Gerald Kazanowski

Gerald Francis Kazanowski (born October 12, 1960) is a two-time Olympian and former professional basketball player.

Kazanowski played for the Canada men's national basketball team from 1979 - 1990, representing Canada in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, three times in the World Student Games (1981, 1983, 1985) and three times in the FIBA World Championships (1982, 1986, 1990). He later played professionally from 1984 to 1992 two-time recipient of the Premier's Athletic Award, and four-time Canada West All-Star. This bronze medal game was highly competitive, being tied 18 times with 12 lead changes, with Canada being within one point with less than a minute of play remaining. In the 1985 World Student Games, Canada won the bronze medal and in 1981, Canada placed 5th.

Kazanowski also represented Canada in 3 FIBA World Championships (1982, 1986, 1990) the first Canada West basketball team to achieve a perfect regular season record.

During his time at UVic, Kazanowski was a two-time First Team CIAU All-Canadian (1981–1983), with Kazanowski being recognized as a team member in all of these inductions.

Personal life Kazanowski was born on October 12, 1960 to polish immigrants. He began playing basketball in his hometown of Nanaimo, B.C., in grade six.

He graduated from UVic with a degree in economics and is now a certified financial advisor.

Kazanowski met his wife of 20+ years, Claudia, while he was playing professionally in Mexico. He retired from professional basketball in 1992 and by 1993, he was immersed in the financial advisory industry. His office is located in Sidney and he lives in North Saanich with his wife and their two daughters, Sarah and Grace.

He now gives back to the community as much as he can; he often volunteers at local schools to provide speaking addresses on how sports can be a positive influence, while also providing advice to older students on how to start thinking about their finances early. Additionally, Kazanowski and his family are involved with the ROCK home makeover project for disadvantaged homeowners on the Saanich Peninsula.