Editing Victoria, British Columbia (section)

==Sports and recreation==
Victoria's climate, location and variety of facilities make it ideal for many recreational activities including [[rock climbing]], [[hiking]], [[kayaking]], [[golf]], [[water sports]], informal [[team sport]]s and [[jogging]].
[[File:Tour de Victoria.jpg|thumb|left|Cyclists during the Bastion Square cycling race. Greater Victoria is home to a number of bicycle trails.]]
Victoria is also known as the Cycling Capital of Canada,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pedalmag.com/index.php?module=Section&action=viewdetail&item_id=1312 |title=Victoria, B.C. The Cycle Capital of Canada |first1=Paula |last1=Steele |publisher=Pedal |access-date=2009-10-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126114715/http://pedalmag.com/index.php?module=Section&action=viewdetail&item_id=1312 |archive-date=26 November 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> with hundreds of kilometres of bicycle paths, bike lanes and bike routes in the city, including the [[Galloping Goose Regional Trail]]. There are [[mountain biking]] trails at [[Mount Work Regional Park]] in the neghbour community The District of Highlands,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crd.bc.ca/parks/mountwork/index.htm |title=Mount Work Regional Park |publisher=Capital Regional District |access-date=2013-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329072946/http://www.crd.bc.ca/parks/mountwork/index.htm |archive-date=29 March 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> and Victoria is quickly becoming a bike tourism destination.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Mary Beth |date=Fall 2009 |title=An Interview with Todd Litman |url=http://www.gvcc.bc.ca/cycletherapy/ct200903.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227165438/http://www.gvcc.bc.ca/cycletherapy/ct200903.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2012 |website=Cycle Therapy}}</ref> [[Cycling advocacy]] groups including [[Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition]] (GVCC) and the Bike to Work Society have worked to improve Victoria's [[cycling infrastructure]] and facilities, and to make cycling a viable transportation alternative, attracting 5% of commuters in 2005.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/TransportPolicyArticle.pdf |doi=10.1016/j.tranpol.2005.11.001 |title=Why Canadians cycle more than Americans: A comparative analysis of bicycling trends and policies |journal=Transport Policy |volume=13 |issue=3 |page=265 |access-date=2009-10-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229020724/http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/TransportPolicyArticle.pdf |archive-date=29 December 2009 |df=dmy-all |year=2006 |last1=Pucher |first1=John |last2=Buehler |first2=Ralph |citeseerx=10.1.1.177.9922 }}</ref>

Greater Victoria also has a rich [[motorsports]] history, and was home to a 4/10ths mile oval race track called [[Western Speedway]] in the nearby City of [[Langford, BC|Langford]]. Opened in 1954, Western Speedway was the oldest speedway in western Canada, and featured [[stock car racing]], [[drag racing]], [[demolition derby|demolition derbies]] and other events. Western Speedway was also home to the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Greater Victoria area also serves as a headquarters for [[Rugby Canada]], based out of [[Starlight Stadium]] in [[Langford, BC|Langford]], as well as a headquarters for [[Rowing Canada]], based out of [[Victoria City Rowing Club]] at [[Elk Lake (British Columbia)|Elk Lake]] in [[Saanich, British Columbia|Saanich]]. The Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame is at the [[Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre]], and features numerous displays and information on the sporting history of the city.

The major sporting and entertainment complex, for Victoria and Vancouver Island Region, is the [[Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre]] arena. It replaced the former [[Victoria Memorial Arena]], which was constructed by efforts of World War II veterans as a monument to fallen comrades. World War I, World War II, Korean War, and other conflict veterans are also commemorated. Fallen Canadian soldiers in past, present, and future wars and/or [[United Nations]], [[NATO]] missions are noted, or will be noted by the main lobby monument at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. The arena was the home of the [[ECHL]] (formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League) team, [[Victoria Salmon Kings]], owned by RG Properties Limited, a real estate development firm that built the Victoria Save On Foods Memorial Centre, and [[Prospera Place]] Arena in [[Kelowna]]. The arena is the home of the [[Victoria Royals]] [[Western Hockey League]] (WHL) team that replaced the Victoria Salmon Kings ([[ECHL]]).

=== International events ===
Victoria has also been a destination for numerous high-profile international sporting events. It co-hosted the [[1994 Commonwealth Games]] with Saanich and Oak Bay and the [[2005 Ford World Men's Curling Championship]]. The [[2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup]] was co-hosted by Victoria along with five other Canadian cities; ([[Burnaby]], [[Toronto]], [[Edmonton]], [[Ottawa]], [[Montreal]]). Victoria was also the first city location of the cross Canada [[2010 Winter Olympics torch relay]] that occurred before the start of the [[2010 Winter Olympics]]. Victoria co-hosted the [[2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships]] along with [[Vancouver, British Columbia]]. Victoria was one of four host cities for the [[2020 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments - Victoria|2020 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments]] in June 2020.

