VANCOUVER - The 2010-11 varsity season gets off to an exciting start this week for the UBC Thunderbirds as they leave September 22 for an 11-day Asia tour.
UBC, who will be representing Canada, is one of eight teams competing in the 2010 Fo Guang Cup Women's Basketball Tournament which is being hosted by the Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation in Yilan County, Taiwan. The T-Birds first game is September 24 against Malaysia.
Other teams competing in the tournament are from Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong. The competition comes to an end on Wednesday September 29.
UBC's journey is not all about basketball, however, with a two-day stop in Beijing after the tournament before the squad's return to Vancouver.
The team hopes to see many of the region's famed sights in their 48 hours, including a trip to the Great Wall, the President's Palace, night markets, Olympic sights, and Tiananmen Square.
International travel is a big part of the program
Deb Huband has developed in her 16 years as head coach of the UBC women's basketball team. For example, last December UBC traveled to Cuba for their training camp.
"Giving our athletes the chance to see the world and experience different cultures is something that we are really privileged to be able to do," said Huband. "We'll also get to see where we are as a team at this point in our pre-season and we will be challenged by playing against different styles of basketball."
UBC hosts a pre-season game against Lethbridge on October 15 at 6:00 p.m. at War Memorial Gym. They open their Canada West regular season the following weekend against Saskatchewan on October 22.
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