Ice hockey is a year-round sport in Canada and is considered to be the most popular in the country. It was in 1893 when Canada founded the Stanley Cup, now considered the highest prize in professional ice hockey. Ice hockey is a religion in Canada and is by far the most popular sport to watch and play. The highest level of ice hockey is the National Hockey League, or NHL.
Golf is another popular sport in Canada. Players use different clubs to hit the balls in a series of holes with as few strokes as possible. Recreational courses can only include 9 holes, but standard golf courses have an organized sequence of 18 holes. It has become one of the top golfing countries in the world, with more than 1.5 million golfers in Canada.
Curling is a famous sport in Canada, particularly in the Prairie Provinces, which are home to numerous illustrious teams. Players slide rocks across the ice to reach a circular target area. Shuffleboard, bowling and petanque are also related to curling. In fact, the latter is one of the most televised women's sports in Canada, with more than 3 million viewers watching the final of the Scotties championship every year.
Basketball is one of the most popular sports among Canadians. Professional basketball in Canada began in 1946, and its national basketball competition has 30 teams. The Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors received NBA franchises in 1994, helping to increase the sport's popularity in the country. Basketball is the second most popular sport among Canadian millennials, according to Solutions Research Group, a Toronto-based market research organization. The Rugby Union and Rugby League have grown in popularity since their reintroduction, and the Canadian Rugby League hosts many local and global competitions.
However, the Grey Cup has existed for a little longer in the Canadian Football League. With that in mind, Canadian football and American football are somewhat identical. There are 12 players on each side. CFL stadiums are much larger than those in the NFL, in addition to having 2 dead times and 3 turnovers per game. The Canadian Football League, which has 9 teams and runs from summer to the end of November, is also more compact. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team sport known as cricket that comprises 2 teams of 11 players each.
Did you know that cricket is one of the most popular games in the world? More than 2 billion people around the world are fans of cricket. It is also widely played on different continents, such as Australia, Asia and Europe. Even though Canada's national cricket team hasn't achieved any iconic breakthroughs, the sport remains one of the most popular in the country due to its huge Asian population with more than 40,000 cricketers across the country. From 1969 to 2004, Montreal Expos played their home games in Montreal before moving to Washington DC where they played as Washington Nationals. They also had the most Major League Baseball (MLB) fans in late 1980s and early 1990s. The sport began in 19th century and is played in different formats and divisions around world with 20 players participating on an outdoor field. Football, fitness, cricket, NFL, NBA, MLB, horse racing - all sports have their own fan base among Canadians. In 1994 Canadian Parliament passed Canadian National Sports Act which made lacrosse national summer sport and hockey national winter sport. The famous Canadian hockey teams that play in NHL include well-known names such as Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. The wide variety of sporting activities offers perfect opportunities for Canadians to demonstrate their talent and compete effectively with rest of world on international level. Women also participate in this game and it is one of most televised women's sports in Canada. Curling is another popular sport in Canada especially in Prairie Provinces with several popular teams from country based in Alberta and Manitoba. The men's national curling championship is known as Tim Hortons Brier while women's championship is called Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Curling is also an important sporting event in schools and universities with best player selected to participate national championships since this sport does not have established playing area vital aspect of game is to adapt topography of different fields. Hockey is quintessential Canadian sport and players have done quite well internationally including NHL and Olympic Games both young and veteran players have shown interest and are participating leagues and tournaments such as Canadian Rugby Championship Americas Rugby Championship among others. Canadians value various sporting competitions not only for fun but also as means of encouraging unity of country.
