The 2026 NAIA Track and Field season may be young but the T-Birds' anticipation is high for the annual UBC Open which takes place this Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29 at the Rashpal Dhillon Oval.

As the only home meet for the blue and gold all season, it's a rare opportunity to not only strive for national championship qualifying results on home turf, but to do so in front of friends and family in a most meaningful way.

"For some, this may be the last meet they ever compete in at home, they're seniors and really looking forward to running in front of their peers for the last time at UBC. For others who are newer to our program, I think there are those who are very nervous as first time university athletes competing against some athletes who may be four or five years older than them," said UBC head coach, Laurier Primeau, of the spectrum of expected experiences across the program's 71 student-athletes. "Regardless, it's always special to compete at home, at UBC."

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For the first time in six years, the T-Birds are both the men's and women's defending NAIA national champions. While many impactful athletes from last year's banner winning teams have since graduated, many others are returning, complemented by a large group of freshmen who will officially don the blue and gold for the first time this weekend.

Saturday at Rashpal Dhillon will offer an early opportunity for many to punch their ticket to this year's national championship – set for North Carolina in just under two months' time – where the 'Birds can once again expect to be a power player for red banners.

"We are always trying to put our best foot forward. If other schools have better performances on the day at the national championship and we put our best foot forward, it's easy for all of us to look ourselves in the mirror," said Primeau who has overseen a combined eight NAIA titles in the last ten years. "Of course we're trying to target national championships, we will succeed a lot and come short as well and that's okay because it's just as much about the journey as it is about the destination."



While the 2026 season journey officially began last weekend at the SFU High Performance Meet, the vast majority of UBC's athletes will compete for the first time at the UBC Open.

Starting with one of the T-Birds' most successful events over the last decade-plus, the meet will kick off Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. with a combined men's and women's 5000 metre race walk featuring 2025 men's NAIA champion Lowell Solmes.

Reigning Cascade Collegiate Conference Field Athlete of the Week, Bella Hall, gets field events underway with the women's hammer throw, also beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Three-time NAIA women's pole vault champion Sonya Urbanowicz' premiere event gets day two started at 10:00 a.m. Sunday.

A full schedule of events for the 2026 UBC Open can be found HERE with live results available HERE.