who recently announced her retirement after 26 years.

Dignard's exit signals a full rebuild for a team which has missed the knockout round at each of the past two Olympics and lost all three of its games in Paris.

"I look back on it and just think we've been able to get ourselves there. Now, I'll pass that Olympic dream and torch onto others to take it to the next stage, which is really competing for podium at the Olympics, where there's very small margin for error," said the 63-year-old Dignard.

The word that best describes Dignard's tenure atop the national team might be consistency.

In the last 12 years, Canada is one of just five countries that has competed in every Olympics and World Cup. But unlike the U.S., China, Australia and France, the Canadians have nothing show to for it.

Now, a new leadership group will be charged with getting the team over the hump.

The Port-Cartier, Que., native said the future is bright — but that the players need more international competition under their belts to contend with battle-tested opponents at the Olympics.

"You've got to be able to say every day, those who play on their national team are working at their craft. They're putting in the time to be very intentional about the things that they need to develop in order to be able to match up against the best internationally," she said.

Lapeña, the Spaniard who left a job in the pro ranks to join Canada full-time, spent three years on the Canadian sidelines, with the highlight a fourth-place finish at the 2022 World Cup.

Dignard said it was too soon to judge why, ultimately, the relationship did not work out. But she did say Canadian coaching development should be a priority moving forward.

On the court, the movement toward the next generation of players began in Paris where the likes of Syla Swords, 18, and Cassandre Prosper, 19, played meaningful minutes alongside WNBA rookies Aaliyah Edwards and Laeticia Amihere.

But the best Canadian player of the Lapeña tenure was likely Bridget Carleton, who seems to improve every year.