Today in the legislature I rose to celebrate the success of British Columbia women’s teams in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships. Below are the text and video of my statement.

For information, a team being presented at the bar means the front doors to the chamber are opened and the team is brought in as far as the bar (shown in the image to the right). Introductions of individuals in the viewing gallery are frequently done.

Text of my Statement

Last week in the House, we were introduced to the UBC Thunderbirds, the winner of the 2015 Vanier Cup. The next day we celebrated the 99th anniversary of the adoption of legislation by this Legislature providing women the right to vote in B.C. On that day we celebrated how far we have come. These were indeed great events to celebrate. Today I’d like to expand the celebration of B.C.’s success in the Canadian Interuniversity Sports, or CIS sports championships.

In 2015, UBC’s women’s field hockey team won their fifth straight CIS championship. This year’s final game was a nail-biter. UBC was down 2-1 to the UVic Vikes with literally seconds left in the game when UVic was forced to defend not one but two penalty corners. UBC scored on the second penalty corner as time ran out and subsequently won the penalty shootout Both players of the game — UBC’s Sarah Keglowitsch and UVic’s Lizzy Lizzie — were from Shawnigan Lake. There must have been something in the water there.

In women’s soccer, 10 of the past 14 CIS championships have been won by B.C. universities, led by Trinity Western’s five titles, UBC’s four titles and UVic’s single title. UBC won this year’s final game 3-0 over the team from Trinity Western University.

UBC women’s volleyball team won six consecutive titles from 2008 to 2013. This past year three of the top four teams in the country were from B.C.: Trinity Western, UBC Okanagan and UBC. In women’s basketball, from 2002 to 2010, B.C. universities won nine consecutive national titles: SFU five, UBC three and UVic one.

In the last 20 years, precisely four teams have been presented at the bar: the B.C. Lions of 2006 and 2012, the Victoria Shamrocks in 2015 and UBC’s football team in 2016. As far as I can tell, a women’s sports team has never, ever before been presented at the bar. We still have a long way to go.

Video of my Statement