The University of British Columbia Athletics

Accomplishments at UBC entering 2019-20

Canada West conference record: 359-97 (.787)
Canada West playoff record: 57-25 (.695)
U SPORTS Championship tournament record: 47-16 (.746)
Canada West Championships: ‘06, ‘09, ‘10, ‘11, ‘13, ‘14
U SPORTS Championships: 2008, ‘09, ‘10, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13, ‘17, ‘19
Canada West Coach of the Year: 2006, ‘10
U SPORTS Coach of the Year: 2006, ‘10

Fresh off his eighth U SPORTS national championship with UBC, Doug Reimer enters his 23rd season as the head coach of the Thunderbirds women’s volleyball team. In his time with the program, his teams and players have had unmatched success, and Reimer continues to build on his legacy as the most successful coach in U SPORTS women’s volleyball history.  

Reimer’s UBC teams have qualified for the U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship tournament an astounding 21 times in 22 years while competing in the country’s best conference. The T-Birds’ medal total during this run is 15 (eight gold, four silver, and three bronze).  

The latest championship added to the count came in unprecedented fashion. Led by U SPORTS and Canada West Player of the Year Kiera Van Ryk, the T-Birds became the first No. 8 seed to win the national title. UBC beat top-seeded Trinity Western in the quarter-final before triumphing over No. 4 Dalhousie. Against the sixth-seeded defending national champion Ryerson in the final, the T-Birds dropped the opening two sets before storming back to win the next three. To cap the season off, Van Ryk was the women’s winner at the inaugural Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards Presented by Makadiff Sports, recognition as the U SPORTS Female Athlete of the Year for the 2018-19 season.

In 2017-18, the Thunderbirds won bronze at the national tournament. Van Ryk became the first UBC rookie to win Canada West and U SPORTS Rookie of the Year honours.  

Reimer’s 20th campaign with the T-Birds ended with his seventh national title at UBC, after a four-set triumph over Alberta in the U SPORTS final in Toronto.   Reimer, of Kelowna, B.C., now has nine U SPORTS titles to his name, which also includes national-record run of six straight from 2008-13. His first came with Winnipeg in 1993.  

Individually, Reimer has been named the U SPORTS Coach of the Year five times, the most of any women’s volleyball head coach in Canada. He earned the prestigious honour twice with UBC in 2006 and 2010, once while at his alma mater Victoria (1986), and back-to-back with Winnipeg (1993, ‘94).  

In 2007-08, Reimer guided his T-Birds to the program’s first national title in exactly 30 years with a 3-2 comeback victory over Montreal in the gold-medal final.   That began a U SPORTS record-tying streak of six championships in a row for UBC, which is the most successful program in U SPORTS women’s volleyball with a dozen total national banners. In 2008-09, the T-Birds closed their season on a 15-match unbeaten streak and triumphed in the title game with a 3-2 victory over Calgary.  

The 2009-10 season could very well be the finest in U SPORTS women’s volleyball history as Reimer led UBC to a perfect 25-0 record, the No. 1 ranking for the entire campaign, their second straight Canada West championship, and third straight national title. Dating back to midway through the 2008-09 campaign, the T-Birds won 40 straight conference and playoff games.  

Reimer was named the 2010 U SPORTS and Canada West Coach of the Year. He was also recognized as the Sport BC Coach of the Year while the T-Birds were named Team of the Year at the 45th annual Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards. In 2017, the squad was inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame.   He was not the only T-Bird recognized at the national level in 2010 as Liz Cordonier was named the U SPORTS MVP, before going on to claim the BLG Award as the U SPORTS Athlete of the Year, and Claire Hanna brought home the Libero of the Year award. Three T-Birds earned All-Canadian status as well.  

The T-Birds made it four national titles in a row in 2010-11, a season that saw the team win the league championship as well.  

In 2011-12, the Thunderbirds needed five sets to finish off Alberta in the national title game to extend their championship streak to five.

Reimer’s T-Birds made history in 2012-13. They swept Alberta in Sherbrooke, Que., in the U SPORTS final, becoming just the third program to win six straight. In the spring of 2013, Shanice Marcelle was named a BLG Awards winner as the top female university athlete in Canada.

Reimer was a two-time All-Canadian setter during his playing days with Victoria, and was honoured with the school's top student-athlete award. He was UVic’s head coach from 1985-87, going 28-2 in 30 conference matches. He then went on to coach Saskatchewan’s Canada Games team to a gold medal before leading Winnipeg to a U SPORTS title in 1992-93.  

Reimer came to UBC for the 1994-95 season after his back-to-back coach of the year seasons at Winnipeg. He coached for three seasons at UBC – left to become the full-time head coach of Team Canada – and returned to campus for the 2000-01 campaign. His major accomplishments with Team Canada included a second-place finish at the NORCECA Olympic qualifier for Sydney and a fifth-place finish at the 1997 Summer Universiade in Sicily.