The UBC Thunderbirds make their return to the turf with a season-opening Canada West tournament against the defending champion University of Victoria Vikes and the Calgary Dinos in the provincial capital from October 1^st through October 3^rd.


 
UBC will face each squad twice over the weekend in the new conference round-robin tournament format as the T-Birds are primed for their first competitive action in nearly two years after leading the Canada West with 11 goals in 2019.

"We are very excited about this opportunity to get back in action," said UBC head coach Poonam Sandhu. "It has been a long time since we have competed in any Canada West competition and so we're ready to get back out on the field and do what we love most. We know what it means to not have these moments and so we will not take anything for granted this weekend."


 
The 'Birds will see newcomers Lize Huibregtsen, Liz Mathisen, Mikayla Stelling, Kaia Cooper and Ishavel Sekhon join a strong core of returning Thunderbirds – including fourth-year veterans Sara Goodman, Kaileigh Chow, Jordyn Faiczak and Thora Rae – for the 2021 season.

"Although this is a different format this year, we are fully prepared for the changes," added Sandhu ahead of the busy slate of weekend games. "In a tournament format you need to take things one step at a time and focus on the task at hand. We plan to do just that and trust in our process. We are eager to get started and look forward to playing Calgary in our first match up."
 
UVic will be gunning to repeat as Canada West champions with their top two goal scorers returning to the turf, while the Dinos strive to improve on a winless 2019 campaign.

The 'Birds open the tournament Friday afternoon against the Dinos with the contest beginning at 4:00 p.m. ahead of a Saturday late morning meeting against the Vikes scheduled for 11:00 a.m.  UBC will then meet both teams again on Sunday in double-header action.