VANCOUVER – For the first time in three years, the UBC Thunderbirds Track & Field team will host an intercollegiate meet as the UBC Open returns for 2022 this Saturday and Sunday, March 26 and 27, at the Rashpal Dhillon Oval.
While the T-Birds have had plenty of training at their home facility, this weekend marks a welcome return to true competition at Point Grey for the first time since the spring of 2019.
"Our home opener is one of the few opportunities our athletes get to compete in front of friends and family, and I think that's special," said UBC Head Coach
Laurier Primeau whose team made their NAIA season debut last weekend at the Willie Williams meet in Tucson, Arizona. "We've always wanted to put our best foot forward here – not only because it's at home, but also, for many members of the team, it will be their season opener."
The T-Birds certainly had a tremendous start to the outdoor track & field season in Arizona, but as Primeau hints at, it was a smaller travelling group with many athletes yet to showcase their prowess against student-athletes from other schools.
For a large number, this weekend will also be their first opportunity to compete at home in the blue and gold, given the overall youth featured on both the men's and women's teams.
"I think we still have a good mix of experience and youth, it's just that so many athletes are classified as 'freshmen' even if it's their second or third year at UBC, so our team appears younger than it is," Primeau explained. "I know that those with experience will help our younger athletes, but in all honesty, competing at home for their first meet of the year is probably optimal because so much of the environment – the track, the equipment, their own locker rooms – are familiar to them."
Set to get underway just after 10:00 a.m. PT Saturday, the UBC Open will provide opportunities for competitions across the spectrum, from javelin and hammer throw to sprints, long-distance races, and relays. The meet will also feature both a heptathlon and decathlon, both of which will conclude with several events on Sunday.
The 2022 version of the UBC Open may be a bit smaller than in years past in terms of the number of total competitors, but that in no way diminishes the quality on display from both UBC and other athletes from both sides of the border.
"I think we need a few more competitions, particularly ones in which Covid testing isn't required to re-enter Canada, before we can truly feel that we've returned to normal, but we certainly are a long way back from where we've been. Because of the requirement for testing we won't have the same number of NCAA schools coming to the UBC Open, but I think we are expecting a larger number of open athletes from around BC because their opportunities have been equally limited."
The T-Birds have already secured seven "A" Standard automatic qualifications for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships set for late May in Gulf Shores, Alabama. This weekend will see many more have their chance to punch their ticket as the T-Birds gear up to compete at nationals for the first time since winning both the men's and women's banners in 2019.
A complete UBC Open meet schedule can be found
HERE, while live results will be posted
HERE.
