MARKHAM, Ont. – In a season where they've come out on top in each event they've competed in so far, the Thunderbirds will have the chance to cap off their 2025-26 varsity campaign with a national title (or two) at this year's U SPORTS Swimming Championships.
Held at the Markham Pan Am Centre and hosted by McMaster University, this year's nationals run from Thursday, March 12 through Saturday, March 14.
"The team has been happy, healthy, hungry, humble and hard-working all season long," said UBC head coach
Derrick Schoof. "The swimmers have shown the dedication and determination required to perform at their best. Now is the time to let loose and see what they can do after a restful 10-day taper. We are confident in our preparation and excited to see what we can do."
Both UBC teams are defending national champs and have been ranked No. 1 in the country the entire season, and both enter nationals with Toronto as the team sitting right behind them in the U SPORTS Top 10.
That's not too much of a surprise, given that the Thunderbirds and Varsity Blues have dominated the top of the swimming podiums for more than a decade. The last time that any other school won a U SPORTS swimming title was in 2011, when Calgary swept the golds.
The Dinos will be another school providing some stiff competition, and in fact the Calgary men's squad spent much of this season in the No. 2 spot of the Top 10, only dropping to No. 3 in the most recent rankings in late February.
The Dinos also came very close to getting one over on the T-Birds at the University Cup Mountain, finishing within three points in the team standings on both the men's and women's sides the January meet in Calgary.
"The competition will be fierce," added Schoof. "Just a small slip-up can send a swimmer from first to eighth. The racing will be tight, so we will really need to race hard and win the close battles to the finish every chance we get. We will be doing our absolute best to bring some titles back home to UBC."
One of the key reasons for the Thunderbirds' excellence as a program this year has been the depth boasted by both teams, helped greatly by how well the current group of first-year athletes have adapted to racing at the university level.
Highlighted by
Aiden Kirk being named the Canada West Male Swimmer of the Year back in November, the 2025-26 rookie class has performed well throughout the season. At Victoria's West Coast Collegiate (the final meet before nationals), seven first-year T-Birds won an event – Kirk,
Jaques Harrison,
Paul Hebrard,
Zachary Parise,
Sebastian van de Logt,
Benya Mattig and
Ruby Kehler.
"All of our first-year swimmers have really been incredible to work with," said Schoof. "They are eager, excited, and have big goals. They are not afraid to work hard and push our upper years day in and day out. Our team culture has been one of working hard while having fun in a very supportive and fun environment."
You can watch all of this week's action unfold across all CBC digital platforms, including on their
YouTube channel and on
CBC Gem. All three days begin with preliminary heats starting at 6:30 a.m. (PT), followed by finals which start at 2:30 p.m. (PT).
