The storied UBC Thunderbirds men's and women's rowing programs are all set to host the 26^th edition of the Canadian University Rowing Championships this weekend beginning on Saturday morning and running through Sunday, November 11-12 at Burnaby Lake.
 
The defending champion UBC men's squad and the T-Birds women's team who claimed the bronze last year in St. Catharines, Ont, are eager to welcome 19 other university programs comprising of 297 student-athletes from across Canada to the two-day national title chase. Teams will compete in time trials on Saturday, November 11^th before going head-to-head for the Championship Banner bragging rights on Sunday morning November, 12^th, both days running from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
 
Championship Sunday November, 12 will be live streamed on the UBC Thunderbirds youtube channel beginning at 9:00 a.m. link:
 
https://www.youtube.com/live/yGA7Fo8g-XY
 
"We are honoured to be hosting this year's CUs," said UBC men's team head coach Mike Pearce, who was named the 2022 CURC men's team Coach of the Year. "CUs is racing at the highest level for university programs in Canada and we are looking forward to providing all the teams traveling out west with a great experience this weekend. Burnaby Lake is an outstanding course for a championship and although we are expecting some windy and rainy conditions, we are confident the championship will provide everyone with some outstanding racing."


 
"We are excited to be hosting crews from across the country, 20 schools total, for this year's championship," echoed head coach of the women's program Craig Pond. "Our organizing team has been working hard with the goal of providing a great racing venue for the athletes and a memorable experience for the spectators."
 
In early October of this season, UBC rowers swept both the 2023 Men's and Women's Western Canadian University Championship titles out at Burnaby Lake. The men won six of the nine races they competed in, while the women crossed the finish line in five of their nine.


 
In addition to racing against schools across Western Canada, in late October, the Thunderbirds earned valuable experience and encouraging results while competing with the top rowing teams around the globe at the historic Head of Charles Regatta in Boston, MA. the largest three-day regatta in the world.
 
"Our team has worked very hard this fall in preparation for the championships," added Pond about the women's team. "We have made some changes to our training program this fall and the buy in from the athletes has been paying off. Both crews that we sent to Boston for the Head of the Charles had good races and the experience provided us with important feedback on what needed work in preparation for CU's.
 
"The team's preparation has been very good," continued Pearce. "We had a lot of work to do to integrate some of our younger athletes up to our CUs and varsity standard. Our veterans have done a great job sharing their experience and the young guns have been very responsive and have stepped up with great intention which has put the team in on solid footing coming into this weekend. We've learned a few lessons from Western CUs and the Charles that I believe the crew will be able to leverage in the Finals on Sunday."


 
UBC men's rowing head into battle looking to repeat as champions, having claimed their sixth banner in eight years at last year's Championships on Henley Island with 123 points. Rounding out the podium for the men's championship were the host Brock Badgers (104) and the University of Victoria Vikes (101).
 
"Aiming for a banner win at CUs never gets old," said Pearce. "There is as much excitement about this year as any year but being at home will make this year's event extra special. We know there is a target on our backs and we know there are plenty of outstanding crews on the course for each race and you cannot take anything for granted. For our program, we've been able to assemble another strong crew, but for about 50% of our CUs team, this will be their first Championship. We believe we have a team that is capable of achieving another banner for UBC but we know to do this there will be some hard-fought battles in each event from tough crews, especially those UVic, Brock, Western and Queens. As far as an approach, we work to keep things simple and focus on what works for us to produce dependable boat speed. The team has worked to drive some very high internal standards, and they know what needs to get done when it matters."


 
The women's team captured the bronze medal last year in St. Catharines, after having previously winning the banner for three consecutive years. The Vikes claimed the gold, winning their first title in 10 years with 106 points. UVic finished just six points ahead of second-place Western (100), while UBC was third with 90 points.
 
"The team was very motivated by our bronze medal performance in 2022," added Pond. "We know that committing to our process and taking it one race at a time will be key to success this year."
 
The CURC comes at an exciting time for the decorated UBC rowing program which recently celebrated 100 years of existence since its inception as the University Boat Club in 1921. UBC rowing has not only been one of Canada's top university programs but has also enjoyed tremendous success on the international stage with athletes winning numerous Olympic and World Championship competitions and medals throughout a century of achievement.
 
See the full Canadian University Rowing Championships schedule here:  https://regattamasteronline.com/Pages/Races.aspx?regattaID=1512
 
UBC Athletics would like to say a special thank you to funding partners Sports Tourism Burnaby and VIA Sport for their support of the 2023 CURC!
 
Competing Teams
 
UBC
McGill
Western
UFV
McMaster
U Ottawa
U Sask
Dalhousie
Toronto
Brock
UVic
U Waterloo
Carleton
Calgary
Guelph
Queen's
StFX
U de Montreal
Ontario Tech
SFU