The naval fleet review may be about building camaraderie among allies, but there is still room for friendly competition.
Navies will go head to head in sporting events all day Sunday, and the public is invited to watch most of them. In the morning, teams from sa国际传媒, U.S., Australia, New Zealand, France and Japan will play slow-pitch softball, ball hockey and soccer from 10 a.m. until noon. In the afternoon, teams will compete in rugby, cricket and volleyball.
"Sports is such a big part of [navy] culture right now," said Danielle Sutherland, sports co-ordinator at CFB Esquimalt. "It's healthy competition and everyone wants to come out and compete against each other."
Slow-pitch softball games are scheduled for the Colville baseball diamonds on Colville Road at Admirals Road, while soccer will take place at the adjoining soccer pitch. Both softball and soccer will be open to spectators.
Ball hockey events will be held at the Naden Athletic Centre on the base. Although hockey is big deal in sa国际传媒 and the U.S., it may be new to some of the visiting sailors.
"We chose the sports we did because we wanted to give it a Canadian flair," said Sutherland. "It's good to get people out and show them what sports we do in sa国际传媒."
Due to space constraints, there might not be room for fans to watch hockey.
Rugby will be open to the public at Bullen Park in Esquimalt. One team from each nation except the U.S. will participate. The seven-a-side, 15-minute rugby games will run from noon until 3 p.m. Admission will be free, and the event will feature a children's "beer" garden.
"The kids get to drink beer -- that's root beer -- and eat pizza while they watch rugby," said Tom Woods, president of the James Bay Athletic Association. "It's a very good spectator sport. It's like three-on-three hockey. You get very fast guys with tons of space."
The Canadian team will be made up mostly of civilian players from the James Bay club, but may include some other local players.
"We'll go with a younger group," said Woods. "If someone tells you that tomorrow you're playing against Australia, France, New Zealand and Japan, it's like, 'Woo-hoo!'"
Woods said organizers will try to procure a trophy or plaque to present to the winners of the mini-tournament. But at the end of the day, the games are all about fun and camaraderie.
"I think all of the teams are going to do what rugby players do and go down to some mess and drink beer and eat hamburgers," said Woods.
At Beacon Hill Park, Australia and New Zealand will play each other in an afternoon cricket match, which starts at 12:30 p.m. Fans are welcome and admission is free.
"Everyone in Australia and New Zealand, when they went to school, played rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer," said David Billingham, who is helping to organize the match.
Volleyball will be held at the Rooftop Surf Club Patio above the Strathcona Hotel in downtown Victoria. As of June 2, seven teams had signed up: HMAS Newcastle (Australia), FS Prairial (France), a Japanese team, a New Zealand team, USS Freedom (United States) and USCGC Alert (United States).
Because of liquor-licence restrictions, however, once capacity at the Rooftop is reached no additional spectators will be allowed.
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GUIDE TO EVENTS
TODAY
9:30 a.m. The navy will unveil its new executive curl rank insignia, which will adorn all officers' uniforms, in a ceremony at Ship Point. The curl was part of sa国际传媒's original naval uniform, but was dropped when the forces merged in 1968.
10:35 a.m. The Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific will lead about 200 sailors from all six participating navies as they march through the streets for a Parade of Nations.
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds air demonstration team and aircraft participating in Saturday's flypast will rehearse off Esquimalt Lagoon.
1-6 p.m. The 20 ships participating in Saturday's fleet review will move from the harbour to their anchorage spots off Colwood.
5:30 p.m. Gov.-Gen. Micha脙芦lle Jean arrives at Government House and inspects a Guard of Honour.
6-11 p.m. Celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of Fisgard lighthouse get underway at Fort Rodd Hill (and continue on Saturday). Events include music, a lantern-making workshop and fire jugglers. Free admission.
10 p.m. Fireworks display from a barge in Esquimalt Harbour. Good vantage points include Fort Rodd Hill and Saxe Point Park.
TOMORROW
10-11:30 a.m. Gov.-Gen. Micha脙芦lle Jean inspects 20 ships from six navies from aboard HMCS Algonquin.
11:30 -11:50 a.m. The Canadian Forces' Skyhawks parachute team performs over Esquimalt Harbour, with a landing at Royal Roads. Good vantage points for the display, as well as the flypast and Snowbirds, include Esquimalt Lagoon, Royal Roads and Fort Rodd Hill.
12-12:30 p.m. Maritime and search-and-rescue aircraft fly over Esquimalt Harbour.
12:30 - 1 p.m. Canadian Forces' Snowbirds air demonstration team performs over Esquimalt Harbour.
7-11 p.m. Navy Rocks concert at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, featuring the Sam Roberts Band, 54-40 and Matt Mays.
SUNDAY
9 a.m.-5 p.m. CFB Esquimalt hosts a sports competition between the navies as well as some local sports teams.
MONDAY
8 a.m. Canadian and foreign ships begin leaving. Many of them are heading to Hawaii for RIMPAC, or Rim of the Pacific Exercise, an international exercise held every two years.
