Canada is a country full of passionate sports aficionados. According to statistics, over 80 per cent of the Canadian population watches at least one sport, and 27% participate in a sport on a regular basis. Being a country with an overwhelmingly cold climate, Canadians tend to thrive in Winter Sports. The country has had quite the success rate at the Winter Olympics, and they are the proverbial capital of ice hockey. In this article, we are going to take a look at a list of the winter sports, that thrive in Canada.
Ice Hockey
What the rest of the world calls “ice hockey”, Canadians know as hockey. That is simply how popular the game is in the Canadian border. Not only does ice hockey dominate the Canadian sports scene, it also dominates the Canadian betting scene, with sites like the ones found at BetStation being used far more frequently by Canadian punters during ice hockey season.
Hockey is Canada’s national sport, and also the most popular participation sport. Men, women, and children play hockey at varying levels of difficulty, from a very early age. The Canadian national men’s team is considered a member of the Big Six of ice hockey, and one of the most successful in the world.
Apart from that, Canada is also home to some of the most successful hockey clubs in the world, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Montreal Canadiens, the Vancouver Canucks, etc.
Ice Skating
Canadians have always thrived when it comes to Winter Sports, and figure skating is no different. Thanks to the cold winters, Canadians tend to be in the top echelon of performers during the Winter Olympics, and the 2022 Beijing event is no different. Canadian figure skater superstar, Madeline Schizas gave the performance of a life-time at the Beijing Olympics, securing Canada a spot in the finals.
But, ice skating is not just a popular watched sport in Canada. In fact, ice skating is one of the most popular Canadian pastimes, with over 40% of Canadians having skated at least once, 32% claiming to have skated more than once, and 13% claiming they skate quite frequently.
Apart from that, over 90% of Canadians claim they know how to skate, and believe that ice skating is a basic skill that should be learned by everyone.
Curling
One of the less-popular sports in the world is curling. While the sport may not be all that known worldwide, Canadians love it. The Canadian national curling teams for both men and women dominate the international competitions, so much so, that the Continental Cup features the format of “Canada vs The World.” While not as popular as hockey, the sport is still beloved by Canadians across the country.
Amateur Winter Sports
Some of the most popular amateur winter sports in Canada include Alpine skiing, which ranks above the rest, and has produced numerous world-ranked Canadian athletes, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, speed skating, in which the Canadian team tends to do quite well at the Winter Olympics, and biathlon.
