Your author, presenting with pride, the MVP trophy at the 2015 Tsumura Basketball Invitational, to McMath Wildcats' Jessica Jones. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2015 All Rights Reserved)
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A message from Howard: After 40 years, I’ll bring a new writing direction to Varsity Letters for the 2022-23 high school and university sports season!

NORTH DELTA –  Heartfelt greetings to all of you, my loyal, longtime readers.It’s been five months since I decided to take a break from my writing life.As was the goal from the very start, my decision to take sabbatical after 40 years of daily practice — first from my typewriter, and of course later, in […]

Surrey's Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers and Fleetwood Park Dragons both took part of the 2021 Tsumura Basketball Invitational in mid-December. High school boys and girls teams have not played in tournaments since Dec. 18 and its expected Feb. 1 return has now been pushed back indefinitely. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT TAKES ROOT: Parent-launched petition opposing continued ban on BC High school sports tournaments gaining huge on-line traction!

VANCOUVER — A grassroots petition launched on-line Friday is distinguishing itself as something of a barometre for the level of frustration being felt by those opposed to Friday’s announcement by B.C.’s Ministry of Education that high school sports tournaments in this province would not be allowed to resume play on Feb. 1.Tricia Joseph, a parent […]

B.C. high school football will continue with its Subway Bowl playoffs this weekend, yet teams will not compete for provincial titles this season after the flooding within our province made travel to games a big issue. (Wilson Wong photo property of Wilson Wong 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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No B.C. champions will be crowned at Subway Bowl 2021! State of emergency means high school football will stage three ‘regional’ championships!

(NOTE — Check back throughout the course of the evening for updates on this story)LANGLEY — For a second straight season, B.C. high school football teams have been denied the opportunity to compete for provincial championships.On the heels of the provincial state of emergency now in effect, B.C. School Sports, the governing body for high […]

The Tessa Beauchamp Foundation has been aided in its fundraising efforts by the WLA's Langley Thunder. Pictured at a fund-raising event are (left to right) Amy Beauchamp, Caitlin Nagel née McNaughton, Cecile Dadson née Ehman and Steve Beauchamp. McNaughton and Dadson each played basketball at Holy Cross with Tessa Beauchamp. (Photo by Garrett James property of Langley Evens Centre 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Adversity’s award: Why the Tessa Beauchamp Scholarships mean so much more to B.C. high school’s courageous Class of 2021!

SURREY — For almost a decade, it has distinguished itself as a memorial scholarship by asking its many Grade 12 student applicants to ponder a question so deeply understood by its namesake.And when you very fittingly digest that same question these days, over the final weeks of the most challenging of school years, it’s hard […]

Duchess Park's Caleb Lyons, pictured during the 2020 B.C. Triple-A Final Four Friday at the LEC in March of 2020, will continue his basketball career next season in Nanaimo with the CCAA powerhouse Vancouver Island Mariners. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Varsity Letters’ 15th annual B.C. Recruits List: Please send us the names of our university-bound student-athletes from the Class of 2021!

NORTH DELTA — The B.C. Recruits List turns 15 this year, and based on the events of the past year-plus, I am sure you will agree with me when I say that at no time over that span has it been more important that we acknowledge, in any way possible, our province’s graduating student-athletes.When we […]

Byrne Creek's Felix Chong (left) and Alex Flores (right) help steady videographer Sampson Fang as the trio captures images of multi-sport athlete Jas Sidhu for its Athlete of the Month feature. (Photo property Byrne Creek athletics 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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At Burnaby’s Byrne Creek, Athletic Council class gives students an empowered ‘voice of community’ in a time of disconnect!

BURNABY — This past September, on what was the first day of a freshly-minted class in the curriculum at Byrne Creek Community School, the teacher posed a defining question to his students.“I had the kids write down what they thought the athletic climate was at Byrne Creek, and how they would perceive us if they […]

The BCSS governance proposal was passed Saturday morning. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. School Sports wins its governance vote: All of the voices weigh in on a tipping-point day in B.C. high school sports history!

B.C. School Sports has won the day, and its executive director says he’s confident the new governance proposal for high school sports in this province — one which unites all 20 of its member sports under one organizational umbrella — will be ready to begin operation, pending green lights from the health sector, this coming […]

B.C. School Sports will hold its AGM on Saturday, at which time its new governance proposal will be put to the vote. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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With pivotal AGM vote set for Saturday, BCTF claims no knowledge of its spot on BC School Sports’ proposed legislative council!

A B.C. high school sports commissioner says he has been stunned by the 11th-hour discovery of what he characterizes as a gross misrepresentation in the lead-up to Saturday’s pivotal vote on B.C. School Sports new governance proposal.Walter van Halst, commissioner of the B.C. Secondary Schools Rugby Union, called it “absolutely shocking” when it was discovered […]

B.C. School Sports offered their response after some big news was revealed Thursday, two days ahead of Saturday's pivotal AGM vote. (Photo property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. School Sports responds to criticism following BC Teachers Federation issue with governance vote fast approaching!

B.C. School Sports was contacted earlier today by Varsity Letters regarding issues stemming from the BCTF and its denial of communication and involvement as one of 10 key stakeholder organizations which would occupy voting seats within the proposed governance’s 54-member legislative assembly.In advance of Saturday’s AGM in which its new governance proposal will be voted […]

The RMS Queen Mary chugs into the harbour in New York City in June of 1945, still sporting the grey assemblage it was given during World War II. The story behind the colour of the British passenger liner is directly tied to one of the most unique nicknames in all of B.C. high school sports. (Public domain photo courtesy National Archives Catalog)
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A Sunday Read: Why do nicknames matter? The origin story of Vancouver’s Lord Byng Grey Ghosts!

VANCOUVER — The best high school nicknames have always carried an understated power.In just a word or two, they offer not only an instant connection across the generations, but a way of paying homage to unique histories and traditions that each can so proudly call its own.In fact at their very best, they are so […]