The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. For the 2021–22 season, its three leagues and 60 teams represent nine Canadian provinces as well as four American states.
Lacrosse Canada, formerly the Canadian Lacrosse Association, founded in 1867, is the governing body of lacrosse in Canada. It conducts national junior and senior championship tournaments for men and women in both field and box lacrosse. There are five national teams that compete in World Lacrosse championships on a four-year cycle.
The Scotties Tournament of Hearts is the annual Canadian women's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada, formerly called the Canadian Curling Association. The winner goes on to represent Canada at the women's world curling championships. Since 1985, the winner also gets to return to the following year's tournament as "Team Canada". It is formally known as the "Canadian Women's Curling Championship".
The Brier, known as the Tim Hortons Brier for sponsorship reasons, is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The current event name refers to its main sponsor, the Tim Hortons coffee and donut shop chain. "Brier" originally referred to a brand of tobacco sold by the event's first sponsor, the Macdonald Tobacco Company.
The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to professional football careers in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and elsewhere.
The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) is an association of Canadian junior A ice hockey leagues and teams and was formed in November 1993, emerging from the Canada West Association of Junior 'A' Hockey. The champion of the Canadian Junior Hockey League wins the Centennial Cup.
The Centennial Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), which determines the national champion of junior A ice hockey. It is a ten-team round robin featuring the winners of all nine CJHL member leagues as well as a pre-selected host city.
The Keystone Cup is the Junior B ice hockey championship and trophy for Western Canada. From 1983 to 2017, the championship was the culmination of the champions of 12 hockey leagues in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwestern Ontario. In 2018, citing costs for travel and accommodations, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan withdrew from competition for the Keystone Cup, making it a championship between Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.
Cricket Canada, known as the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA) until November 2007, is the governing body of cricket in Canada. It was established in 1892 and has its current headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. It administers the national men's and women's teams as well as several youth teams at various age levels. In addition Cricket Canada and its affiliates run several grassroots and development programs and leagues across the country. Cricket Canada is Canada's representative at the International Cricket Council and has been an associate member of that body since 1968. It is included in the ICC Americas region.
Kraft Hockeyville is an annual competition sponsored by Kraft Heinz, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association in which communities compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey. The winning community gets a cash prize dedicated to upgrading their local home arena, as well as the opportunity to host an NHL pre-season game. Runners-up also get smaller cash prizes to upgrade their ice rinks. The contest is normally held in the winter and spring during the latter half of the NHL regular season, with the pre-season game usually held in September before the following regular season. If the winning arena is not adequately equipped to host the pre-season game, it is then played at an alternative site nearby.
The World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) is an annual under-20 international ice hockey tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada, the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament showcases Junior A level players and is modeled after the IIHF World U20 Championships, which displays the best of all junior-aged hockey players. It has been hosted by Canadian cities every year in CJAHL markets.
The Canadian soccer league system, also called the Canadian soccer pyramid, is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in Canada. The governing body of soccer in the country is the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), which oversees the system and domestic cups but does not operate any of its component leagues. In addition, some Canadian teams compete in leagues that are based in the United States.
The Esso Women's Nationals was the Canadian women's senior ice hockey championship from 1982 to 2008. The winners of the event received the Abby Hoffman Cup. The second place team was awarded the Fran Rider Cup, while the third place was given the Maureen McTeer Trophy. Nine or ten teams qualified for the event, with two from the province hosting the event. The event was sponsored by Esso.
The Challenge Trophy is a national amateur soccer cup in Canada contested by the champions of individual provincial soccer competitions. It is one of the oldest soccer competitions in Canada, being held since 1913. It is run by the Canadian Soccer Association.
Cricket is a minor sport in Canada which is unusual among the former Dominions of the British Empire in not having adopted cricket as a major sport—in contrast with Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, British West Indies and South Africa.
The National Ringette League (NRL), (French: Ligue Nationale de Ringuette, LNR), is the premier sports league for the sport of ringette in North America and Canada's national league for elite ringette players aged 18+. The NRL is not a feminized variant of a more well-known men's league or sport like professional women's ice hockey or bandy. This is due to the fact that one of ringette's distinctive features is that all of its elite players are girls and women. The NRL is semi-professional and operates as a showcase league for ringette in North America.
There are professional teams based in Canada in several professional sports leagues. The National Hockey League currently has seven Canadian franchises and is the most popular professional sports league in Canada. The Canadian Football League is the only all-Canadian major professional sports league. Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer also have Canadian teams.
For soccer in Canada, the quadrennial Canada Summer Games competition has an association football tournament. The participants are the provincial soccer associations.
The quadrennial Canada Winter Games competition has an ice hockey tournament. The participants are the provincial and territorial ice hockey associations.
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