Sports

Hockey is the most popular sport in Canada. Canada is very serious about hockey. It is a game for all ages. For hockey in Canada, nobody knows where it was originated from but Montreal, Kingston, and Windsor Canada have all claimed to have invented ice hockey. The Canadian Hockey National men team competes in international tournaments like the Olympics. The USA took interest in hockey and created the NHL in 1917. The NHL still thrives today. There are 31 teams in the NHL and there are seven Canadian teams in the league:

• Montreal Canadians
• Toronto Maple Leafs
• Ottawa Senators
• Calgary Flames
• Winnipeg Jets
• Edmonton Oilers
• Vancouver Canucks

Lacrosse was declared a national game of Canada in 1859 and a summer sport in 1994. It is played by thousands of people across Canada. Lacrosse is governed by the Canadian Lacrosse Association formed in 1925. The body conducts senior and junior championship tournament in both the field and box lacrosse. There are two professional lacrosse leagues in the country, the National Lacrosse League for the box lacrosse league and the Major League Lacrosse for the field lacrosse league. Canada beat the US 15-10 in the finals of the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship breaking a 28-year US winning streak. The US had held that long, long championship streak so you can tell that Lacrosse is a very popular sport in the US. US Lacrosse is the national governing body of men and women's lacrosse in the United States, primarily serving the youth game.

FACTS ABOUT THE US LACROSSE ORGANIZATION

Women's coach: Ricky Fried

Headquarters: Sparks, MD

Men's coach: John Danowski

CEO: Steve Stenersen (2008–)

President: Steve Stenersen

Sport: Lacrosse

Founded: January 1, 1998

If you can believe it or not, basketball was invented in Canada. The modern basketball game was founded by a Canadian, James Naismith, in 1891 while working as a physical education instructor in the US. Several of the players who took part in the first game came from Canada. Today, basketball is a major sport in the country, especially in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Alberta. Professional basketball in the country began in 1946 but gained popularity in 1994 when NBA awarded franchises to Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies. Currently, 30 teams participate in the basketball national championship in Canada. The Canadian National Basketball team also participates in international games. The United States, created the National Basketball Association on June 6, 1946. The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with the competing National Basketball League (NBL). Many Americans enjoy playing this sport and watching it as well.

Baseball is one of the oldest sports in Canada. It has been around from the beginning. The oldest standing baseball stadium is in Labatt Park in Ontario! The country has only one Major League baseball team; the Toronto Blue Jays. Like basketball and hockey they have a national baseball team that plays in international baseball games. I America, baseball is the summer sport to watch. The MLB was created in 1869. The MLB has 30 teams and 29 of them are in the US. The other one is in Canada. Baseball is still a very popular sport to play and watch to this day.

Curling is one of the most popular sports in Canada, There are several popular teams in the country based in Alberta and Manitoba. Curling in Canada has always been associated with the military and was brought into the country from Scotland. Every year, the Curling Canada organization organizes a national championship. The men’s curling national championship is known as Tim Horton's Brier while the women’s championship is called Scotties Tournament of Hearts. This is because the game originated in Scotland. Curling is also a major sports event in schools and colleges with the best player selected to participate in the national championships. As you can see in the picture, the US has it's own National curling team that takes place in competitions such as the Winter Olympics. Curling is a new and growing sport in the US so it's not as popular as baseball but it is a really fun sport to play and watch.