A finalist for U Sports 2016-17 male Athlete of the Year, TWU's Ryan Sclater has recently signed a professional contract to play in Germany. (Scott Stewart/TWU athletics)
Feature University Men's Volleyball

Tsumura: Why TWU’s Ryan Sclater enjoyed rarest of careers from high school thru university

LANGLEY — There have been a lot of great two-sport athletes in the modern era of B.C. high school and university sports, but in any discussion you have, Ryan Sclater’s name needs to be a vital part of the discussion.

Fraser Valley Cascades' second-year wrestling standout Brad Hildenbrandt (left) is UFV's first-ever U Sports gold-medal winner in any sport. (Dan Kinvig/UFV athletics)
Feature University Wrestling

Cascades’ Olympian-mentored Hildenbrandt wins UFV’s first-ever U Sports gold

ABBOTSFORD — Brad Hildenbrandt has always had the natural gift of sheer physical mass, something that comes in handy when you’re a collegiate wrestler doing your thing in the heavyweight division.

Back in the day -- 2005 -- SFU's Jason Marshall (Carson Graham, left) and UBC's Blake Smelser (Burnaby Central) were duelling pivots promoting the Shrum Bowl. (Photo -- SFU Athletics)
Feature University Football

Shrum Bowl drought hits record seven straight years as UBC, SFU release 2017 schedules

If you’re a passionate believer in the importance of B.C.’s annual crosstown university football rivalry, you’re no doubt thirsty for the return of the Shrum Bowl.

As a Kelowna Owl in March of 2016, new UBC Thunderbird recruit Grant Shephard smooched with the tournament MVP trophy. (Richard Lam, UBC athletics)
Feature University Men's Basketball

UBC gets Grant the Great! Kelowna’s Quad-A MVP Grant Shephard chooses ‘Birds

(This is a complete write-through of the earlier story Varsity Letters broke on UBC’s signing of former Kelowna Owls basketball star Grant Shephard. There’s more quotes from all concerned including Shephard’s former high school coach Harry Parmar, and additional reporting on the impact his arrival could have on the program)VANCOUVER — Even after an inglorious end to its 2016-17 U Sports […]

Simon Fraser's trio of incoming high school recruits for 2017-18 are, clockwise from top left: Sierra Schefer, Juliana Babic and Kendal Sands. (Photos: VK Basketball, courtesy Juliana Babic and SFU athletics, Howard Tsumura-Varsity Letters)
Feature High School Girls Basketball University Women's Basketball

Clan’s Sweet 16 hoops roster opens, gives Class of ’17 recruits faster NCAA futures

BURNABY — The Simon Clan women’s basketball team, which honoured just a pair of graduating players on its Seniors Night in late February, is going to be a lot younger team than originally anticipated this coming season.

New Westminster Hyacks' Sarah Forgie (left) dives to the floor to snare a loose ball in front of Walnut's Grove's Jessica Wisotzki during Mainland-Valley girls all-star game Wednesday in Port Coquitlam. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

Tsumura’s Take: Why the future of B.C. girls high school hoops is so bright

PORT COQUITLAM — On the last day of the 2016-17 high school basketball season, dire predictions about the state of the girls game in our province seemed to be the last thing on anyone’s mind.A new concept, which pitted age-class competition in an all-star game format between the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland zones on […]