===Sports teams===
[[File:2023 08 09 HarbourCats Baseball 26.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Athletic Park]] is a [[multi-purpose stadium]] in the city. It is used as the home stadium for the [[West Coast League|WCL]]'s [[Victoria HarbourCats]].]]
[[File:SOFMCFront.jpg|thumb|[[Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre]] is an indoor [[ice hockey]] arena in Victoria. It is the home arena for the [[Western Hockey League|WHL]]'s [[Victoria Royals]].]]
The city has also been home to numerous high-profile sports teams in its history. The [[Victoria Cougars]] are perhaps the most famous sports franchise the city has known, existing as members of several professional leagues from 1911 to 1926, and again from 1949 to 1961. The Cougars won the [[Stanley Cup]] as members of the [[Western Canada Hockey League|WCHL]] in 1925 after defeating the [[Montreal Canadiens]] [[1925 Stanley Cup Finals|three games to one in a best-of-five final]]. The Cougars were reincarnated in 1971 as a [[Victoria Cougars (WHL)|major junior hockey team]] in the [[Western Hockey League]], before they moved to [[Prince George, BC|Prince George]] to become the [[Prince George Cougars]]. Today, the Cougars name and legacy continue in the form of the Junior 'B' team that plays in the [[Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League]]. Minor professional hockey returned to Victoria in the form of the [[Victoria Salmon Kings]], which played in the [[ECHL]] from 2004 to 2011, and were a minor league affiliate of the [[Vancouver Canucks]]. In baseball, Victoria was once home of the [[Victoria Athletics]] of the [[Western International League]], a [[Class A (baseball)|Class 'A']] minor league baseball affiliate of the [[New York Yankees]]. The Victoria region's newest sports team is [[Pacific FC]] of the [[Canadian Premier League]]. [[Pacific FC]] play their home matches at [[Starlight Stadium]] in [[Langford, BC|Langford]].

Victoria has been home to many accomplished athletes that have participated in [[professional sports]] or the [[Olympics]]. Notable professional athletes include [[basketball Hall of Fame]]r [[Steve Nash]], twice Most Valuable Player in the [[National Basketball Association]], who grew up in Victoria and played youth basketball at [[St. Michael's University School]] in Saanich and [[Mount Douglas Secondary School]] in [[Saanich, British Columbia|Saanich]]. Furthermore, there are several current [[NHL]] hockey players from Greater Victoria, including brothers [[Jamie Benn]] and [[Jordie Benn]] of the [[Dallas Stars]] and [[Toronto Maple Leafs]], respectively who grew up in [[North Saanich]]; [[Tyson Barrie]] of the [[Edmonton Oilers]], and [[Matt Irwin]] of the [[Washington Capitals]]. Current [[Boston Red Sox]] pitcher [[Nick Pivetta]] was born in Victoria and played summer collegiate baseball for the [[Victoria HarbourCats]]. Former professional racing cyclist and [[2012 Giro d'Italia]] winner, [[Ryder Hesjedal]] was born in Victoria and still calls the city home. Victoria has also been home to many [[Olympic Games]] athletes, including multi-time medalists such as [[Silken Laumann]], [[Ryan Cochrane (swimmer)|Ryan Cochrane]], and [[Simon Whitfield]].

Sports teams presently operating in Victoria include:
{|class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|-
!Club
!Sport
!League
!Venue
|-
|[[Pacific FC]]
|[[Soccer]]
|[[Canadian Premier League]]
|[[Starlight Stadium]], [[Langford, BC|Langford]]
|-
|[[Victoria Royals]]
|[[Ice hockey]]
|[[Western Hockey League]]
|[[Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre]]
|-
|[[Victoria HarbourCats]]
|[[Baseball]]
|[[West Coast League]]
|[[Royal Athletic Park]]
|-
|[[Victoria Vikes|UVic Vikes]]
|Various
|[[U Sports]]
|Various, principally UVic ([[Saanich, British Columbia|Saanich]]-Oak Bay)
|-
|[[Camosun College#Sports and Students' Union Activities|Camosun Chargers]]
|Various
|[[Canadian Colleges Athletic Association]]
|Various, principally Camosun College ([[Saanich, British Columbia|Saanich]])
|-
|[[Victoria Shamrocks]]
|[[Box lacrosse]]
|[[Western Lacrosse Association]]
|[[The Q Centre]]
|-
|[[Victoria Grizzlies]]
|Ice hockey
|[[British Columbia Hockey League]]
|The Q Centre
|-
|[[Westshore Rebels]]
|[[Canadian football]]
|[[Canadian Junior Football League]]
|[[Starlight Stadium]], [[Langford, BC|Langford]]
|-
|[[Victoria Highlanders]]
|[[Soccer]]
|[[USL League Two]]
|[[Centennial Stadium]]
|-
|[[Eves of Destruction]]
|[[Roller Derby]]
|[[Women's Flat Track Derby Association]]
|Various
|}

Notable defunct teams that operated in Victoria include:
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Victoria Capitals]] ([[Canadian Baseball League]])
* [[Victoria Cougars (WHL)|Victoria Cougars]] ([[Western Hockey League]])
* [[Victoria Vistas]] ([[Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992)|Canadian Soccer League]])
* [[Victoria Seals]] ([[Golden Baseball League]])
* [[Victoria Salmon Kings]] ([[ECHL]])
* [[Victoria United (Canada)|Victoria United FC]] ([[Pacific Coast Soccer League]])
{{Div col end}}