KELOWNA, B.C. – Two members of the UBC Okanagan Heat men's rugby competitive club team, Kyle Tremblay and Rhys James, are set to take the next step in their careers this year as they will join the Rugby Canada Pacific Pride Academy in August.
 
Tremblay, a native of White Rock, B.C., and James, a native of Kelowna, B.C., will join the national high-performance men's program, led by head coach Phil Mack, that is aimed at preparing young emerging Canadian players for professional rugby at the highest level.
 
The two Heat athletes will be bringing impressive resumes with them to Pacific Pride as both players were key in helping UBCO come within a win of reaching the national championship this season.
 
Tremblay, who was the team's MVP last season and former finalist for the department's rookie of the year award in 2017-18, has previous experience with the national team, suiting up for the U19 squad that toured Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2018-19. He was also selected to the Senior Men's Western Canada rugby league in 2022 where he was the East vs West MVP.
 
Meanwhile James will be experiencing his first stint with the national program. A member of BC's U18 and U19 squads, James was the Team MVP for the Heat this past season while serving as their team captain. In 2022, he was named the Prairie U MVP after leading the conference in scoring with eight trys.
 
For more information on the Pacific Pride program and to follow along with Tremblay and James, visit the Pacific Pride website or check out their Instagram channel.