About

Although Sport Clubs and Varsity Student-Athletes may have similar health and competitive sport goals, UBC Thunderbirds Sport Clubs are completely student-driven and compete in sports not already offered within the varsity program at UBC. Competitive Sport Clubs may have professional coaches and currently receive administrative and some financial support from UBC Athletics and Recreation, but each club in the above list is run by student leaders. These UBC students are tasked with administrative, financial, and social responsibilities for their respective teams which include: scheduling games and tournaments, handling practices and facility rentals, fundraising, organizing competition travel, and hiring coaches - just to name a few. Sport Club executives and athletes are presented with an excellent opportunity to build leadership, teamwork, and professional skills that can launch their careers after their time at UBC.

While Sport Clubs and AMS Clubs focus on student leadership and development, UBC Thunderbirds Sport Clubs strives for competitive excellence. With weekly practices, Sport Clubs travel locally, across Canada, and internationally to compete against other universities, representing UBC at a highly competitive level. Sport Club athletes are challenged with athletic and self-development, enriching their experiences at the University.

With student leadership driving the Sport Clubs and Intramurals programs, UBC Thunderbirds Sport Clubs allows students to compete at an inter-collegiate level. Sport Clubs encourages athletes to be competitive and successful within their athletic domains, while Intramurals allows athletes to try out new sports at the recreational level. For athletes looking for a balance between competition and recreation, Sport Clubs provides the perfect in-between.

UBC Athletics and Recreation will review current sport club programs and will accept applications for the TSC program approximately every two years.

If an AMS club for your sport exists, we suggest you get involved in the competitive component of their club or the creation of their competitive component.

If an AMS club for your sport does not exist, we highly suggest you create an AMS club to prepare for your TSC application.

If you run a highly competitive team on campus and would like to take this next step, please email your inquiries to sport.clubs@ubc.ca.

To be a Sport Club athlete, UBC requires each athlete to be registered in 9 credits per term or registered in a UBC affiliated co-op term. (A player can be registered in fewer than 9 credits if they have fulfilled all their academic requirements and are expecting to graduate in that term.) In addition to that, they must maintain a cumulative average of 60% in order to be eligible and remain eligible for athlete status.

While the above teams are only available to UBC Vancouver Students, there are Sport Clubs available at UBC Okanagan. Head to their home page for more information - UBC Okanagan Recreational Sport Clubs .

If you would like more information on getting involved with UBC Thunderbirds Sport Clubs, either on an existing team or for a new sport, please contact the team directly through their team email or email sport.clubs@ubc.ca for general inquiries.

The application process for the UBC Thunderbirds Sport Clubs is closed. We will be revisiting applications for the 2024/2025 academic year in the Fall of 2023.

For more information please refer to the TSC Applications - 2019 Information Package.

If there are any questions regarding the preparation for a successful application for the 2024/25 year, please contact the Sport Clubs office at sport.clubs@ubc.ca.