Muriel, affectionately known as Mert, Shapka is indeed a woman for all seasons, and all sports. She showed her colors early in her hometown of Ponoka, Alberta where she engaged in figure skating and starred as a pitcher on the town softball team in the late 1940s. Enrolling in Education at Alberta (B.Ed., '53) she majored in physical education and took part in an amazing array of sports. At the intercollegiate level she was the mainstay of the Panda swim team from 1949 to 1953. During that period the team was W.C.I.A.U. champions three times. Throughout her four undergraduate years Mert also competed in intercollegiate tennis, and for two seasons was a valued member of Panda basketball teams. In her graduating year she was awarded a Major athletic award, the equivalent of the Block "A".

In intramural sport she took part in swimming volleyball, basketball and badminton, a record that won her the T.M. Johnson Trophy as the outstanding contributor to women's intramurals in 1953. In student government she served a term as vice-president of the Physical Education Students' Society, and another as manager of intramural tennis.

She has remained active as a competitive curler winning several important events and season trophies, and in 1992 was a member of the Edmonton tennis team to the Alberta Seniors' Games.

Her own success as an athlete has been more than matched by the wide range of important contributions she has made to high school girls' physical education and sport In 34 years of continuous service as a teacher in five Edmonton public high schools (Eastglen, Queen Elizabeth, Victoria, M.E. LaZerte, and McNally) she has given several thousand girls a positive experience in physical education, and guided teams to more than ten city championships in volleyball, basketball, track, soccer and team handball. In recognition of her contributions the Edmonton Junior Girls' Basketball Premier League is named for her, and in 1983 she received the Honor Award of C.A.H.P.E.R. In the late 19E0's she attended UCLA to gain an M.Sc. in physical education in 1968. Over the span of her teaching career Mert found a way to raise a team of six of her own children!

In addition to coaching she has assumed considerable responsibility for organizing girls' sports. She convened volleyball and gymnastics and chaired the organizing committee for the Provincial Girls' Basketball Tournament in 1975.

Her commitment to her community and sport have led to leadership roles in playschools, in the Red Cross water safety and small craft safety programs, and officiating as a judge in provincial gymnastics, and umpiring in fastball.

It would be difficult to find a more worthy inductee to the Wall of Fame.