UBC rugby hooker, Sauder student, Thunderbird Athletic Council (TAC) president and Red Bull student brand manager — meet Alex Mascott. The Vancouver native is entering his fifth year at UBC, but he’s definitely not done leaving his mark.
He’s looking to repeat as league champions with the ‘Birds, build the TAC into a household name and make sports a rallying point on campus.
Historically, the TAC has been a social club for athletes to get to know each other and organize events. They are also a platform for athletes to have a voice on campus. Mascott is growing the council, hoping that it can — as many campus groups do — build community at UBC around varsity sports.
“I’m hoping to move in towards being a more prevalent club on the UBC campus,” explains Mascott. “I’m looking at really moving it from bringing athletes together to bringing UBC together."
The talent of the athletic teams, the size of the student population and the size of campus is the perfect recipe to build a school spirit around sports spirit, according to Mascott. He sees various groups on campus like The Calendar, frats, sororities and the student societies as having great spirit and pride — but they don’t share that pride.
“There isn’t really some niche to bring everyone together,” said Mascott. “There’s not really a united sense of pride and that’s one of the things I’m trying to combat.”
Mascott and the TAC are working with the AMS and UBC administrators — namely Louise Cowin, the vice president of students. Aaron Bailey, the AMS president, and Cowin share Mascott’s vision of a unified, sports-centric campus, according to Mascott.
“I think it's a very promising time for athletics. They are bringing in some younger people, bringing in some people who know a lot about what’s going," said Mascott. He cited that Laura Thompson, a former Thunderbird and TAC president, is now working for athletics.
“Homecoming was huge,” said Mascott. “I think there’s starting to be some buy in [to UBC teams]. These things all take a while."
He’s hopeful that future events, like the CIS basketball championships, will be better attended than they have in the past.
Outside of heading the TAC, Mascott plays for the men’s rugby team which he called, "The best club team in North America … you can quote me."
The team is looking to win the league championship again, a feat Mascott believes will happen. The team has already proven themselves as a formidable international team after finishing second at the inaugural World University Rugby Cup hosted by the University of Oxford.
“It’s been a very big 360 in my time, from losing to UVic ... in my first year to pummelling them in the premiership final. I really think we are going to repeat this year,” said Mascott.
“We have a good, older team now — our team’s been together for two or three years with roughly the same consistent players. People are really starting to set up and we are gelling as a team,” said Mascott. "All the players on the team are coming together and they are all bring something powerful to the table.”
“That’s my little shout out for the boys cause I know they’ll love it."
Mascott is graduating UBC this year and doesn’t know what he’ll do next. He wants to continue playing rugby, possibly for Team Canada or overseas in Europe. He’s also hoping to put his business degree to use.
“[It’s such] a cool and exciting time to be part of UBC. There are so many groups that are coming together now [and] are trying to drive visible, tangible chance. I think it’s a great time to be a student and get invested in some of the stuff going around campus."