Senior hitter Jesse Lee and the rest of Port Coquitlam's Riverside Rapids maintained their spot in the B.C. AAA Top 10 rankings. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Volleyball

B.C. boys volleyball rankings 10.02.19: Eric Hamber, Langley Fundamental make big climbs but Marriott and MEI still atop the tiers

LANGLEY — The defending B.C. AAA champion Earl Marriott Mariners of Surrey retained the top spot at the province’s largest tier after suffering its only loss of the season thus far, in the championship final of the UBC Invitational last Saturday to Edmonton’s Harry Ainlay Titans. Meanwhile, Vancouver’s Eric Hamber Griffins defeated Abbotsford’s AA No. […]

Vancouver's Little Flower Academy Angels, pictured last month at the UBC Mizuno Invitational, hold firm at No. 2 in the B.C. Triple A rankings this week. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Volleyball

B.C. Girls Top 10 Volleyball Rankings 10.02.19: Dover Bay, Notre Dame and Mt. Sentinel the big movers, No. 1’s hold ground

LANGLEY — Here are the latest B.C. senior girls Top 10 volleyball rankings:*At Quad A, Nanaimo’s Dover Bay Dolphins staked a claim to Top 10 territory coming off a Final Four showing and eventual silver-medal finish at the Vancouver Island University Mariners invitational. No. 6 Claremont held firm with a win over the Dolphins.*At Double […]

Feature Podcast

Varsity Letters PODCAST returns to talk BCHS rugby at the World Cup, big high school football wins and the start of a new hoops season!

LANGLEY — Varsity Letters — The Podcast returns for another week, this time touching on football, basketball and rugby. Off the top, we visit with Canadian Under-20 men’s rugby coach Adam Roberts, the longtime head coach at Surrey’s Earl Marriott Secondary. Roberts and host Howard Tsumura talk about the inherent pride that comes with taking […]

MEI Eagles' Hunter Arulpragasam (left) and Tag Neufeld rise for a block against Lake Country's George Elliott Coyotes last Friday during the UBC Invitational at War Memorial Gym. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Volleyball

MEI boys volleyball: Multi-sport players, multi-experienced coach Olfert meld to lift Eagles into B.C. AA title contention

ABBOTSFORD — The 2019 edition of the MEI Eagles senior boys volleyball team has its fair share of standouts, and none of that is a surprise for the team which last week opened at No. 1 in the first B.C. Double A rankings of the new season.Senior Tyson Ardell spent the summer with Team B.C. […]

New Westminster running back Greyson Planinsic and the rest of the Hyacks are B.C.'s new No. 1-ranked Triple A team. (Photo by Alan Wardle property of New Westminster Hyacks football 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

Varsity Letters 09.30.19 BC High School Football Big 5: New West Hyacks new AAA No. 1! The parity of a September to remember

LANGLEY — Welcome to Week 5 of the 2019 B.C. high school football season. Parity is good for the Subway Bowl party, and this past week’s AAA results continued to show plenty of it. We haven’t even gotten out of September, and a third team has ascended to No. 1 at the province’s largest tier.Here […]

Vancouver College's Daesaun Johnson (2) rushed for three touchdowns Saturday in the Irish's win over Mt. Douglas. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca)
Feature High School Football

Varsity Letters’ B.C.High School Football Report 09.29.19 Saturday Night final edition

Here is Saturday’s edition of the B.C. High School Football Report:TRIPLE AWESTERN CONFERENCENo. 5 MT. DOUGLAS 14 at No. 4 VANCOUVER COLLEGE 35VANCOUVER — Vancouver College Homecoming at O’Hagan Field, on a perfect Saturday afternoon, complete with cheering Irish fans?Get a combination like that and you never want the spoil the occasion with a poor […]

UBC quarterback Gabe Olivares and the rest of the Thunderbirds endured a tough fourth quarter Saturday in a loss to the visiting Alberta Golden Bears. (Photo by Bob Frid property of UBC athletics 2019. All rights reserved)
Feature University Football

UBC football: After late collapse to Alberta, what’s most key for 0-5 ‘Birds over final three games? Forging a team identity for 2020

VANCOUVER — Over the window of their academic careers on the Point Grey campus, forestry students at UBC can put in the long hours required towards earning a Masters degree in the sustainable management of one of our province’s great natural resources.Over at Thunderbird Stadium, however, a whole other group of UBC students are attempting […]

Robert Bateman running back Phoenix Moller rushed for three TDs in the Wolves 49-20 win over the visiting South Kamloops Titans. (Photo by Rick MacDonald property of Rick MacDonald photography 2019. All rights reserved)
Feature High School Football

Varsity Letters’ B.C. High School Football Report: 09.27.19 Friday Night Lights early edition

Welcome B.C. high school football fans!It’s Friday and has been the habit for the last decade-plus during the fall, that means it’s time for the B.C. High School Football Report.Please check back on this posting through the course of the evening as we update our loyal readers on games being played around the province.First. we’ve […]

On Clan football's annual team photo day, junior linebacker Griffin Barrett so perfectly symbolized his persona by holding a shovel on his shoulders. (Photo by Kendra Ho property of Simon Fraser athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

SFU’s Griffin Barrett: Why carrying a shovel on his shoulders is so meaningful for the Clan junior linebacker and GNAC tackling leader

BURNABY — Griffin Barrett couldn’t help but smile his best smile earlier this season, when on the Simon Fraser Clan football team’s picture day, he was handed what can only be described as the perfect prop just before taking his place in front of the camera and those flashing studio lights.Yup, you’re looking at it. […]

Lord Tweedsmuir's Noah Anderson will face the wrath of the Kelowna Owls defence on Friday when B.C.'s No. 1-ranked team plays its home opener in Cloverdale. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

The Big 5: Varsity Letters breaks down the five biggest B.C. Triple A high school football games of the weekend

Welcome high school football fans.It’s a big week in the Triple A ranks and the fervour of conference clashes just adds to the excitement.Here’s our in-depth look at five games to watch this weekend:EASTERN CONFERENCEKELOWNA OWLS VS. NO. 1 LORD TWEEDSMUIR PANTHERS3 p.m. on Friday at Lord Tweedsmuir SecondaryAbout the Panthers: Lord Tweedsmuir’s defence has […]