People who are living in Victoria BC are active and love to participate in and follow their favorite sports or any high quality athletic endeavours! And because of our mild climate, there are sporting activities happening throughout the calendar year, providing year round sports entertainment for fans in Victoria.
We may have the warmest weather in the country, but hey, it’s still Canada! So one of the most popular spectator sports in Victoria has to be Hockey, and there are two teams that fans in Victoria love to watch and support:
· The Victoria Royals are a major junior hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). They relocated in 2011 from Chilliwack, and play out of the Save-On-Foods Arena (SOFA), and
· The Victoria Grizzlies are a Tier II Junior A team playing in the BCHL (Island Division). These young guns with aspirations to play professional hockey play a fast-paced entertaining game, always looking to prove themselves to scouts who lurk in the audience.
Lacrosse, that other quintessentially Canadian sport, has a long and storied history in Victoria because of the Victoria Shamrocks of the WLA. The team has been in operation continuously since 1950, and has won eight Mann Cup Canadian Senior ‘A’ championships!
Football (aka the beautiful game, or soccer as we call it here) is just getting established on a professional level. The Victoria Highlanders Football Club was founded in 2008 as the United Soccer League (USL) awarded rights to a Premier Development League franchise to the City of Victoria. The inaugural season was 2009, and in 2010 a womens team, the Victoria Highlanders Women, began play as well, both teams play out of Bear Mountain Stadium. Soccer is hugely popular here, with thousands of children, 스포츠중계 youth and adults playing at various skill levels within the region, so watch for this franchise to grow!
Football (the North American type) is represented in Victoria by the Westshore Rebels Football Club. The Rebels play in the BC conference of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL), and compete for the national Canadian Bowl. Although undergoing several name (and location) changes, the club has operated continuously since the late 1960’s.
Any summary of high level sports entertainment in Victoria would be incomplete without mentioning the University of Victoria and its contingent of amazing athletes. The amateur athletes at the university level provide riveting entertainment and boast a large following of loyal fans and supporters. U-Vic fields women’s and men’s teams and athletes in the following sports:
· Swimming
· Rowing;
· Basketball;
· Cross Country and Track;
· Field Hockey;
· Rugby;
· Soccer, and
· Golf;
Numerous UVIC athletes have competed internationally, and several teams and athletes have won championships or medalled at Olympic Games and World Championship competitions. If you have an opportunity to watch these athletes in action, it will definitely be worthwhile, so don’t pass it up!
There are loads of sports entertainment events in Victoria that can draw a crowd due to the skill of the participants and the excitement of the game, check out:
· Triathlon BC’s website for listings of local triathlons and duathlons;
· Victoria and District Cricket Association;
· Velox Rugby;
· Times/Colonist Open Golf Tournament, and
· The new kid on the block – Armageddon Fighting Championships (AFC), the premier mixed martial arts organization in BC, you can catch a fight at their home venue, Bear Mountain Arena,
Victoria has become a hotbed of sports entertainment in Canada! The opportunity to pursue athletics year round has entrenched an active and athletic psyche in the people who are living in Victoria, and this translates to the type of entertainment they like to watch. Almost everybody loves the thrill of attending “the game”, whatever it is!