Browse "Sports & Recreation"

About 20% of adult Canadians play at least one game of chess a year. These games are mostly played for fun in backyards and basements, but for several thousand tournament players chess is a serious game.

"I remain a cautious optimist in the progress of the human brain," Garry Kasparov told reporters during a historic chess match last week. "I still believe that there are some horizons it will be very difficult for a computer to cross.

Chuckwagon races have become modified horse races; since 1923, races have concluded, not by firing up the stove, but by crossing the finish line in front of the grandstand, and, instead of draft horse teams, entrants use thoroughbreds.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir rose above politics and scandal to show what it means to be Olympic greats

The Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes (CHL) was an all-Black men's hockey league founded in 1895 in Halifax, NS. Organized by Black Baptists and Black intellectuals, the league was designed as a way to attract young Black men to Sunday worship with the promise of a recreational hockey match between rival churches following religious services. Later, with the influence of the Black Nationalism Movement of the period — and with rising interest in the sport of hockey — the league came to be seen as a potential driving force for the equality of Black Canadians.

Since the first British Empire Games were held at Hamilton, Ontario, in August 1930, and attended by 400 competitors representing 11 countries, Canada has been a leading proponent and participant in this quadrennial multi-sport festival.

Bicycle racing comprises many events, from short-distance sprints on banked velodromes to road races covering distances of 30 to over 5,000 km, as well as mountain bike, BMX and para-cycling competitions. Canadians have made their mark in international cycling, including podium finishes at major competitions like the Olympics/Paralympics and world championships.

The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the player judged most valuable to his team in the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The player is selected following the final game of the playoffs by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. The trophy was first presented in 1964 in honour of Conn Smythe, former coach, manager and owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the only Maple Leaf to win the award was Dave Keon (1967). Two-time winners are Bobby Orr (1970 and 1972), Bernie Parent (1974 and 1975), Wayne Gretzky (1985 and 1988), Mario Lemieux (1991 and 1992) and Sidney Crosby (2016, 2017) while Patrick Roy won the award three times (1986, 1993, 2001). Five players have won the trophy despite their team losing the Stanley Cup Final: Roger Crozier (1966), Glenn Hall (1968), Reggie Leach (1976), Ron Hextall (1987) and Jean-Sébastien Giguère (2003).

In September 1844, teams from Canada and the United States of America met in what was arguably the first international match in cricket history, and perhaps even the first international sporting fixture in the world.

Though cross-country skiing originated in Scandinavia over 5000 years ago, it was not introduced to Canada until the 1890s. In the early stages of the sport, most skiers carried a single pole and wore long (2.

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.

Her name is Rhona Martin of Dunlop, Scotland. On ice, she barks orders like a gunnery sergeant, and slings stones like a giant killer. She lists her occupation as housewife, and her hobbies - when not crushing the gold medal hopes of Kelley Law's dream team - as swimming and working out.

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.

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.

Dene games are tests of physical and mental skill that were originally used by the Dene (northern Athabascan peoples) to prepare for the hunting and fishing seasons, and to provide entertainment. Today, Dene games (e.g., Finger Pull and Hand Games) are still played in many schools and community centres in the North as a means of preserving tradition and culture. As competitive sports, Dene games are also featured in various national and international athletic competitions, including the Arctic Winter Games.

The sport of diving can be traced back to 400 BC through pictures on Egyptian and Roman vases. Plain diving was practised from cliffs to the oceans during the 8th to 10th centuries by Vikings in Sweden and later in the 1770s by Indians in Acapulco, Mexico.

Dogsledding is a method of winter travel developed by northern Aboriginal peoples. Early European explorers and trappers adopted it as the most efficient way to haul goods across snow-covered terrain.

The Edmonton Grads (1915–40) was a women’s championship basketball team coached by Percy Page. During their 25 years as a team, the Grads won an astounding 95 per cent of their matches. The Grads were national and world champions, often defeating their opponents by lopsided scores. The team won the Underwood International Trophy (USA–Canada) for 17 years straight (1923 to 1940), and was undefeated in 24 matches held in conjunction with the Olympic Summer Games in 1924, 1928 and 1936. The Grads were named to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.

The Edmonton Mercurys, a team consisting of amateur hockey players, was the last Canadian hockey team to win an Olympic gold medal until 2002. The 1952 win at Oslo was the fifth gold medal in six Winter Olympics to that point for Canada.

The Edmonton Oilers are a hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) and are based in Edmonton, Alberta. The Oilers have won five Stanley Cup championships.