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. […]

North Vancouver's Handsworth Royals held on to the No. 3 spot in the most recent B.C. senior girls AAAA volleyball rankings. (Photo by Wilson Wong property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Volleyball

B.C. Girls Top 10 Volleyball Rankings 09.25.19: Pacific Academy’s Breakers a new No. 1 while Notre Dame Jugglers the big climbers

LANGLEY — While change was slight this week at the largest tier of B.C. girls high school volleyball, substantial jockeying took place below.A look at all four tiers:*At Quad A, the first nine spots remained unchanged with South Delta swapping spots with fellow Deltans, the Seaquam Seahawks at No. 10.*At Triple A, the Vernon Panthers […]

Surrey's Earl Marriott Mariners open the season at No. 1 in the first B.C. senior boys Triple A Top 10 rankings.The defending B.C. champion Mariners will play Friday and Saturday at the UBC Invitational. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Volleyball

B.C. Boys Top 10 Volleyball Rankings: AAA No. 1 Earl Marriott & AA No. 1 MEI each on stage this weekend at 32-team UBC Invitational

LANGLEY — The Earl Marriott Mariners, who open the new B.C. Triple A senior boys campaign as the preseason No. 1 team, would love to see history repeat itself.Last season, Surrey’s Mariners topped the Van Tech Talismen 3-0 in the B.C. AAA final at the Langley Events Centre.A victory this season would not only give […]

Fraser Valley Cascades' rookie Bryana Buttar (centre) has played like a veteran over the first six matches of the 2019 Canada West season. (Photo by Dan Kinvig property of University of the Fraser Valley athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Soccer University Women's Soccer

Cascades are better with Bryana Buttar in the batter! Rookie a rare ingredient as UFV hunkers for huge weekend homestand vs. UBC, UVic

ABBOTSFORD — With the same clockwork precision she has shown at every key stage of her soccer career, Bryana Buttar has once again arrived ahead of her time.“I definitely feel that my whole youth career has set me up for this,” the Fraser Valley Cascades’ dynamic midfielder remarked Wednesday of the opportunity she has seized […]

Feature Podcast

Varsity Letters PODCAST visits with Laurier Primeau of UBC track, Ray Moon of Sun Devils football & Tom Lowndes of UFV men’s soccer

Welcome back, loyal listeners, to another episode of Varsity Letters — The Podcast, Canada’s only weekly podcast dedicated solely to the coverage of provincial and university high school sports. This week, our three guests are: *UBC’s Laurier Primeau, the head coach of Thunderbirds’ cross-country, and track and field, reflecting on last spring’s dual national championships, […]