Heather Bansley joined the Varsity Blues women's volleyball coaching staff in September 2021, fresh off a fifth-place finish at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The two-time Olympian, who also finished fifth at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, was a two-time all-Canadian during her time at U of T (2005-10). The English and linguistics graduate ranked first on the OUA and U SPORTS leader board in points, kills and serving aces per set and also led the Blues to the provincial title and berth to the U SPORTS national championship in 2009-10.
While a student-athlete at U of T, Bansley represented Canada at the 2007 under-21 world beach championships and the 2008 FISU world beach championships. She has spent 13 years on the Canadian national beach team and has competed in over 100 international events, reaching the podium 20 times in FIVB and NORCECA events, including five first-place finishes. Bansley has been a dominant player on the FIVB beach volleyball world tour, winning the world's best defender honours three times (2018, 2016, 2015). In 2018, she and her partner Brandie Wilkerson were ranked the No. 1 team in the world.
She is currently the head coach of Volleyball Canada's Next Gen Beach program.
