5 Team Canada things to watch this weekend: June 9-11
If you wanted to catch some big time summer competition on Canadian soil, this is a great weekend to do it.
Take your pick between golf in Toronto, where the RBC Canadian Open is underway, and volleyball in Ottawa, where the Canadian men’s national team is hosting some first week action in the Volleyball Nations League.
If you prefer to watch your sports from the comfort of your couch, might we suggest the next stop on the Diamond League circuit in athletics or perhaps some thrilling World Cup competition in mountain bike and canoe/kayak slalom?
Read on to learn more about the events you’ll want to keep an eye on:
Athletics
A trio of Canadians will be competing at Friday’s Diamond League stop in Paris. Sarah Mitton will be the first to take to the field in the women’s shot put. She finished fifth at her first Diamond League event in Rabat, Morocco on May 28 when she threw well under her season’s best mark set the week prior.
Alysha Newman is also competing her second Diamond League event of the season in women’s pole vault. She’s looking to start hitting the heights outdoors that she achieved during indoor events in February, which included a season’s best 4.78m at the World Indoor Tour Final.
The last event on the program is the men’s 800m with Marco Arop on the start line. His only other 800m race this season was at the Rabat Diamond League meet where he finished fifth.
CBCSports will livestream the Diamond League action starting at 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday.
Golf
The third oldest continuously running tournament on the PGA Tour is underway at the Oakdale Golf & Country Club in north Toronto. The RBC Canadian Open includes 21 Canadian players in the field. Among them are Corey Conners, Adam Svensson, Mackenzie Hughes, and Nick Taylor who are the top four Canadians in the Official World Golf Ranking.
It’s been almost seven decades since Pat Fletcher was the last Canadian man to win the home national open in 1954. Conners finished sixth last year, seven strokes back of champion Rory McIlroy.
TSN will have broadcast coverage of all four rounds.
Meanwhile, Brooke Henderson is the defending champion at this week’s women’s event, the Shoprite LPGA Classic in Galloway, New Jersey.
Volleyball
The Canadian men’s national team is at home in Ottawa for their first week of action in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
Canada opened with a thrilling five-set win over Cuba on Tuesday night. It was their first official match under the guidance of new head coach Tuomas Sammelvuo. Ryan Sclater led the Canadian offence with 27 points, including the game-winning point in the tie-breaker. Canada will play Argentina on Friday evening, followed by games against the United States on Saturday and Germany on Sunday.
Those matches will all be available to stream on CBCSports.
Later this month, Canada will travel to Orléans, France for the second week of the preliminary round from June 20 to 25. Then they’ll be off to Pasay City, Philippines from July 4 to 9 for the third week of the preliminary round. Each of the 16 teams in the VNL will play 12 matches total during the preliminary round. The top eight teams will advance to the VNL Finals, which for the men will take place July 19-23 in Gdasnk, Poland.
The Canadian women went 2-2 during their first week of VNL play that ended this past Sunday. That included an upset win over the reigning world champions from Serbia. The women’s weeks alternate with the men’s weeks. Canada will play in Brasilia, Brazil June 13-18 and then in Bangkok, Thailand June 27-July 2. The women’s VNL Finals will take place July 12-16 in Arlington, Texas.
Mountain Bike
The second stop of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup for cross-country racing will see a whole bunch of Canadians on the start line in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. They last raced about a month ago at the opener in Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czechia.
Currently, the top Canadian man in the UCI Elite Cross-Country rankings is 22-year-old Carter Woods, who competes in the U23 division. He was on the podium in three U23 World Cup races last year. Canada also has a great up-and-comer on the women’s side in Emily Johnston. The 21-year-old won bronze in the U23 division at the World Cup opener in mid-May.
Gunnar Holmgren and Sean Fincham were both in the top-30 in the elite men’s race in Nove Mesto Na Morave. Jennifer Jackson was the top Canadian in the women’s elite race there.
Canoe Slalom
After opening their ICF World Cup season last weekend in Augsburg, Germany, Canada’s top slalom paddlers are in Prague, Czechia for some more exciting racing.
Friday will feature the semifinals and finals in men’s and women’s kayak after a day of heats on Thursday. The semifinals and finals for men’s and women’s canoe will be on Saturday following their heats on Friday. Sunday’s competition is all about the exciting new Olympic discipline of kayak cross.
Live streaming is available via Planet Canoe on Recast.
