Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2009 / September / 25 / Mt. Boucherie grad nets first Capri Insurance Athletics Scholarship at UBC Okanagan

Mt. Boucherie grad nets first Capri Insurance Athletics Scholarship at UBC Okanagan

September 25, 2009

From left, Rob Johnson, Director of Athletics and Recreation at UBC Okanagan, Christopher Rigg of Capri Insurance, scholarship recipient Ashley Briker, Tim Miller of Capri Insurance, and Heather Semeniuk, Head Coach of the UBC Okanagan Heat Women's Basketball team.

Ashley Briker, a graduate of Mt. Boucherie Secondary School, has been selected as the first-ever recipient of the Capri Insurance Athletics Entrance Scholarship at UBC Okanagan.

Briker will receive a $2,500 scholarship renewable for four years, funded by an endowment that Capri Insurance established in January to help top scholars who are also top athletes attend UBC Okanagan.

“Capri Insurance has been involved in the community for 35 years. We see UBC Okanagan as a tremendous boon to the community and we wanted to support it,” says Capri Insurance Partner Tim Miller. “We felt strongly this was a meaningful way to do that. Athletics is a marquee area for the university, and we hope this encourages other students to come here.”

“We’re very happy the first student-athlete selected for this scholarship is a local athlete,” says Christopher Rigg, Partner with Capri Insurance. “Ashley is a great choice.”

At 5’2″, Briker is not tall by women’s basketball standards, but Women’s Basketball Head Coach Heather Semeniuk says the point guard from West Kelowna has the skills and leadership qualities to have a big impact on the UBC Okanagan Heat this year.

“As she got to Grade 9 and 10, you could see her basketball skills were becoming more and more superior,” says Semeniuk. “She is the best ball-handler that I have ever seen as a coach. She plays a heads-up game and her vision of the court is excellent. Ashley is a wonderful team player and I’m excited about having the opportunity to coach her.

Coach Semeniuk says she welcomed the ability to offer Briker the Capri Insurance Athletics Scholarship.

“I can’t thank Capri Insurance enough,” says Semeniuk. “I’m thrilled that they’ve come on board with UBC Okanagan and our athletics department. I hope other people jump on board and recognize that this is a wonderful way to invest in young people, in the future, and in sports.”

Capri Insurance has a strong history of supporting local youth activities, notes Rob Johnson, UBC Okanagan’s Director of Athletics and Recreation. “We are very fortunate to have Capri Insurance add UBC Athletics to that list. They have been involved in our annual Scholarship Breakfast from its inception in 2005, and have now taken supporting student athlete achievement to a new level.”

This award is the first of its kind at UBC Okanagan, says Johnson.

“It provides the varsity coaches with an excellent recruiting tool, enabling them to go after the best and brightest student athletes in the local area, the province and the country,” Johnson says. “Not only is this kind of support exactly what we need to strengthen our bid for membership in Canada West, but perhaps more importantly it provides incredible financial security to parents and student-athletes whose academic and athletic achievements merit this level of post-secondary financial support.

“This is clearly our flagship award and Ashley is a wonderful choice as the inaugural recipient.”

UBC Okanagan will host the 2010 Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Basketball Championship — Canada’s premier event for women’s collegiate basketball — from March 17 to 20, 2010. This tournament brings together the champions from each of the CCAA’s five conferences in addition to the host school and two wildcard teams.

— 30 —

Media Contact

Bud Mortenson
Director
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250-807-9255
E-mail: bud.mortenson@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
More content from: Uncategorized

Trending Stories

  • Opening doors for international student research
  • Cutting breakfast carbs can benefit people with Type 2 ...
  • UBCO honours this year’s most outstanding researchers
  • Why don’t we eat turkey eggs?
  • Call for Canada to braid Indigenous rights with endangered ...
All Stories
Contact Media Relations

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

TikTok icon Linkedin icon

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility