The most popular sports in Canada

Canada has been the venue of many world sports events such as the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and the 1967, 1999 and 2015 Pan American Games.

Canada is a country where sport is promoted as a way of keeping healthy. So much so that it has become tradition for every university to have sport teams that compete against one another in big tournaments. Some Canadian University teams even compete at international level, where they show the high level reached in their sport.

Below is a list of the most popular sports in Canada.

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• Ice hockey:

Ice hockey dates back to the end of the 19^th century and according to history, the first game on an indoor rink took place in the city of Montreal in 1875. The sport became so popular that in 1917, the National Hockey League began in Canada, becoming the sport’s most important tournament in North America.

For Canadians, ice hockey is a matter of national pride. Both the male and female teams are strong rivals in any tournament and, on many occasions, they are unbeatable. Historically, they have always obtained the best results in the Olympics and world championships.

• Lacrosse:

Lacrosse has also been a national sport since 1859. The story goes that it is based on a sport played by Native Americans, with very different rules than those of modern-day Lacrosse.

Nowadays, there are two professional Lacrosse leagues in Canada: The National Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse.

This sport is very well represented by the Canadians in the World Championships, where the national team has placed first on various occasions.

• Canadian Football:

According to historical data, this sport officially began in 1861. From that date onwards, various championships and organisations were formed until, in 1958 the ¨Canadian Football League¨ was created.

Its origins are very closely linked to American football, although there are some differences. Some of the most significant differences include the following: the number of players on the field in Canadian football is greater than in American football; the goalposts in American football are to the rear of the end zone, whereas in Canadian football they are at front of the end zone and, in American football, each team has three timeouts per half, whereas in Canadian football there is only one timeout per half.

Not only the professional competitions have attracted attention in this sport. Important tournaments also take place between the country’s universities, attracting great interest among Canadian football lovers.

• Curling:

Did you know that Canada is one of the leading countries in this sport? Yes, this unique sport has been adopted by the Canadians and they have become the sport’s best players.

Curling was introduced into Canada by Scottish immigrants and the oldest sports club in North America is a curling club in the centre of Montreal.

Canada’s professional curling league is one of the sport’s best. Its male and female teams are unbeatable in every competition in which they participate.

Like other sports, curling is very popular among university students. There are also university tournaments, playing at a high level and attracting many fans of the sport.

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• Basketball:

Finally, I would like to tell you an interesting fact that you probably don’t know about the origins of basketball. It turns out that this exciting sport was created by a Canadian physical education teacher in the University Springfield in the United States.

It came about due to the need for the students to play an indoor sport to release energy during the long winter periods.

As you can see in this article, there is a great tradition in many sports in Canada. The high level of the country’s athletes and the results obtained in the biggest competitions make Canada an important player in the sporting world, achieving first place on many occasions. There is no doubt that Canada, as well as showing great progress in education and scientific and technological research, is rising up as one of the world’s greatest sporting representatives.

See also: 3 Things You Should Know About When Visiting Canada

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