Dear Members of the School,
It is with sadness the School has recently learned that Alena Branda, Senior Instructor Emerita of Human Kinetics passed away July 4, 2024. Alena was 87 years old and lived in West Vancouver. She retired from the School in 1996. Alena was an exceptional gymnastics coach. UBC’s 1969-70 women’s gymnastics team, coached by Alena, won the Western Canada Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship and competed in the first-ever national championships for women under the auspices of the newly founded Canadian Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CWIAU). The team included physical education student and 1968 Olympian Sandra Hartley. She is predeceased by her husband, Ladislav Branda in 2021.
Our sincere condolences to her family.
Sincerely,
Robert Boushel
Director and Professor
UBC School of Kinesiology