KELOWNA, B.C. -The UBCO Heat basketball teams are back at home this weekend as they host the Mount Royal Cougars. Meanwhile, men's and women's track returns to action in Edmonton to kick off their 2026 schedule at the Golden Bears Open, and the newly established curling teams will also compete in Edmonton at the 2026 Canada West Curling Championships.

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Women's Basketball 
January 16th vs MRU Cougars - 11:00 a.m. - UBCO Gymnasium 
January 17th vs MRU Cougars - 3:30 p.m. - UBCO Gymnasium 
Tickets - GoHeat.ca/Tickets
Webcast - CanadaWest.tv presented by BioSteel; CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and Telus Optik TV Ch. 1997 (Saturday only)

Women's basketball (7-7) returns home this weekend for a doubleheader against the Mount Royal Cougars, who also hold a 7-7 conference record.

Friday morning's game will see the Heat host their second School Day Game of the year where over 800 local elementary, middle and high school students are expected to be in attendance.

Last weekend, the Heat split their series against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack but secured the President's Cup thanks to a dominant 85-41 win on Friday night. Third-year forward Tennyson McCarthy, one of this week's UBCO Athletes of the Week, posted a career-best 16 rebounds to go with 16 points and three blocked shots on Friday. That victory flipped the tiebreak in the Heat's favour and ultimately allowed UBCO to claim the Cup on Saturday night.

McCarthy followed up her performance with her second straight double-double on Saturday, marking just the third of her career.

Men's Basketball
January 16th vs. MRU Cougars - 5:30 p.m. - UBCO Gymnasium
January 17th vs. MRU Cougars - 5:30 p.m. - UBCO Gymnasium
Tickets - GoHeat.ca/Tickets
Webcast - CanadaWest.tv presented by BioSteel; CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and Telus Optik TV Ch. 1997 (Saturday only)

Men's basketball returns home this weekend to take on the Mount Royal Cougars. The teams have not met since the 2023–24 season at the Heat Fall Classic, making this matchup a fresh test for the Heat.

Despite the setbacks last weekend against Thompson Rivers, Jalen Shirley was named both Heat Athlete of the Week and Canada West Athlete of the Week following a record-breaking performance. The fifth-year guard scored 43 points on Saturday, setting the highest single-game scoring mark in Heat men's basketball history. Shirley shot an impressive 83.3 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from three-point range.

His performance ranks as the second-highest scoring game in Canada West and U SPORTS this season. After averaging 29.5 points per game over the weekend, Shirley now sits second in Canada West scoring, averaging 20 points per game.

AWAY
Men's and Women's Track
January 16 - January 17th - Golden Bears Open - Edmonton, Alta.
Webcast - CanadaWest.tv presented by BioSteel

Track season gets underway this weekend for the Heat as the men's and women's teams travel to Alberta to compete at the annual Golden Bears Open.

The Heat will be entered in two events on both the men's and women's sides, including with the men's 1000m, led by Basil Parkins, who was the lone UBCO competitor in the event last season. Las season, Parkins finished 14th in a field of 20 with a time of 2:35.41. He will be joined in the event this season by Lucas Robertson, Trevor Robertson, and Brody Cormier.

On the women's side of the 1000m, the Heat will be represented by Anna-Veronika Titova and Sharanya Vijayaragahaven.

The 1000m is set to be held on Saturday, January 17 beginning at 1:55 p.m. PST.

UBCO will also race in the 3000m with the men's competitors including Kyle Porter, Isaak Baker, and Ethan Nozick, while Ella Wigmore will race on the women's side.

The 3000m is set to be held on Friday, January 16 beginning at 6 p.m. PST.

Men's and Women's Curling
January 15 - January 18 - Canada West Championships - Edmonton, Alta.
Webcast - Curling Stadium (YouTube)

The Heat men's and women's curling teams make their debut this weekend as they travel to Edmonton for the Canada West Curling Championships, hosted at the Saville Community Sports Centre by the Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas.

On the women's side, the team features lead Melanie Webster, second Parker Rempel, third Abbigail Paetsch, and skip Jillian Evans.

The men's team is represented by lead Evan Isaac, second Dylan Hyshka, third Neil Imada, and skip Tyler Antunes.

The Heat will play six round robin games on the women's side and seven round robin games on the men's side. The top four teams in each gender will advance to the playoff round with conference medals on the line as well as berths at the 2026 U SPORTS/Curling Canada Championship