Alpine Skiing
The birth of modern skiing in North America, nearly 1000 years later, can be credited to their direct descendants.
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Create AccountThe birth of modern skiing in North America, nearly 1000 years later, can be credited to their direct descendants.
The road north from Vancouver to Whistler is paved with good intentions, but not nearly enough passing lanes. The Sea-to-Sky Highway winds high above Howe Sound, past Bowen, Gambier and Anvil islands; past ferries and freighters and barge-burdened tugs; past the chill plunge of Shannon Falls and fly-sized rock climbers high up the brooding face of the Stawamus Chief at Squamish.
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."
Games are distinguishable from other forms of play in that they are contests in which all players start out with equal chances of winning; they end when a winner or loser is determined; and although the play may appear spontaneous or unsupervised, it is in fact guided by rigid rules and procedures.
Ice skating probably originated in Scandinavia over 2000 years ago as a means of transportation.
Olympic Games are an international sports competition, held every four years. Although winter events were included in the 1908 and 1920 Olympic Games, the first separate Olympic Winter Games were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Canada has hosted two Olympic Winter Games: in Calgary in 1988 and Vancouver in 2010. In total, Canada has won 199 medals at the Olympic Winter Games: 73 gold, 64 silver and 62 bronze medals. This does not include the gold medal in ice hockey won by Canada at the 1920 Olympic Games; while considered the first Olympic medal in ice hockey, it preceded the establishment of the Olympic Winter Games. The country ranks fifth in the total number of medals won at the Olympic Winter Games.
Considered the world's pre-eminent men's team tennis tournament, the Davis Cup made its debut in 1900 when a Harvard student named Dwight Filley Davis donated the silver trophy as the prize for a team tournament that summer at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston.
The first recorded triathlon was held in California in 1974 by the San Diego Track and Field Club at Mission Bay. There are now more than 6 million athletes participating in the sport worldwide and almost 100 national federations.
Figure skating is a sport that tests style and technical skill. The most important championships are the Olympic Games and the World, European and Four Continents Championships. The Grand Prix Series consists of six senior international events, including Skate Canada (first staged in 1973). Many Canadian figure skaters have achieved distinction at the international level by winning championships and medals; several have entered the record books by being the first to successfully perform challenging new jumps.
The 1928 Olympic Winter Games were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, from 11 to 19 February 1928. Canada sent 23 athletes (20 men, 3 women) to the Games, and won the gold medal in ice hockey. The country finished sixth in the overall medal count.
The first Canadian team admitted to baseball's National League, the Expos began playing in 1969 at Jarry Park in Montréal's north end.
The Montreal Canadiens are the oldest professional hockey team in the world and one of the most storied franchises in professional sports. Founded in 1909 and officially called the Club de Hockey Canadien, the team (also known as the Les Habitants, or Habs for short) is the only existing National Hockey League (NHL) franchise to have formed prior to the league’s inception in 1917. One of the NHL’s “Original Six,” it is the only team to have operated continuously throughout the league’s history. The Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cup championships — more than any other organization — and have appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals 35 times, most recently in 2021. More than 60 Canadiens players and personnel have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, including such legendary figures as Howie Morenz, Georges Vézina, Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Jacques Plante, Henri Richard, Jean Béliveau, Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur and Patrick Roy.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on March 16, 1998. Partner content is not updated.
Sean O'Hare is a little nervous as he stares through the windows of the Fort Simpson Curling Club at the action on the ice below. It is clear that he is trying to figure out just what exactly the people are doing with the rocks and brooms.Wheelchair basketball is one of the most popular team sports for athletes with disabilities. In 2014, over 2,500 Canadians were active in the sport as athletes, coaches, officials and administrators.
Sports have a long history in Canada, from early Indigenous games (e.g., baggataway) to more recent sports such as snowboarding and kitesurfing. Officially, Canada has two national sports: lacrosse (summer) and hockey (winter).
The origins of ice hockey have long been debated. In 2008, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) officially declared that the first game of organized ice hockey was played in Montreal in 1875. Many also consider ice hockey’s first rules to have been published by the Montreal Gazette in 1877. However, research reveals that organized ice hockey/bandy games were first played on skates in England and that the earliest rules were also published in England. Canada made important contributions to the game from the 1870s on. By the early 20th century, “Canadian rules” had reshaped the sport.
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.
The 1932 Olympic Winter Games were held in Lake Placid, New York, from 4 to 15 February 1932. Canada sent 42 athletes (38 men, 4 women) to the Games and placed third in the overall medal count with seven medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze). The Winnipeg Hockey Club won Canada’s fourth consecutive Olympic medal in ice hockey, while speed skaters Alexander Hurd, William Logan and Frank Stack became the first Canadian medallists in speed skating. Montgomery Wilson took bronze in the men’s figure skating competition, becoming the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal in the sport.
Through the formation of the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club (OUIHC), Canadian students at the University of Oxford helped bring Canadian hockey rules to prominence in Europe, thus influencing the development of British and European ice hockey.
Dogsledding is a method of winter travel developed by northern Indigenous peoples. Early European explorers and trappers adopted it as the most efficient way to haul goods across snow-covered terrain.