Search for ""

World Hockey Association, professional HOCKEY league established 1971 (first season of play was 1972-73) to challenge the NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE. Canada was well represented in the new league, with teams in Ottawa, Québec City, Edmonton and Winnipeg.

Bowling, indoor, game in which a player attempts to knock down pins by propelling a ball down a wooden lane. Similar games were played as early as 5000 BC in Egypt. The 10-pin version was developed in the US in the 19th century, and 5-pin bowling was invented in Canada in 1908 or 1909 by Thomas F.

Handball is one of the oldest of all games played with a ball. It is recorded as being played in Ireland in the pre-Christian era and is believed to have spread from there. Homer made reference to a Greek lady who was an expert ball player.

Harness racing, or trotting, is the competition for purse money between horses bred and trained to "trot" or "pace," driven by a driver in coloured silks who is mounted on a 2-wheeled cart called a "sulky." John H.

Badminton is a game played on a rectangular court (13.4 m by 6.1 m) divided into equal halves by a 1.524 m high net by 2 players (or 4 players in doubles), whose object is to hit the shuttlecock ("shuttle") over the net and onto the floor of the opposing side's court.

There are 2 general types of longbow: the ordinary, straight-ended bow and the recurved bow.

The earliest automobile racing took the form of speed trials and tours. In 1900 F.S. Evans set a record of 3 hrs, 20 min, driving an automobile the 60 km between Toronto and Hamilton.

The birth of modern skiing in North America, nearly 1000 years later, can be credited to their direct descendants.

Soccer (Association Football) is a sport played by two teams of 11 players each, using a round ball, usually on a grass field called the "pitch."

The women's equivalent of the DAVIS CUP men's team tennis competition can be traced back to 1919 when US tennis star Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman presented the idea of an international team competition for women.

Table tennis is played by 2 (singles) or 4 (doubles) players, normally indoors. Opponents face each other and hit the ball with a racquet, alternately, over a 6-inch (15.25 cm) net stretched midway across a 9 x 5 ft (274 cm x 152.5 cm) table.

The Tournament of Hearts is the annual Canadian women's curling championship. Created in 1981 in St. John's, NL, it is sponsored by Kruger Products, and named after a brand of facial tissue, Scotties.

Curling is a sport in which two teams of four players each send stones over an ice surface toward a target circle in an attempt to place nearest the centre. In Canada, curling has steadily grown in popularity since the first club was formed in Montréal in 1807. The national championships (Brier, Scotties) and Olympic trials are among some of the most popular sporting events in the country, and many winners of these tournaments have also achieved victory on the international stage. Curling is one of the country’s most popular sports, and is the most televised women’s sport in Canada.

Snowboarding is the sport of riding a large flat ski downhill over snow. Unlike downhill skiing, snowboarding does not require the use of poles and both feet are placed sideways on the same board. A relative newcomer to the family of winter sports, snowboarding began to gain popularity in the 1960s and rose in status from the latest "gimmick" to an accredited Olympic event in 1998, a relatively short period of time. Canadians have had great success over the years in international snowboarding at the Olympic Winter Games, Winter X Games and World Snowboarding Championships. Eight Canadian snowboarders have won Olympic medals — Ross Rebagliati, Dominique Maltais, Mike Robertson, Maëlle Ricker, Jasey-Jay Anderson, Mark McMorris, Max Parrot and Laurie Blouin. Rebagliati, Ricker and Anderson won Olympic gold, while Maltais and McMorris are multiple medallists.

On the one hand, horse racing is viewed as a sport of the wealthy, based on the traditions of a long and valued history. On the other hand, it has its shady side, associated with gambling and complemented by the rich subculture of its citizens on the back stretch.

Biathlon is a sport that combines competitive, free-technique movement and marksmanship. The word biathlon is of Greek origin and means "two tests."

Despite the limitations on year-round boating imposed by climate everywhere except on the West Coast, Canada has many natural resources that encourage this activity.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a hockey team that plays in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Maple Leafs are one of the "Original Six" NHL teams, and have won the Stanley Cup 13 times (11 as the Maple Leafs, one as the Arenas and one as the St. Patricks).

Gambling is the betting of something of value on the outcome of a contingency or event, the result of which is uncertain and may be determined by chance, skill, a combination of chance and skill, or a contest.