Sir Charles Tupper head coach Jeff Gourley (with grandson Elliott) said a heartfelt good-bye to his players as the impact of COVID on his family business has forced a sabbatical from the coaching front. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Longtime Charles Tupper hoops coach Jeff Gourley takes leave of his Tigers in 2021-22: In a changing world, here’s his heartfelt good-bye!

(Jeff Gourley has given heart and soul to breathe life and community into the East Vancouver basketball world. On Thursday, he announced his reasons for stepping away this season from the boys program at Sir Charles Tupper where the Tigers have been his extended family for most the last quarter century… the team, to be […]

Sir Charles Tupper head coach Jeff Gourley is all smiles as he poses with his grandson Elliott last March at the Langley Events Centre following the Tabbies win over Vernon in the B.C. AAA bronze-medal game. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
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‘Your Coach Forever’: Tupper basketball’s Jeff Gourley on what needs to happen now to insure the future vitality of B.C. high school sports in the post-pandemic era

EAST VANCOUVER — If you’ve ever ventured into a gymnasium on the opening night of the B.C. high school basketball season — as a player, coach or spectator — you can attest to the fact that there is a feeling in the air as palpably uplifting as the one you feel on its final day.Sure, […]

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The VL podcast for 11.06.19 welcomes VC Irish football’s Todd Bernett, DC Royals hoops coach Joe Enevoldson & Tupper hoops guru Jeff Gourley

Welcome to November! The 11th month means playoff football and the start of the basketball season, and our line-up of guests reflects just that. Vancouver College Fighting Irish head coach Todd Bernett stops by to break down his team’s incredible defensive play this season ahead of its Subway Bowl opener Saturday at home to Rutland. […]

Clad in pink with the 'We Are One' slogan across their hearts, Sir Charles Tupper Tigers players are standing up for the social and humanitarian causes they feel are most important. (Photo by Sir Charles Tupper Secondary 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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Think Pink! Tupper Tigers boys basketball team set to don all-pink ‘We Are One’ uniforms tonight in Mainland AAA final

VANCOUVER — The power of a high school sports team to impact the power of positivity and togetherness in the province of B.C. and in turn, around the globe, may never be stronger than it is tonight (6:15 p.m.) at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Timberwolves Classic MVP Norben Bulosan (right) of the Sir Charles Tupper Tigers sharers a lighter moment with teammate Gaurab Acharya (3) Saturday in Abbotsford. (Photo by Wilson Wong property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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Timberwolves Classic ’19: Topping No. 2 Vernon Panthers no small feat for compact MVP Bulosan and No. 1 Tupper Tigers

ABBOTSFORD — Until we meet again? East Vancouver’s No. 1-ranked Sir Charles Tupper Tigers and the No. 2 Vernon Panthers may well have given an advance showing of the B.C. senior boys Triple A basketball championship final deep in the Fraser Valley on Saturday night.

Mathew Dunkerley (left) of Sir Charles Tupper went head-to-head with Tamanawis' Jeevan Sidhu in a battle of two of B.C.'s top scorers on Friday at the host Wildcats' holiday classic in Surrey. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
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Tupper Tigers toast togetherness, East Van’s finest upset Quad-A tourney host Tamanawis en route to finals clash with Garfield Bulldogs

SURREY — When a team reflects success on both the tangible and the intangible side of the ledger, you know you’re watching something special unfolding.

Reppin' his jersey number with pride, Tupper's Gaurab Acharya has knocked down 101 treys already this season. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
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One tough Tiger: Over a season of adversity, Tupper’s compact Gaurab Acharya thinks big, plays even bigger

VANCOUVER — Jeff Gourley, like so many of our province’s veteran high school basketball coaches, is often asked the question that centres around the ‘R’ word.

Sir Charles Tupper forward Joven Dhillon (right) is one of a host of Grade 11 starters fuelling the efforts of East Van's Tigers at this weeks Tsumura Basketball Invitational in Langley. (Wilson Wong/UBC athletics)
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TBI 2017: How Tupper has hit the upper-echelon, Tigers’ hoops in tip-top shape from top to bottom

VANCOUVER — Material trappings have never been a part of the blue-collar basketball culture at East Vancouver’s Sir Charles Tupper Secondary.