Do you know how many sports were actually invented in Canada or the equipment that we use for sports that were invented in Canada?

So, lacrosse is actually based on games played in various Native American communities as early as 1100 AD. By the 17th century, the version of Lacrosse was well-established and was documented by Jesuit missionary priests in the territory of present-day Canada. English-speaking people from Montreal noticed Mohawk people playing the game and started playing themselves in the 1830s. By 1900, there were dozens of Men’s Clubs in Canada, the United States, England, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Wheelchair rugby was created to be a sport for persons with quadriplegia in 1976 by five Canadian wheelchair athletes. At the time, wheelchair basketball was the most common team sport for wheelchair users but the sport’s physical requirement for players to dribble and shoot baskets relegated quadriplegic athletes to supporting roles. What was originally called Murderball, was first introduced in Australia in 1982. The first International Tournament was held in 1989 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with teams from Canada, the US, and Great Britain. It finally made its full metal status in the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia.

Yes, we did not create hockey however, we did help create some of the equipment that they needed to use. This included the helmet, which Canadian Ophthalmologist, Tom Pashby, spent 46 years improving the safety of to prevent injuries. The neck guard was also developed in Ontario, Canada after goalkeeper Kim Crouch of the Royal York Royals suffered a serious neck injury when his jugular vein was sliced by a skate when he dove into a fray during a 1975 match against the Markham Waxers. The oldest known hockey stick dates to the mid-1930s which was meant for William “Dilly” Moffett. Made from sugar maple wood, it is now owned by the Canadian Museum of History.

Yes, there is American football but there is also Canadian football which derives from Rugby Football.  The first documented football match was a practice game played on November 9th, 1861 at University College at the University of Toronto. The first written account of the game played was on October 15th, 1962 on the Montreal Cricket grounds. Now if I have to explain why I say that there’s American and Canadian football, it’s because American football didn’t get documented until 1869 (and it also has roots in Canada).

Basketball began with its invention in 1891 in  Springfield, Massachusetts by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith as a lower injury-prone sport than football. He was 31 years old and a graduate student when he created the indoor sport to keep athletes indoors during the winter. At the time, it consisted of peach baskets and a soccer-style ball.  He published 13 rules for the new game and divided his class of 18 into two teams of nine players. The first public basketball game was played in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 11th, 1892. 

Now obviously this is just a handful but you can tell that Canada definitely made its mark on sports. Also, talking about James Naismith is kind of amusing to me because of the fact that he has a legacy all on his own with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. We Canadians are real pioneers.