Sports and school competitions can tell you a lot about a country’s culture. Canada has a few that will surprise you. Because of their long winters and unique traditions, many Canadian students grow up participating in school sports that just don’t exist or aren’t taken seriously in American schools.
They can seem strange, confusing or even flat-out ridiculous to Americans who have never heard of them. Read on to learn about 11 sports or school competitions Canadians have that Americans don’t.
The Vanier Cup (College Football)
American college football players play by NFL rules. Canadians have their own set of rules that university teams play by.
The field is much larger, there are 12 players instead of 11, and teams get three downs (versus four in the U.S.) to move the ball 10 yards. These rule changes make the Canadian game faster and passing/kicking heavy.
The Brier (Men’s Curling)
Americans might think curling is a hobby that everybody does once every four years at the Olympics. Canadians treat curling as the great sport it is.
The Brier is Canada’s huge national championship for men. Teams represent their home province (like “Team Nova Scotia” or “Team Alberta”). Entire hockey arenas get filled with screaming fans watching and the winning team becomes a national celebrity.
The Scotties Tournament of Hearts (Women’s Curling)
This is the women’s equivalent to the Brier. This tournament is one of the most watched women’s sporting events in Canada each year.
Teams have their own quirky tradition: each player displays a logo of “hearts” on their uniform that says where they are from. It’s televised live on national TV and has been for decades.
Canadian Ringette Championships
Ringette looks like hockey because players use skates and play on ice. But that’s where the similarities end. Instead of using a puck, ringette uses a giant rubber ring. And instead of having a blade on their stick, players have a straight pole that they use to “jab” at the ring.
Ringette was invented in Canada with the specific intention of creating a fast, team-oriented sport. There are thousands of young athletes who aspire to play in these national championships each year but you’ve likely never heard of ringette in the U.S.
CÉGEP Sports (Quebec’s Specialty Leagues)
Students in Quebec attend what’s called a CÉGEP for 2 years after high school but before university. These are unique schools that only exist in Quebec.
As a result, they have created incredibly competitive (and popular) sports leagues that act as “midpoint” between high school and college sports. There is no American equivalent because their school system doesn’t have that “middle-step.”
Broomball Provincials
Broomball is a game played on ice, but you don’t wear skates; you wear special grippy shoes. And instead of a hockey stick, you hold a “broom” (it actually looks like a plastic paddle) and hit a ball into the other team’s net.
Many Canadians play broomball in their spare time. Schools have leagues and “Provincials” which are state-wide high school championships where kids play at a very high level.
Five-Pin Bowling
Walk into any bowling alley in Canada and you’ll notice little tiny balls you can hold in the palm of your hand with no holes. This is Five-Pin bowling, a uniquely Canadian version of bowling.
Instead of ten pins, there are only five. And they each have different point values. It’s super popular for families with young kids to bowl together, and Canadians even have national championships.
The Memorial Cup (Major Junior Hockey)
In the U.S., the highest level of young hockey players is normally at the high school or college level. But in Canada, the best 16-to-20-year-olds play in what’s called the CHL (Major Junior).
Think of these players as junior pros. They play their entire season trying to take home the Memorial Cup. It’s widely considered one of the toughest trophies to win in all of sports.
The competition is so fierce that these kids are basically minor-leaguers and the entire country tunes in to watch.
University Field Hockey
While field hockey is common in the U.S., the Canadian university version (U Sports) is unique because of how it’s organized.
It’s a strictly female sport at the university level, and it’s played in just parts of Canada. Also, the whole system doesn’t follow the large “Division 1, 2, or 3” setup that American NCAA field hockey follows.
High School Curling Championships
In America, if you want to play curling, you probably join a private club in your city. In Canada, curling is common enough to be an official varsity sport in most high schools.
Students get their own jerseys, hire coaches, and practice for a shot at their provincial championship. Not only that, it’s not uncommon to hear about the star athlete at a Canadian small town being their high school curling team captain.
The Canada Games
Picture the Olympics, but between Canadian provinces. Once every two years, young athletes from across the country compete in their sports of choice. Swimming, skiing, snowboarding, hockey, curling, etc. The list goes on.
It’s a huge event run by the government with the purpose of helping discover Canada’s next Olympians. Americans love county fairs and state sports festivals, but there’s nothing that competes “state against state” in one single epic national event like this.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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