Local Volleyball Star and Former Olympic Athlete Michelle Sawatzky-Koop is among the first athletes inducted into the newly created Canada West Hall Of Fame.

This new Hall of Fame will include athletes from university sports across Western Canada. For Sawatzky-Koop, being among the first chosen for entry came as a bit of a surprise.

"It really blew me away, being included in the first five inductees or so because it's all sports, men and women. That's really an incredible thing to be named one of the athletes they feel should be honored as one of the athletes of Canada West."

Not only was Sawatzky-Koop among the first inducted into the hall of fame but she says to go in as a female volleyball player shows that the program is doing amazing things.

"I think it reminds everyone how strong the female program in Manitoba is. It's still strong and can get stronger. It reminds everyone of the glory days of 1992-96 when we were a national team, centered in Manitoba. We qualified for the Olympics in Winnipeg, right here in Manitoba. We were the home team. It was really special for a women's team to pack out a facility and carry the glorious weight of not only our country but our home province on our shoulders to the Olympics. I'm hoping it does a great deal for women's volleyball and all volleyball in general in rural Manitoba."

Sawatzky-Koop joined the Bisons in 1988 and From 1990-1992 the University of Manitoba Bisons claimed CIU Gold. Sawatzky-Koop was named National player of the year in 1991 and 1992. In 1993 she made the National team. Sawatzky-Koop claimed PanAm Bronze in 1995 and then was on the Olympic squad that played in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996.

Looking back on that period of time is still a bit surreal say's Sawatzky-Koop.

"Sometimes when I hear those things, it's like we're talking about someone else. The things that mean a lot are the two-time player of the year. It's special because it doesn't recognize just one event but it's a testament on how hard we all worked all year long. I also think about the three national championships. To do anything two times in a row or even once, winning a national championship is so difficult. I think about the amazing women I played with. I'm not sure how they pick just one person to put into the hall cause you never play volleyball alone but it's pretty incredible."

For most the Olympics are something you watch on TV every two or four years but for Sawatzky-Koop it was the culmination of a dream come true. A dream she worked on for years and year and one that took her away from her home town for a long time. The response of the community when she came back still puts her in tears.

"There's a moment that many people don't know about. When I trained for the Olympics, I moved away from Steinbach for 10 whole years. I was not here at all. I didn't come back for summers like a lot of University students do and I had lost a lot of contact, physically anyway, with a lot of people here in the city. I didn't have a clue how much support I had at home."

The feeling will forever be there for Sawatzky-Koop who still gets emotional talking about coming home.

"I'll never forget the moment I drove into the city after coming off the plane from the Olympics, every sign and every business said 'Thank You' to me and that I had come to the Olympics with me, that I carried all of Steinbach with me. I had no idea. Bar none, every sign had something to say, had my name on it. I knew I had tons of support but I never knew my whole city was behind me like that. It was one of the greatest welcome homes that ever existed. I'm happy this is my home."

Having the Canada West Hall of Fame for athletes from all backgrounds, all walks of life and from all sports is something that Sawatzky-Koop says is far beyond anything she could have hoped for. "The whole Canada West league of University sport is such a high level. To play in any Canada West University, in any sport, is really an accomplishment for high school athletes. To play post-secondary is tough but it's well known the Canada West league is something to be very proud of and it's something to be highlighted. They can point to who's come out of Canada West and it makes Western Canada proud. All of Canada West is being honored and working hard to accomplish excellence and show what they can do."

Sawatzky-Koop has made quite the home in Steinbach where she continues her passion for her family and her music but she'll always carry the Olympics with her. "I have a tattoo of the rings" she says with a laugh. "But don't worry mom, it's really little!"