Heat cross-country runner Kristen Smith, a 2024 Canada West First Team All-Star, will be one of many athletes participating in the 2024 U SPORTS Cross Country championship in Kelowna as UBC Okanagan hosts the national event this weekend. Photo credit: Conan Shing Photography
What: 2024 U SPORTS Cross Country Championships
Who: 300-plus cross-country runners from 31 universities across Canada
When: Saturday, November 9: men’s race starts at noon, women’s race starts at 1 pm
Where: Mission Recreation Park, 4105 Gordon Dr., Kelowna
UBC Okanagan will be hosting the top collegiate runners in the country as the U SPORTS Cross Country Championship comes to Kelowna this week.
This is just the second time in UBC Okanagan history that the Athletics and Recreation department has hosted a university-level championship—in 2016 UBCO hosted the Canadian Interuniversity Sport/Curling Canada Championships.
Now, the UBC Okanagan Heat have been preparing for more than a year to host cross-country student-athletes from more than 30 universities. Representatives from the four U SPORTS conferences—the governing body of university sport in Canada—will be present, including from Canada West, Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) and Atlantic University Sport (AUS).
“The countdown is on for next week’s championships and we couldn’t be prouder and more excited to bring this prestigious event to the Okanagan,” says Tom Huisman, UBC Okanagan’s Director of Athletics and Recreation. “Runners representing schools from across the country will be coming to Kelowna to compete for individual and team medals. The championship is a very fan-friendly event where spectators can view the action on our huge video board while the runners compete on our four-lap cross-country course.”
The host UBCO Heat enter the championship after the women’s team won the bronze medal at the Canada West Championships while the men’s team finished ninth.
Other teams to watch for in the women’s race, aside from the Heat, include the Canada West champions the Victoria Vikes, the Western Mustangs who are top of the OUA, the Laval Rouge et Or who lead the RSEQ teams, and AUS champions the St. FX X-Women.
Meanwhile, aside from the Heat, additional teams to watch for in the men’s race are the Canada West champions the UBC Thunderbirds, the OUA champions the Queen’s Gaels, the Sherbrooke Vert et Or who lead the RSEQ, and the AUS champions the UNB Reds.
The event is free and open to the public and is perfect for anyone interested in high-level sport and running in the Okanagan. Official festivities get underway at 11 am with the men’s race set to start at noon followed by the women’s race at 1 pm.
The athletes will follow a two-kilometre loop through Mission Recreation Park and each race will consist of four laps for a total of eight-kilometres.
Huisman notes food trucks will be on-site to provide refreshments and there will be a video board to allow spectators to follow the action. Parking is available in the lots next to field M15 as well as M9.
The races will also be broadcast live on CBCSports.ca.
