Neil Sedaka once sang about his Calendar Girl. In that refrain, it’s time to look at the calendar for the upcoming year locally in sports:
JANUARY: Ron MacLean, Kevin Bieksa and company converge on Victoria for the Sportsnet nationally-broadcast Hockey Day in sa国际传媒 on Jan. 20. If ice with pebbles is more your passion, the road to the Brier and Scotties goes through the Archie Browning Sports Centre when our province’s representatives will be decided during the sa国际传媒 men’s and women’s curling championships from Jan. 23-28.
FEBRUARY: Even through Pacific FC didn’t qualify, the CONCACAF Champions League will come through Starlight Stadium in Langford due to a scheduling conflict at sa国际传媒 Place and expected wintery conditions in Calgary. The Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS will play Tigres UANL of Liga MX on Feb. 7 and Cavalry FC of the CPL will meet Orlando City of MLS on Feb 21 in opening-round games of this region’s equivalent of the UEFA Champions League.
MARCH: The madness of the month in hoops will have the rising University of Victoria Vikes looking to repeat as sa国际传媒 West men’s champions as the 2023 national semifinalists will be hoping to take those final few steps at this year’s U Sports championship tournament.
APRIL: Unless there is an epic collapse, long-suffering Victoria Royals fans will see Western Hockey League playoff action at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre for the first time since 2019. And at The Q Centre, Victoria Grizzlies fans will be witness to sa国际传媒 Hockey League playoff action.
MAY: Elvis will be in the building as Stojko, Patrick Chan and company make their annual visit to Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Stars on Ice scheduled for May 16.
JUNE: The PGA Tour Americas with the hemisphere’s best aspiring pro golfers, all with dreams of eventually making it to the PGA Tour, will come through Uplands for the 41st Beachlands Victoria Open from June 20-23.
If the crack of a bat, the wafting smell of hotdogs grilling and a cold beer on lilting summer evenings is your thing, the Victoria HarbourCats open the home portion of their West Coast League baseball season June 7 at Royal Athletic Park against Wenatchee while the Nanaimo NightOwls open at home June 4 against Cowlitz at Serauxmen Stadium.
JULY: The big one of the year. About 50 Island or Island-based athletes are expected on the Canadian team for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, including hammer-thrower Ethan Katzberg, surfer Sanoa Dempfle-Olin, marathoner Cam Levins, rugby player Sophie De Goede and rowers Avalon Wasteneys and Sydney Payne. It all begins with the audaciously-planned opening ceremony July 26 to be held on The Seine.
AUGUST: The first regular-season CFL home game in the 70-year history of the sa国际传媒 Lions not to be played at Empire Stadium, Empire Field or sa国际传媒 Place will take place Aug. 31 at Royal Athletic Park when the Leos play the Ottawa Redblacks.
SEPTEMBER: The Victoria Shamrocks haven’t been to the Mann Cup national lacrosse final since 2019 and haven’t won since 2015. Will this be the year for a team that always aspires to be in the hunt?
OCTOBER: A spandex-clad ribbon of humanity — the kind of demographic any city covets — will again make its way through the streets of the capital region Oct. 13 in the Royal Victoria Marathon, a fixture since 1980.
NOVEMBER: There will be fields of dreams with expected playoff pushes by the 2023 sa国际传媒 champion and national junior football runner-up Westshore Rebels looking to take that final step in the Canadian Bowl, Pacific FC in the search for pro soccer post-season glory in the CPL and the UVic Vikes women’s field hockey dynasty looking for the U Sports national championship six-peat.
DECEMBER: Although it’s likely one year ahead of his time, Royals’ franchise cornerstone forward Cole Reschny could be in the mix when the 2025 world junior hockey championship tournament opens on Boxing Day in Ottawa.
