BURNABY, B.C. — The UBC Thunderbirds kicked off their 2025–26 rowing season in emphatic fashion, claiming both the men's and women's overall titles at the Western Canadian University Rowing Championships (WCURCs), while following it up with a strong showing at the Burnaby Lake Small Boat Regatta (BLSMR).
Facing competition from the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, the University of of the Fraser Valley and the University of Calgary, the Thunderbirds fielded their full rosters across all events and delivered a sweeping performance. Of the 18 points events, UBC collected golds in 12 — six each for the men's and women's squads.
Points Tally
MEN: UBC 173, UVic 149, Calgary 43, SFU 8, UFV 3.5
WOMEN: UBC 175.5, UVic 155, Calgary 98.5, SFU 33, UFV 16
Gold Medal Performances:
Full Results Here
Some standout races came in the Lightweight 4+ events, where the UBC women captured their first lightweight title in several years with an impressive 11.7-second victory over UVic. The men's lightweight crew mounted a late surge to edge UVic by 0.6 seconds in a thrilling finish.
The Men's 8+ delivered much excitement, with UVic challenging throughout the race fending off a persistent effort from the Thunderbirds 2Vs while sticking to UBC's 1V and moving back to within 1.2-seconds at the line but UBC narrowly held its seven-year unbeaten streak at WCURCs.
The Women's 8+ was another hard-fought race, with the Thunderbirds finishing 3.3 seconds ahead of the Vikes.
Sunday's Burnaby Lake Small Boat Regatta, hosted by the Burnaby Lake Rowing Club, saw UBC continue their winning ways. The Thunderbirds swept the men's and women's singles (Bartel and Yarema), repeated in both pairs (Smit/Breen and Worobec/Vandermeer), and captured the men's double (Bartel/Sowle) from a competitive 19-entry field.
Full Results Here
Next up for the Thunderbirds is the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, followed by the Head & Tail of the Gorge Regatta in Victoria, October 18–19.
